Ownership & Assets: New America Events

CA Event: The Subprime/Foreclosure Crisis

Communications — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
06/11/2008 - 12:00pm

The U.S. economy has been gripped by a relentless housing crisis for almost two years. A key driver in this crisis has been the many subprime mortgages that involved high rates and fees -- often requiring no down payments -- that were made in the past several years. California is ground zero in the subprime crisis and the resultant spillover effects -- foreclosures, bankruptcies, decreasing property values to name a few. Recognizing that relying on the market alone is unlikely to bring an end to the crisis, the U.S. Congress and the Bush Administration are currently debating federal responses. Meanwhile, some states, including California, are undertaking their own initiatives.

This special session will feature Jeff Crump, professor at the University of Minnesota who has been quarterbacking reform efforts in Minnesota. Reporting on California initiatives at the state and local level are Kevin Stein, Associate Director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, and Tia Boatman-Patterson, Special Assistant to the Speaker. Policy initiatives undertaken by the state and federal government will also be discussed.

This event is co-sponsored with the University of California Center at Sacramento.

CA Event: Expanding Savings and Retirement Security

Communications — Thu, 22 May 2008 01:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
05/21/2008 - 12:00pm

Every day, six million Californians, or roughly 43 percent of workers in the state, go to work for an employer that does not provide any type of retirement pension or savings plan. This lack of retirement savings opportunities puts California working families at risk. On Wednesday, May 21, Mark Iwry of the Brookings Institution presented on the current retirement savings crisis in America -- its causes and the continuing effect it will have on the financial security of working families as well as the state and national economy. Mr. Iwry also discussed state and national policy options to significantly encourage retirement savings and the accumulation of assets by lower- and middle-income workers.

Mark Iwry is former benefits tax counsel for the Treasury Department. He is an expert on employee benefits, pensions, retirement, savings, and health care, and frequently advises and testifies before Congress on these issues. At Treasury, where he oversaw national policy on tax-qualified pension and 401(k) plans, as well as other employee benefits, Mr. Iwry played a key role in developing many important reforms to the nation's pension system. Mr. Iwry is one of the originators of the concept of state portable retirement savings account for private sector workers.

This event was co-hosted by the New America Foundation, the Assets Policy Initiative of California and the California Research Bureau, in association with Assemblymembers Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) and Joel Anderson (R-La Mesa).

Confronting the Debt Culture

Communications — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
05/12/2008 - 5:00pm

"By some estimates, payday loans topped $28 billion last year, and have doubled every year for the past five years. These numbers are really frightening."

-Sheila Bair, Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, April 19, 2007

Join the New America Foundation/Asset Building Program and the Institute for American Values for a timely conference on thrift and its increasingly important role in reducing and managing personal and societal debt. Speakers will discuss changing the debt culture, solutions to payday lending, and lessons from abroad.

For attendees who register through the New America website, the conference is free (otherwise it is $50). Your free registration through New America entitles you to:

receive a copy of the report, For a New Thrift: Confronting the Debt Culture;
participate in all sessions and attend the May 13 luncheon; and
attend a reception at 5:00 p.m. on May 12 and preview the exhibit, Thrift: In Search of the Art of Living Well.

For more information and the conference agenda, please visit the conference website.

This conference is co-sponsored by Demos, the Institute for American Values, the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, the New America Foundation, Public Agenda, and the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture.

CA Event: Financial Literacy - Need, Strategy, Opportunity

Communications — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
04/17/2008 - 12:00pm

Families across America face a growing array of financial decisions in an increasingly complex financial environment. Consumers are expected to navigate an increasinly complex financial services market in order to save for retirement, higher education and homeownership. Those with low-incomes -- who disproportionately lack both financial know-how and relationships with financial institutions -- are especially vulnerable to being shut out of the financial marketplace.

On Thursday, April 17th, Ellen Seidman, Director of New America's Financial Services and Education Project, presented on the importance of financial literacy for both individual households and the broader macroeconomy and discussed:

Expanding access to wealth-building financial services especially for low- and moderate-income families,
Effective strategies to improve financial education such as the California's Statewide Financial Literacy Initiative
Forging a new responsibility framework for consumer financial services in the 21st century and,
Helping Americans to better manage their debt and make wise financial decisions.

