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2008 Financial Stability Summit
The United Way Financial Stability Summit was held on Friday, September 12, 2008 at the Salt Lake City Marriott Downtown. The focus of the half-day summit was to build awareness about and seek input on strategies to help strengthen the financial stability of all Utahns in the areas of income, education, health, housing, and financial literacy and asset development. The Summit attracted nearly 200 participants from diverse backgrounds and provided a forum for rich dialogue and consensus-building around complex community challenges.
The Summit kicked off in the morning with a welcome keynote by Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. Governor Huntsman set a bold vision for tackling the growing economic challenges faced by our state in the areas of education, income, health, housing and saving for the future. He also called on state and private sector health leaders to take advantage of the unique opportunity facing our state for meaningful systemic health reform, and encouraged all stakeholders to reach beyond their own interests to build on our common vision for the future. The Summit concluded with a closing address by Bill Toliver, President of The Matale Line, who focused on the importance of visionary leadership and broad-based collaboration to create social change. He gave several examples that illustrated change efforts often start in small communities and then inspire widespread change. His message will help continue to inspire us all to think bold as we work to improve the financial stability of all Utah families.
To learn more about the recommendations from the 2008 Financial Stability Summit in the areas of education, financial literacy & assets, health care, housing and income please see the detailed summaries below.
Education
The education session focused on two education strategies put forward by the 2007 Financial Stability Council: 1) making post-secondary education for all Utahns the “norm” or standard expectation and significantly expand access so that all Utahns have the opportunity to secure post-secondary education and/or training to gain essential competencies and skills to succeed economically, and 2) developing and/or expanding models within the public school system for increasing academic achievement, high school graduation rates, and college readiness.
Specific attention was paid to the Regents Scholarship program and Community Learning Center initiatives, and on the need for expansion of these and similar strategies, with improved collaboration between public and higher-education, the private sector and the community.
Problem Statement
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Financial Literacy & Assets
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This session focused on strategies to increase savings, improve financial education and change financial habits. Discussion built on the new Financial and Economic Literacy Passport legislation passed during the 2008 session. This legislation integrates financial education concepts into K-12 education and encourages the formation of a wide-scale community effort to encourage savings and promote behavior change.
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The need for a large-scale social marketing campaign with consistent messaging similar to “The Truth” campaign was addressed, and new legislation was previewed that would link financial education taught in the schools and reinforced through marketing and messaging to a tangible savings product (Life-Long Savings Accounts). This account would be available to all Utah children and used as a teaching tool for parents and teachers as well as assist children in creating life-long savings and healthy money management skills.
Problem Statement
Power Point
Health Care
This session featured panelists from each of the five stakeholder groups assigned to participate in the work of the Legislature’s Health System Reform Task Force. Representatives from the insurers, business, practitioners, hospitals, and the community each presented their proposals for reform.
Each of the five proposals featured common elements such as transparency, individual responsibility, incentives for healthy lifestyles and cost containment. There was general agreement among the five stakeholder groups that our current health care system is unsustainable and will require bold reform.
Problem Statement
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Housing
New research was presented during the Housing break out session illustrating that a significant housing gap for Utah’s essential workers such as teachers, firefighters, police officers, etc exists. This data also showed that the housing gap is even worse for Utah’s renters.
Several solution strategies were discussed that focused on increasing resources for affordable housing from both public and private sectors, including a program that Utah banks are exploring to convert foreclosed homes into affordable homes available at low interest rates. A new tool to provide better information to home buyers and renters about affordable housing options was presented by the Utah Bankers Association, and proposals for action to strengthen local government commitment to providing affordable housing were also discussed.
Problem Statement
Power Point
Income
Historic income and job analysis data was presented illustrating that the middle class in Utah is losing ground in terms of numbers and wages. Also, information was presented about Utah incomes and economic mobility in the U.S. Research showed that because of a high percentage of part-time workers, Utah’s wages are closer to the national average wage than previously thought. However, this data also showed that economic mobility has not changed in over 30 years.
Solution strategies focused on state economic development efforts to target companies to establish or relocated to Utah. Discussion also focused on the requirements and incentives offered to companies to increase local economies, for example, companies coming to Utah are required to pay wages above 120 percent of the county median income. In addition, other strategies to decrease costs for middle-income families were discussed.
Problem Statement
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