Abstract: Social Work Grand Challenges: Reversing Extreme Economic Inequality (Society for Social Work and Research 20th Annual Conference - Grand Challenges for Social Work: Setting a Research Agenda for the Future)

112P Social Work Grand Challenges: Reversing Extreme Economic Inequality

Schedule:
Friday, January 15, 2016
Ballroom Level-Grand Ballroom South Salon (Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel)
* noted as presenting author
Laura Lein, PhD, Professor, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI
Jennifer L. Romich, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Michael Sherraden, PhD, Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development and Director of the Center for Social Development, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO
Today’s US economy generates more wealth than at any other time in history, yet divisions and disparities are increasing, with concentrated flows of income to the top, and capital accumulation only by those who are already wealthy. This inequality creates hardship for households, a suboptimal economy, and social instability. Market forces and misguided public policies contribute to inequality, and more positive policies can be designed and implemented. In this Social Work Grand Challenge, we present promising and achievable policies to shore up the income of the poor, build middle-class stability and wealth, and reverse the mechanisms that concentrate wealth solely among the wealthy.

This ePoster session will include rotating slide show which will briefly overview of the problem and present specific policy changes to create greater income and wealth equity.  Topics will include work hour and compensation for low-wage workers, social insurance coverage, asset-building for the poor and middle class, and the role of wealth and higher education.