CA Event: Banking the Unbanked

Communications — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
03/26/2008 - 12:00pm

Currently, too many Californians are disconnected from the financial mainstream. While national estimates show that 10 percent of households, including nearly one-quarter of the minority population, are "un-banked," meaning they lack a basic checking or savings account, 28 percent of California's adults do not have a checking or savings account. Recent market research indicates that Fresno and Los Angeles have the highest and third highest percentages of un-banked residents in the country respectively. Compounding the situation is the nearly 60 percent of California's lower income neighborhoods that do not have a bank or a credit union, according to analyses done by the Brookings Institution. Others may have bank branches that lack products and services that meet local consumers' needs.

On Tuesday, March 26th, Anne Stuhldreher, a senior policy advisor in the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will discuss what it means to be "un-banked" and why it is a problem for California in particular. She will also provide an overview of Bank on California, which is modeled after Bank on San Francisco, headed by San Francisco City Treasurer José Cisneros. Cisneros will describe the ground-breaking initiative that successfully brought tens of thousands of local un-banked residents into the financial mainstream.

Inspired by the success in San Francisco, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently announced he would launch a Bank on California initiative to connect lower income un-banked Californians with the financial products and services they need to begin climbing up the economic ladder.

This event is co-hosted by the New America Foundation, the Assets Policy Initiative of California, the California Research Bureau, and in association with Assemblymember Ted Lieu (D-Torrance).

If you have questions, call or email Claudie Kiti Bustamante at (916) 448-5189 or bustamante@newamerica.net.

Can Online Investing End Poverty?

Communications — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 08:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
03/19/2008 - 4:00pm

"Invest Wisely. End Poverty." This is the goal of eBay's new online microfinance investment marketplace, MicroPlace. While online microlending has been growing more popular with peer-to-peer offerings such as the non-profit Kiva.org, MicroPlace is charting a whole new course in the microfinance industry, offering socially-minded Americans a new way to offer microloans to entrepreneurs in the developing world. As the only broker-dealer in the microfinance arena, MicroPlace is the first and only online service offering a way for investors to invest in the working poor, and earn both a social and financial return on the investment.

On March 19th, a panel of experts on social development and microfinance discussed MicroPlace's potential to reach everyday investors in the United States, as well as the opportunity to help people in developing countries. The event also touched on the larger themes of microfinance policy and fighting poverty, including how loans provided by microfinance institutions can help the working poor come out of poverty and begin to realize the possibilities of longer-term assets such as a thriving business, home, and nest-egg for retirement, as well as the systemic and institutional challenges the microfinance industry faces in reaching the world's poor.

Tracy Turner, founder and General Manager of MicroPlace, began the discussion by stressing the need for the microfinance industry to be profitable in order for it to be sustainable. One way to help achieve profitability is for individuals to think of securities based on the performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs) as a new “asset class” -- along with stocks, bonds, property, and other types of assets.

After Turner introduced MicroPlace, Shari Berenbach, Executive Director of Calvert Foundation explained the nature of her organization’s cooperation with the website. Calvert Foundation is an issuer of a number of the securities offered on MicroPlace, essentially acting as an intermediary between the microfinance institutions seeking loans and the investors in the United States and elsewhere seeking investments. Calvert Foundation is also responsible for ensuring due-diligence is done on the MFIs that it lends the proceeds from the purchase of the securities to. Next, Robert Mosbacher, Jr. President and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), explained how OPIC, a government agency, guarantees the securities that Calvert Foundation sells to investors through MicroPlace.

Kate McKee, a senior advisor to CGAP, a consortium of microfinance funders, subsequently offered MicroPlace a few kudos and a few quibbles. The kudos included: working hard to get the regulatory compliance “right,” and educating potential investors about difference in poverty from country to country. At the same time, McKee said she had a few concerns, including about the potential of MFIs listed on MicroPlace to be harmed by financial crises, natural disasters, political instability, and mismanagement of funds.

Looking ahead, MicroPlace’s Turner said that after spending the past year building the regulatory infrastructure and “back-office” capacity of the website, the company is turning its attention to improving its user interface. Changes will include providing investors with more search criteria by which they can choose their investment, such as which institutions offer the highest rate of return and which offers loans primarily to women and/or the “poorest-of-the-poor.”

