Build a Strong Middle Class
Communications Toolkit for Advocates (PDF)
October 13, 2004
By The Family Economic Security Project

View the document 5 (pdf)

Gives advocates the tools they need to bring the issue of economic insecurity among America's aspiring middle class to the forefront of the political debate.

The PDF version of the toolkit is appropriate for printing, mailing, posting on web sites, and sharing.  The Microsoft Word version of the toolkit is also available for editing, cutting & pasting, and easier use.

Build a Strong Middle Class: A Communications Toolkit is a product of The Family Economic Security: Moving Past the Poverty Debate Project. This initiative is the result of a collaboration which includes three national partners -- Wider Opportunities for Women, Economic Policy Institute, and Demos. The collaboration includes three state partners -- The Women's Union in Massachusetts, the Center for Policy Priorities in Texas, and the One Connecticut coalition and the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women in Connecticut.

The Family Economic Security: Moving Past the Poverty Debate Project has developed an overall frame to talk about the issues facing hard-working families struggling to make ends meet. This includes working families and those who are barely above the poverty line. Many advocates are pushing for solutions to make communities, cities and America more economically prosperous. Rather than go about this in a disjointed way, the Family Economic Security Project proposes using an overall frame of building a strong middle class to discuss specific solutions, including affordable, quality health care and child care, access to training and education, and realistic living standards.

The overall frame rests on the core value of building a strong middle class. A thriving middle class has long served as the backbone of the American economy. As America's middle class comes under pressure, there is an increasing gap between middle class standards and modern day realities. Today, many families are barely able to keep their heads above water and continually face difficulty making ends meet. Too many families struggle to afford basic needs, such as health care and child care. Many American workers cannot afford the training they need to compete in a global economy. To compound this, living standards are so outdated that many families are not able to receive the assistance they need to make ends meet. While America's middle class continues to face real hurdles in simply trying to stay afloat, policymakers at the state level need to focus on ensuring a secure future for America's working families.

We chose the frame of building a strong middle class because most Americans self-identify as middle class. Policymakers are motivated to meet the needs of the middle class because they see the middle class as their primary constituency. For our purposes, we define middle class as American families who work hard, play by the rules and deserve economic security. These messages are designed to be used by advocates as they demonstrate to policymakers that more and more frequently, families who work hard are not even able to meet their basic needs.

This toolkit can help you capture policymakers' attention, inform the debate and influence legislation at the state and local level. While each state faces unique challenges, there are common issues that cross state lines and need to be addressed in order to make life more livable for middle class Americans. This toolkit gives you the information you need to push four key issues that are all critical to growing the middle class:

• Health Care: Skyrocketing health care costs result in serious financial burden for states.
• Training and Education Access: The decline in high-wage job opportunities is unacceptable; states must invest in building the qualifications of aspiring middle class workers in order to fill jobs and maintain a steady economy.
• Child Care: Ensuring that all working parents who need it have access to affordable, quality child care necessary for a stable work force.
• Assessing the True Cost of Living: Adjusting measurements will provide necessary assistance to middle class families to help them make ends meet.

In the following sections, we show how advocates can use the overall frame to discuss these four issues. If multiple voices across the country link our reform efforts with building a strong middle class, we anticipate an expanded middle class with families overcoming economic difficulties and contributing to a thriving America.

For each issue area, you will find sample media materials, including op-eds, letters to the editor, fact sheets, and talking points.

Toolkit Tips: Using the Toolkit to Build a Strong Middle Class serves as a guide to help you customize the sample materials for your own work. The facts cited throughout these materials are examples of the information you should provide as you put together your own communications tools. By inserting your own compelling stories and statistics, your materials will resonate better with media and policymakers in your state.

As you continue to work toward economic security for more families, this toolkit can be beneficial for advocacy on related issues. For further guidance, please visit the Continuing Your Efforts section of the toolkit.