Building Support for State Asset Building Policy

What We Know from Polling and State Legislative Activity

Alison McIntosh, Neighborhood Partnerships

Oregon Asset Builders ConferenceSalem, OR – April 24, 2013

Today’s Session• What is “framing”?• Narratives we’re up against• Using values and aspiration to

inspire support

• Tools • Polling Research• Legislative Update

We need to change the terrain on which discussions about our issues

occurs

knowledgestories

cultural models

experiencemyths

media

patterns of association

frames

stereotypes

We are not blank slates

Framing Happens• Frames are used by our brains

to make sense of incoming information

• It happens fast• Frames fill in the blanks• They direct thinking

Framing is Always Happening

• If we do not pay attention to how we frame our issues people will default to the “pictures in their heads”

RQYFPTX

As citizens committed to maintaining and restoring a diversity and abundance of wetlands for future generations of people and wildlife we urge our elected officials to work [to improve environmental regulations and provide funding for restoration].

Essential Steps for the Future of America's

Wetlands

Wetlands benefit us all. Wetlands act as a filter for the waters of our lakes, rivers and streams. Wetlands improve the water we drink, and the air we breathe. Wetlands act like giant sponges. They soak up rain and snowmelt as they occur, serving as temporary storage basins, thus reducing erosion, and limiting the destruction caused by severe floods . . .

Why Wetlands Matter

our brains are rapidly seeking to connect new information to the existing stories in our heads

The Benevolent Community

The Triumphant Individual

Independence InterdependenceDave Kolpack / AP“Self-Made Man” – Irene Ritter

The Poverty Knot

Core Beliefs about Poverty

• Each individual is responsible for his or her own success or failure;

• With hard work comes reward;

• The goal is equal opportunity, not equal outcome; and

• Anyone can achieve the “American Dream”.Source: Meg Bostrom, For an Economy that Works for All

Inequality Happens

Narratives We’re up Against

Poverty is….• a result of poor choices or

bad morals

• not as bad as it used to be or as it is elsewhere

• a temporary state because of America’s unique economic mobility

• not solvable and attempting to solve it will be expensive and will cause dependence

Some Public Beliefs Work for Us . . .

• Hard work should be valued and rewarded

• Working people are struggling• People are judging the economy

based on their perceptions of how they and people like them are doing.

• We can all work together to find solutions

Speaking to Values Directs

Thinking

Values Matter• We reason first from deeply

held values.• Values help answer: “Why

does this matter to me/us?”• We need to start with

Values, not with the policy and program details

Levels of Thinking• Level One – Big ideas:

protection, justice, family well-being, equality, opportunity, prosperity

• Level Two – Issues:housing, the environment, children’s issues, workforce development

• Level Three – Policies:pay equity, bycatch, SCHIP presumptive eligibility, EITC

Why does this matter? Families without housing face a staggering number of obstacles. Children can suffer from poor academic performance, have higher rates of asthma, ear infections, stomach problems, and speech problems, and are at higher risk of mental and physical trauma. Parents struggling with housing security find it difficult to get and keep a job, pursue educational goals, and provide adequate care and attention to their families. By creating opportunities for families to build economic and housing security, families can build better lives and our communities will be stronger.

Speak to Values FirstWe know that communities are stronger and healthier when at-risk families get the help they need to find and stay in safe, affordable housing. With housing, families improve their childrens’ education, find stable employment, and have a deeper sense of belonging in their neighborhood. This is why the public sector should partner with nonprofit organizations and others to give every family the opportunity to have a safe and stable home.

Aspiration

DesperationChicken

Little

Chicken Little

Crisis or Solution?

What’s Wrong

Why it MattersWhat Can be Done

What Can be Done

Why it Matters

What’s

Wrong

Solution Oriented LanguageAn example:- “We know what works.”- “We can solve this problem.”- “There’s a tested solution for this.”

Portrait

Landscape

Different Stories > Different Solutions

Portraits• Individuals• Events• Private• Appeal to

consumers• Better

information• Fix the person

Landscapes• Issues• Trends• Public• Appeal to citizens• Better Policies• Fix the Condition

- Based on work by Iyengar and Gilliam

Ripple Effects

What are all the ways we are all affected?

Family graduates from IDA Initiative

and Starts Business

Helps neighbors

Supports other local businesses

Supports local

community food systems

Other IDA accounts opened

Family economic stability &

saving

Grocery Store

Owner

Farmer

IDA Provider

Neighbor

Through the IDA Initiative, a new Home is

purchasedFamily gains

a new community

Kids get involved in afterschool

activities

Mom & Dad are closer to their jobs

Mom’s stress decreases,

health improves

Family creates

emergency fund.