The Global Assets Project of the New America Foundation, along with Calvert Foundation and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), with the support of the International Gateway at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, cordially invite you and your colleagues for a special event discussing one of the newest innovations in asset building and poverty reduction.

Beyond Stimulus

Communications — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
02/26/2008 - 9:00am

While the President signs into law a $152 billion stimulus package to jumpstart the economy, millions of Americans continue to rack up consumer debt, watch their home values slide, and worry about their futures with little to no savings. In fact, even with stimulus checks on the way to promote consumption, Americans are focusing on the need to rein in their debt and save more. A recent Harris Interactive poll found that when it comes to using the tax rebate, 47 percent say they intend to pay down debt, while another 32 percent report they will save it.

Although very few doubt the need for an economic kick start, more attention is needed to address the lack of savings and debt crisis of today, facilitate savings for the future, and promote economic health and financial stability over the course of a lifetime.

New research, policies, and business strategies are emerging that enable Americans to meet a range of savings needs, from short-term, precautionary savings as an alternative to consumer debt; to adequate savings for mid-life asset purchases; to longer-term default strategies to enable Americans to reach their retirement goals.

Our expert panel will share new insights and research that make the case for new savings strategies and policies for all Americans. Please join us for this very timely discussion.

California Event: The Savings Crisis

Communications — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
02/14/2008 - 12:00pm

Personal savings rates have plummeted in the past decade to an all-time historic low. Many Americans aren't saving enough money for retirement, households are increasingly living day to day on high-interest credit cards, and millions are one medical emergency or layoff away from financial crisis. Moreover, poor savings rates mean that there is less money for domestic investment and to finance our government's debt.

As more and more Californians are expected to save for their own futures, millions of individuals get conflicting messages from government: Save, and don’t save. Over the last decade there has been an emerging consensus among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners about the importance of helping people save and build wealth by removing the barriers to save so that they can put themselves on a path to financial independence.

On Thursday, February 14th, Dory Rand, Senior Counsel to the National Shriver Center on Poverty Law will present on the importance of helping people save and build wealth by removing the barriers to save so that they can put themselves on a path to financial independence.

This event is co-hosted by the New America Foundation, the Assets Policy Initiative of California, and the California Research Bureau, in association with Assemblymember Ted Lieu (D-Torrance).

California's California

Communications — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
01/31/2008 - 12:00pm

Carol Whiteside, President of The Great Valley Center, presented on the challenges that families in California face in building savings and assets for education, retirement, homeownership, entrepreneurship, and security against economic crisis. While this is an issue throughout California, it is particularly so in the San Joaquin Valley. Capitol staff were briefed on the Valley's economy as it relates to family incomes and asset accumulation and how those factors relate to Valley residents' ability to pay for college education and/or job training, start small businesses, and sustain a decent standard of living in retirement.

This event was co-hosted by the New America Foundation, the Asset Policy Initiative of California, and the California Research Bureau, in association with Assemblymembers Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Ted Gaines (R-Roseville).

In Care of Nigeria's Poor

Communications — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
02/01/2008 - 10:00am

Last year, Nigeria's newly-elected president set forth a seven-step agenda to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals and turn Nigeria into a top-20 industrialized nation by 2020. But this will be no easy task. Nigeria's wealth inequality is among the worst in Africa - a situation illustrated by the contrast between the nation's substantial oil wealth and a poverty rate of around 50%. Nigeria's National Poverty Eradication Program (NAPEP) responded to this challenge in December 2007 by launching an ambitious conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, In Care of the Poor (COPE).

In February, the New America Foundation/Global Assets Project and Displaced Children and Orphan's Fund's STRIVE program led by the Academy for Educational Development hosted development economist, Dr. Magnus Kpakol, for his first public U.S. presentation and discussion of the COPE program.

Kpakol first introduced COPE, a program takes an innovative twist on conventional and increasingly popular CCT programs in place around the world. The program not only provides cash transfers, but also skills training and micro-enterprise start-up funds to households in exchange for enrolling and keeping their children in school and providing for their basic health care needs. Dr. Kpakol outlined how the central government set up the program. This included the government picking 12 states to participate in the "pilot" phase of the program, and the government expecting these states to contribute matching funding for the program.

