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Declaring January 2019 as Economic Mobility Action Month in the City of Philadelphia
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WHEREAS, The US Partnership on Mobility from Poverty centers the idea of "economic mobility" around three core principles: economic success, power and autonomy, and being valued in the community; and
WHEREAS, January is National Poverty Awareness Month. Yet, in Philadelphia, the poorest big city in the nation, we must do much more than raise awareness; and
WHEREAS, Over a quarter of Philadelphians live below the federal poverty line, the highest among the nation's most populous cities. The income necessary to support a family of four living in Philadelphia is nearly twice our City's median income; and
WHEREAS, While the median household income has increased across the nation, it has dropped four percentage points in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, life expectancy is significantly lower in Philadelphia zip codes where households face higher levels of economic insecurity; and
WHEREAS, According to Feeding America, over 20 percent of Philadelphia residents, and over 1.6 million people across Pennsylvania, experience food insecurity. Moreover, of the 130,000 low-wage retail, food service, and hospitality workers across the City, 79 percent do not have a consistent work schedule and 45 percent cannot predict their income because their work schedules change so much; and
WHEREAS, Our communities are doing the work in fighting to ensure that residents have a pathway to economic security and prosperity; and
WHEREAS, In Philadelphia, those seeking economic mobility, in partnership with social service providers and justice-oriented organizations, are leading the charge to change the narrative around poverty from a condition created through personal choice to one created through the deliberate actions of powerful decision-makers and institutions whose work perpetuates inequality; and
WHEREAS, The work of news and information organizations like Resolve Philadel...
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