Teacher

Employer

Doctor, Nurse

IDA Program

Staff

Neighbor

Shared Benefit"In our personal ambitions we are individualists. But in our seeking for economic and political progress as a nation, we all go up, or else we all go down, as one people.”

-- President Franklin D. Roosevelt

The Message Box• A tool to keep you “on message”• Helps distill your key arguments to the ones you

need to repeat over and over.• Keeps you focused on Level One Values and

Solutions• Gives you the “cheat sheet” for interviews and

debates.• The place you bridge and pivot back to from hard

questions and damaging frames.

Vision

Values

SolutionProblem

Vision

A clear statement of the problem you are trying to address in a way that everyone can see their stake in addressing the issue.

The solution you are proposing

and the principles or

outcomes it is designed to

achieve.

The Level One Values that underpin the challenge and your proposed solution. The answer to the “why does it matter”

question.

Values

SolutionProblem

Your vision for the community, state, society. A sense of the purpose and

goal that drives you to seek the change you are working for. Your

aspiration and inspiration.

Vision

Today, we are facing a defining

moment. It’s clear that our systems

no longer meet the needs of our

communities and our people. Our investments and our choices have opened the door

to opportunity for some and closed it

for others.

We have the tools to create a better future.

We can harness our innovative spirit, our immense talent, and our energy. We can invest in the people that will make our

future brighter, and together create a

better future for the next generation.

Choosing this path, we can ensure that every person, every family, every community in Oregon can prosper.

Opportunity Prosperity Community Oregon Exceptionalism Ingenuity InnovationWe believe in an Oregon where everyone has

the opportunity to succeed. We can rebuild the pathways to prosperity for all Oregonians. We

are strongest when all of our community members can thrive.

Values

SolutionProblem

Oregon has a proud history of industry, ingenuity and independence. Our state’s natural beauty and resources have sustained us from the earliest days. Over the years, we’ve used innovation and creativity to improve our communities and build systems and structures to create opportunity.

Vision

Today, too many hardworking parents don’t earn enough to pay their rent and put food on the table for their children. Families in our community don’t have access to opportunity and pathways out of poverty. Too often, one small event can trigger a series of shortfalls and lead to crisis.

One of the ways we can provide access to opportunity

is to help hardworking families save money and build

assets. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is one of the

largest and most effective programs for low- and

moderate-income families. Every year Oregon families

use this credit to make ends meet, to get out of debt, or

start saving for the future. The EITC gives them a tool to

manage life’s many financial demands. Oregon should

extend and expand the EITC to ensure this opportunity for

hardworking families exists.

Our communities are better when we work to provide pathways out poverty. Hardworking families deserve access to opportunity and a

chance to get ahead.

Values

SolutionProblem

We believe in an Oregon where everyone has access to opportunity and a pathway out of poverty.

• Statement of Needs (5%)–What’s the problem?

• Values “hook” (15%)–Why do I care?

• Solution (80%)–What can we do about it?

Our Message Formula

Thanks to Larry Wallack, PSU

Polling Preview• It’s better for all of us if families have modest financial reserves to

help build a stable foundation, manage life’s emergencies, and create a better future.

• Having something put aside for emergencies and future goals is the key to building secure futures. We are all better off if we can create policies that help families build strong financial practices, build a foundation for success, and build a brighter future.

• We need to rebuild the middle class in Oregon. That starts with helping people maintain a firm foundation for success. We need to build financial stability for Oregonians.

• As a state, we can help make sure all Oregonians can access pathways to economic stability. We can create pathways for families to move out of poverty.

Legislative Visit FormulaYou will have ten to fifteen minutes with your legislator. Use your time carefully.

1. Introductions

2. Families in your district need to build financial resilience Give an example of the need in your area. Tell a story about the difference that asset building can make to an individual or family.

3. Talk about our priority items.

4. Ask if we can count on their support to help ensure that all Oregonians have the chance to build financial resilience and ask for their ideas

5. Thank them for taking the time to discuss asset building. Leave on time.

Message Components An effective message has three components: What is the problem? – Give a specific example/proof of the need for asset building and pathways to the middle class. Why should I care? – Use a value statement (see below)

What is the solution? – Define a specific needed policy step and action that the listener can take. Our example = Building pathways to the middle class through HB 2316, HB 2850 and HB 3436.

Legislative Update

• Earned Income Tax Credit (HB 2850/SB 507)

• IDA Initiative Retirement Savings (HB 2316A)

• Retirement Security (HB 3436)

Essential Strategies• Think about Order. Make a deliberate

choice.• System and landscape stories evoke

policy solutions.• Focus on Solution – We know what

works! • Focus on Values and Interdependence.

The American Dream

“ . . . life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement . . . regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position . . .

- James Truslow Adams, 1931