Following Kpakol's presentation, international development experts commented on the use and effectiveness of Conditional Cash Transfers for poverty eradication, wealth accumulation, and social protection around the world. Allyn Moushey, an advisor for the Poverty Analysis and Social Safety Nets program at USAID said she believed Nigeria's COPE is the first CCT program of such a scale in Africa. Alan de Brauw, Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Reserach Institute (IFPRI) stressed that transparency, such as in regards to which children are chosen to participate in COPE, is important. Kpakol agreed with this point.

Questions for future consideration about Nigeria's COPE, and CCTs more generally, include: Even with its community-driven and microfinance elements, what potential does the program have to enhance livelihoods and empower Nigeria's future generations? What hurdles must it overcome in order to succeed? What U.S. partnerships and resources could be mobilized to support the development of the program? Coupled with other poverty eradication initiatives, does COPE hold the promise to meet the President's goals of increasingly access to education, health and food security and providing jobs and micro-credit to the poorest of the poor? And what lessons does Nigeria's approach offer other countries in their fight against poverty?

-Jeff Meyer is a program associate for the Global Assets Project in the Asset Building Program.

California Event: The Mortgage Crisis in California

Communications — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
11/19/2007 - 12:00pm

The New America Foundation and the Asset Policy Initiative of California, in association with Assemblymembers Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Ted Gaines (R-Roseville), cordially invite you to join us Monday, November 19th, for the third in a series of policy forum discussions in Sacramento designed to inform policymakers, legislative staffers, and advocates about asset-building research, data, and policies.

Our featured speaker, Paul Leonard, will discuss the current subprime mortgage crisis — its causes, the continuing effect it will have on homeownership, wealth, and the California economy, and possible solutions. Paul directs the California operations of the Center for Responsible Lending. The Center is a non-profit, non-partisan research and policy organization dedicated to protecting homeownership and family wealth by working to eliminate abusive financial practices. CRL is affiliated with Self-Help, one of the nation's largest community development financial institutions.

California Event: Assets and Opportunity

Communications — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 01:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
10/09/2007 - 12:00pm

The New America Foundation and the Asset Policy Initiative of California, in association with Assemblymembers Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Ted Gaines (R-Roseville), recently launched the Bipartisan Asset Policy Forum, including a luncheon speaker series designed to educate policymakers, legislative staff and advocates on asset-building issues affecting Californians.

The next installment of this luncheon series will feature Jennifer Brooks, Policy Director at the Corporation For Enterprise Development (CFED). Ms. Brooks will discuss the state of asset building policy in California and its impact on the financial well-being of families across the state. Ms. Brooks will use the recently published 2007-2008 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard Report - which provides a comprehensive look at wealth, poverty and financial security of families in the United States - to describe the state of asset ownership and policy in California in a broader, comparative context.

KIDS Accounts

Communications — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 09:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
10/03/2007 - 2:00pm

An unlikely group of legislators, spanning the full political spectrum, is proposing a fresh, long-term response to the challenges of saving, financial education, and retirement security: KIDS Accounts.

By providing every newborn child a savings account at birth, with matching deposits for lower-income children, KIDS Accounts will create a national culture of savings and investing, promote financial education, and encourage life-long asset accumulation-especially higher education, homeownership, and a nest-egg for retirement.

There could not be a better time to re-build a culture of savings in America, beginning with every child in America. Not since the Great Depression have Americans saved so little, and not since the Great Depression have so many Americans risked losing their homes to foreclosure.

Joining the Senate and House champions of the ASPIRE Act, will be New York Times columnist David Brooks, a sample of the bill’s leading supporters, and a teenager from Delaware now saving for his future.

Beyond the Mortgage Meltdown

Communications — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 05:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/20/2007 - 12:00pm

The current -- and predicted future -- turmoil in the mortgage market highlights an important challenge to the American dream of homeownership: how to make certain that those who enter into homeownership are able to sustain that status, protecting family stability and building equity in a critical asset. Thirty years ago, those who owned homes had fixed rate mortgages and substantial equity, and foreclosure was a rare event. However, many Americans were denied the opportunity to become homeowners because of inefficient mortgage markets, underwriting based more on “rules of thumb” than analysis of the likelihood of loan repayment, and, frequently, discrimination.

