Charting a Path to National Prosperity: American Conservative Union Foundation Launches Revolutionary Index to Measure the Impact of the Economy on Families - and Families on the Economy - on a State-by-State Basis
Utah Ranks First in the Nation, New Mexico Last, in Family Prosperity
Feb 25, 2016, 03:04 ET
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Conservative Union Foundation today launched its Family Prosperity Initiative (FPI), which features the Family Prosperity Index, an entirely new tool that does what no resource has done before -- demonstrates quantitatively the undeniable link between economic and social policy in determining family prosperity.
In so doing, the Index provides a road map for finding real solutions to the cultural and financial problems that keep families – and the nation – from flourishing.
ACU Foundation economists Wendy Warcholik, Ph.D., and J. Scott Moody, M.A., established the FPI to explore ways to measure the relationship between economic and social policies. The husband-and-wife team developed a formula – using primarily government data – to score the economic and social wellbeing of families from year to year and from state to state. According to the inaugural Index, Utah ranks first and New Mexico ranks last in family prosperity.
The FPI Index provides the credible data that state policymakers, civic and religious leaders, think tanks and activists need to develop and advocate effectively for policies that improve the prosperity of families and the communities in which they live.
"When it comes to helping state and federal lawmakers identify social policy that strongly supports families, the Family Prosperity Index is going to change everything," said Matt Schlapp, Chairman of the American Conservative Union. "No other information source provides more credible and comprehensive insights into how the economy affects families and how families affect the economy."
"For decades, America has used the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as an economic barometer to gauge the status of America's prosperity," Warcholik said. "As a metric tool, GDP is valuable, but limited. The American family is the engine that drives the health of the economy, and this Index mathematically demonstrates that relationship."
The development of the FPI Index is the first step in a multi-year effort of the Family Prosperity Initiative. The Index will be published annually and will rank each of the 50 states according to their respective scores. It will be presented at next week's American Conservative Union Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C.
For more information, contact:
Frank Limpus – [email protected] – 615-668-9938, or
Ned Barnett – [email protected] – 702-561-1167
American Conservative Union: www.conservative.org
American Conservative Union Foundation: http://acufoundation.conservative.org/
Family Prosperity Initiative: www.familyprosperity.org
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SOURCE American Conservative Union Foundation