Why is it hard to join the middle class?

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Sept. 2, 2015) Economists, educators and community leaders will discuss barriers to upward mobility in the second event in a series on saving the middle class.

“Saving the Middle Class: Barriers to Upward Mobility” will run from 8 to 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18, in Lundring Events Center at California Lutheran University. The university’s Center for Economic Research and Forecasting (CERF) launched the Community Conversation Series in June to examine the problems faced by California’s middle class and what can be done to preserve this segment of society. Each year, California produces more college graduates than jobs for those graduates, more people leave California for other states than move into it from other states, and the cost of housing rises faster than wages. The middle class is falling behind, fast.

The event will begin with a discussion featuring Cynthia Herrera, an administrator at Oxnard College, and Randall Delling, the 2014-2015 president of the Association of California School Administrators. Herrera, who has a doctorate in public administration, is the director of the science, technology, engineering and math grant program at Oxnard College and a fierce advocate for community college. Prior to joining Oxnard College, she ran an education consulting business for 23 years. Delling is a retired principal and teacher as well as a former construction company owner and Vietnam veteran. The Simi Valley resident has a doctorate in educational leadership from Cal Lutheran and is attending law school. Tim Gallagher, president of Gallagher 20/20 Consulting, will moderate.

CERF economists Bill Watkins and Matthew Fienup will then present data and context. Watkins is the executive director of CERF and an associate professor of economics at Cal Lutheran. He has been presenting unflinching forecasts since 2000 and has been widely published in academic journals and quoted in media including the Wall Street Journal, CNN and Forbes. Fienup teaches econometrics and environmental economics in Cal Lutheran’s graduate economics program. He is a land use economist with expertise in the issues surrounding urban growth restrictions and groundwater management.

Attendees will then discuss possible solutions at their tables with direction from moderators.

Tickets are $45 and include breakfast. To register or for more information, contact Ashley Freas at freas@callutheran.edu.