Our program work helps individuals, families, seniors, and the communities in which they live, become and remain economically secure.

The Insight Center’s mission is to help people and communities become, and remain, economically secure. We believe that the pathway to sustainable growth for our country and its people lies in strengthening our most vulnerable and economically detached populations. The Insight Center envisions a nation where all people have access to the resources, opportunities and support they need to help them realize their potential and achieve economic security. We envision a nation of individuals and families with sufficient income, quality education, decent and affordable housing and health care, child and elder care, a safe environment, and savings and other economic assets. We see a society that recognizes the value, dignity and creative potential of the overlooked and underappreciated. Success on this scale will make us all richer and is the moral thing to do, consistent with the values of our democracy.

We define economic security as not only having enough money to take care of yourself and your family, but also having the ability to save and develop assets.We measure economic security–and ultimately the success of our programs–through the Self-Sufficiency Standard and the Elder Economic Security Standard. These Standards quantify what it costs to pay for the basics–like rent, food, health care, transportation, and taxes–in different communities across America. We promote the use of these more accurate Standards and Metrics to evaluate and develop more effective public policy for working families and retired elders.