By the end of the 1990s, positive changes in all three dimensions helped raise America’s homeownership rate, especially for lower-income and minority families. But in part because of excesses that have encouraged and enabled many to support homeownership based solely on debt, without building assets or equity, we are now at serious risk of losing many of those gains.

Both Congress and bank regulators are considering how to help those currently in trouble and to bring the mortgage industry back into better alignment with sound practices. Can potential homeowners and those who work with them use more direct saving, education and other strategies to return to sustainable homeownership while retaining, and in fact enhancing, broadened ownership opportunities? At this event, the panel of experts listed below offered both novel solutions and improvements to proven programs to boost savings and encourage asset-building through sustainable homeownership.

Video of this event is available at right, while an MP3 audio recording can be downloaded below.

The Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus is Co-Chaired by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Rep. Phil English (R-PA), Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) and Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND).

California Event: Asset Policy 101

Communications — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 02:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
08/29/2007 - 12:00pm

In association with Assemblymembers Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Ted Gaines (R-Roseville), New America in California hosted this dynamic policy discussion on how public policy can encourage saving and wealth building for all Californians.

Heather McCulloch, a leader on asset-building policy issues, provided an overview on the history and evolution of policy ideas, in the United States and aboard, for expanding saving by families and individuals. Ms. McCulloch is the founder of Asset Building Strategies, a nationally recognized consulting group that provides invaluable insights in building state and local support for such policies. An MP3 audio recording of the event is available below.

The Asset Policy Initiative of California (APIC) is a statewide network of stakeholders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors who are committed to increasing asset building opportunities for California’s working families. www.assetpolicy.org

To Save, or Not to Save?

Communications — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 05:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
07/26/2007 - 12:00pm

This event is co-hosted by AARP, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, CFED, National Disability Institute, The Retirement Security Project, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, and World Institute on Disabilities.

As more and more Americans are expected to save for their own futures, millions of low-income individuals get conflicting messages from their government: Save, and don't save. Over the last decade a consensus has been emerging among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners about the importance of helping low-income persons save and build wealth. Fortunately, many state and federal programs have emerged to do just that. Yet, with limited exceptions, rules for the nation's public assistance programs aimed at this same group of people - Food Stamps, Medicaid, and TANF, for example - send the exact opposite message: Don't save.

In recent years a number of states - including California, Colorado, Illinois, Ohio and Virginia - have exercised their limited authority to reform asset rules for means-tested programs. At the same time, there has been little action at the federal level - until now. Representative Conyers (D-MI) has proposed legislation that would reform asset limits across several major income-support programs including TANF, SSI and food stamps. Senators Chambliss (R-GA) and Harkin (D-IA) have introduced legislation to liberalize the limit as part of the Farm Bill reauthorization. In his budget proposal earlier this year, President Bush signaled support for asset limit reform in the food stamp program by proposing to exclude retirement savings accounts.

With increasing awareness of the need for asset limit reform - and a real vehicle for improvement in the Farm Bill- the time is right to address the mixed message our government is sending to low-income Americans. Removing the penalty to save will enable more individuals to put themselves on a path to financial independence.

The Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus is Co-Chaired by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Rep. Phil English (R-PA), Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) and Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND).

Lever or Crowbar?

Communications — Wed, 23 May 2007 12:15:00 -0400

A New America Event
05/23/2007 - 12:15pm

Increasing troubles in the sub-prime mortgage market, growing concerns about student debt loads, and two new movies and an awareness campaign highlighting the burden of credit card debt are focusing attention on the fact that debt is causing major disruptions in the lives of many families. And yet, it’s the rare family that can build assets—buy a home, start and grow a business, go to college, buy the car that is essential for getting to work—without credit. Why does debt seem to be a bigger problem today than in the past? Was the democratization of credit a mistake? What public policies and private actions are needed to rebalance the scales toward debt that truly helps build assets?

