A key goal of New America's Asset Building Program is to encourage governments and other entities to offer each child born in the United States - and around the world - a savings account at birth. We believe doing this is the first step toward ensuring that all children have a stock of financial assets at the start of their adult lives.

With this in mind, we see the "529" college savings account in the United States as potentially an excellent platform for enabling parents to save for their children's education. This type of investment account - established by Congress in 2001 and named after a section of the tax code - allows parents to save money and withdraw the funds tax-free when their children head off to college. Every state, as well as the District of Columbia, offers 529s. Yet, right now, it is primarily mid-to-high-income parents who are taking advantage of them. We believe that making 529s "progressive" (i.e. having the government offer incentives such "seed" funding and/or matches to the accounts of less well-off families) is an excellent way to put these savings vehicles to work for children who come from families of more modest means.

As such, I was intrigued by a new college savings plan in South Africa I came across earlier this week. The Association of Collective Investments, an industry association for investment funds in South Africa, recently launched the Fundisa Fund as a three-year pilot project. The gist of the plan is that family and friends of a learner (or others) make contributions to an investment account opened by the parents at a bank.

DEATH PENALTY: The president of the African National Congress, South Africa's leading political party, talks up the possibility of holding a national referendum to reinstate the death penalty. Interest in the idea is driven by stubbornly high crime. 

IRISH CHILDREN: A group in Ireland is putting together a referendum to improve the rights of children there.