At this New America event, Tamara Draut, Director of the Economic Opportunity Program at Demos; William Apgar, Senior Scholar at the Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University; and Ellen Seidman, Director of the Financial Services and Education Project at the New America Foundation, participated a lively discussion of these issues. Julie Kosterlitz of National Journal magazine moderated.

Video is available at right, while an MP3 audio recording can be downloaded below.

Low-Cost Ideas to Promote New Savings and Asset Ownership

Communications — Tue, 01 May 2007 17:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
05/01/2007 - 9:00am

Whether the objective is to promote retirement security, improve educational attainment, provide a financial cushion for life transitions, or increase national savings, the need to increase household savings is vitally clear. As is well known, the personal savings rate in the United States has been falling for nearly two decades and became negative two years ago, a level not seen since the Great Depression.

In an environment of large budget deficits and bulging entitlement obligations, little revenue can be sacrificed to stimulate savings-more creative ways must be found.

Fortunately, a number of inexpensive policy ideas exist that can make a significant difference in how much new savings millions of families can generate. Our expert panel will share innovative, low-cost ideas to generate new savings and build assets for all Americans. Please join us in this very timely discussion.

To read the report, Reforming 529 College Savings Plans to Better Reach Low-Income Families, please click here.

To read The Assets Report 2007, please click here.

To read The Assets Agenda 2007, please click here.

The Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus is Co-Chaired by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Rep. Phil English (R-PA), Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) and Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND).

Learning From Korea: Innovative Social Investment Strategies for Future Generations

Communications — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 01:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
03/26/2007 - 3:00pm

Social investment policies – policies that pursue both economic and social development – are increasingly shaping strategies for growth in both developed and developing nations. In January 2007, the Republic of Korea implemented a series of innovative policies, with a particular emphasis on investments in children. Informed by similar policies in the UK, the US and Canada, the Korean Minister of Health and Welfare, His Excellency Simin Rhyu, has now established a Child Development Accounts (CDAs) policy. These CDAs aim to build assets, foster financial education, and expand economic opportunity for the Republic of Korea’s future generations, beginning with those now most disadvantaged.

Rhyu has been deeply involved in progressive social policies and Korean politics far before his appointment as Minister of Health and Welfare. As a university student in 1980, Minister Rhyu was Chairman of the National Congress at the General Student Council of Seoul National University, one of the leading student organizations against the military coup d'etat. Due to his leadership role, he was imprisoned twice. While in prison, he helped spark the citizen movement against the dictatorship. Highlights from his dynamic career since his student leadership include serving as Chairman of the Republic's majority party, as the Director of the Office for Policy Planning at the Korea Research Foundation, and as a member of the National Assembly, where he led reform on the national pension system. He is the author of two best-selling books, World History Upside Down and Cafe on Economics, both of which have sold more than one million copies.

Please join the New America Foundation for a special guest forum with Minister Rhyu to discuss Korea’s new and timely social investment strategy – particularly Child Development Accounts and Hope Start -- and how they can inform policies in the US and around the world.

The forum is an event of the Global Assets Project, a joint venture of the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis and the Asset Building Program of the New America Foundation.

Ten Big Ideas for a New America

Communications — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 02:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
01/31/2007 - 11:00am

The recent turnover in Congress, combined with a wide open presidential election cycle, creates a rare opportunity to bring new ideas into the political process. The spirit of this new era will be captured by those -- from either party or no party -- who embrace innovative yet pragmatic solutions to the foremost challenges facing our nation.

At this event, the New America Foundation released a major new report outlining Ten Big Ideas for a New America, and offered brief presentations on nine of the 10 ideas. (Senior Fellow Jacob Hacker, author of the Universal Risk Insurance proposal, was testifying on Capitol Hill and was unable to attend.)

In addition, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) offered kenote addresses that explored their respective takes on the need for big ideas in American politics.

Video of the complete event is available at right, while MP3 audio recordings can be dowloaded at the bottom of this page. To jump directly to video of a particular keynote address or Big Idea presentation, please use the links below.

Every Baby a Trust Fund Baby

Closing the $700 Billion Tax Loophole

Instant Runoff Voting

Mandatory, Affordable Health Insurance

Tax Consumption, Not Work

A College Access Contract

A Capital Budget for Public Investment

A Universal 401(k) Plan

An Energy Efficiency Trading System