Savings, Responsibility, and Opportunity in America
When President Clinton signed the welfare reform bill in 1996, he changed the
moral debate over poverty by linking benefits to work. However, an opportunity
was missed to create a new type of safety net that recognized not just the
importance of income but having access to a stock of savings and assets as well.
While much attention has been focused on income volatility, severe fluctuations
in wealth and low asset holdings undermine the potential for economic mobility.
In his new paper, "Savings, Responsibility and Opportunity in America,"
NYU Sociologist Dalton Conley explores how our understanding of poverty, class,
and mobility would be enhanced by expanding our focus from an individual's
position in the labor market to include their ability to save and accumulate
assets over the life course.
Dr. Conley discussed this new framework at an event at the New America Foundation on Friday, June 19th. To watch video of the event, please click here.
PODCAST: A New Approach to Global Poverty Reduction-- Savings-Linked CCTs
Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs and policies have proliferated in the past decade, proving effective in achieving certain poverty alleviation goals, such as better health and education and improved consumption. But what about the potential of CCTs to enhance poverty reduction through economic inclusion and wealth accumulation?
On April 29, the Global Assets Project convened a group of experts to discuss the promise CCTs hold in promoting saving at the launch of its policy brief, Savings-Linked Conditional Cash Transfers.
Join Jamie Zimmerman as she reveals lessons from the paper and highlights from the event, including remarks made by co-author Yves Moury (Proyecto Capital), and commentators Michelle Adato (IFPRI), Mark Pickens (CGAP), Marguerite S. Robinson, and Luis Tejerina (IADB). Click here for podcast.About Us
Getting ahead in today’s economy depends not just on one’s job and income, but increasingly on one’s ability to accumulate and utilize assets -- to buy a home, pay for higher education, start a business or save for retirement. Yet more than half of all Americans currently have few or no assets for investment. The Asset Building Program advances innovative policies -- such as a “Homestead Act” for the 21st century that would provide every American child financial assets from birth -- to significantly expand economic opportunity, thereby giving all Americans a personal stake in the overall success of our economy.
More information about the program is available here.
Press
More:
All Press | All Related Content | Program RSS Feed
Staff
- Ray Boshara
Vice President and Director, Asset Building Program - Olivia Calderon
California Legislative Director - Reid Cramer
Research Director - Hosai Ehsan
Policy Analyst, California Program - Mark Huelsman
Program Associate - Justin King
Federal Policy Liaison - Melissa Koide
Deputy Director - Phillip Longman
Schwartz Senior Fellow - Alejandra Lopez-Fernandini
Senior Policy Analyst - Karen Murrell
Senior Research Fellow - David Newville
Policy Analyst - Rourke O'Brien
Research Fellow - Mark Paul
Senior Scholar - Ellen Seidman
Director, Financial Services Policy - Leila Seradj
Program Associate, Global Assets Project - Fred Ssewamala
Senior Research Fellow, Global Assets Project
- Anne Stuhldreher
Fellow, California Program
- Jamie Zimmerman
Deputy Director, Global Assets Project
Click on any name above for additional information.
Presentations
- Summary of the Administration’s Proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency
- Melissa Koide; 6/2009; Washington, D.C.
- Karen Murrell; 11/26/2008; Beijing, China
- Building Financial Stability: Policies to Help Lower Income Households Access Reasonably Priced Financial Services
- Melissa Koide; 11/17/2008; Indianapolis, IN
- No, CRA Didn't Cause the Current Financial Crisis!
- Ellen Seidman; 11/5/2008; Washington, DC
- Asset Building Strategies for Domestic Violence Survivors
- Alejandra Lopez-Fernandini; 11/4/2008; Washington, DC
- Financial Education in the Workplace
- Lewis Mandell; 9/26/2008; Webinar
- Federal Policies to Encourage Savings and Accounts at Tax Time
- Melissa Koide; 9/13/2008; Washington, DC
- U.S. Savings Bonds: America's Best Kept Secret
- Melissa Koide; 9/12/2008; Washington, DC
- Asset Building and Low-Income Families
- Reid Cramer; 9/12/2008; Washington, DC
- Assets in the Workplace
- Ellen Seidman; 9/11/2008; Washington, DC
- Developing Sophisticated Financial Consumers
- Karen Murrell; 9/10/2008; Washington, DC
- Homeownership in a New Era
- Ellen Seidman; 6/4/08; Los Angeles, CA
- Savings and Asset Building: Global Lessons, Trends, Challenges and Opportunities
- Jamie Zimmerman; 8/27/2008; Hanoi, Vietnam
- Financial System Regulation: Testimony Before the Joint Economic Committee
- Ellen Seidman; 5/14/08; Washington, DC
- 529 College Savings Plans, Testimony Submitted for the Hearing on "Education Tax Incentives"
- Reid Cramer; 5/1/08; Washington, DC
- Financial Literacy: Need, Strategies, Opportunity
- Ellen Seidman; 4/17/08; California Assets Forum, Sacramento, CA
- Policy Approaches for Saving and Asset Building by Low-Income Americans
- Ray Boshara; 03/19/08; FDIC, Washington DC
- Optimal Capital Structure: The Role of Savings in MFIs
- Ellen Seidman; 2/21/08; Women's World Banking, Westchester, NY
- Next Generation CRA: A 21st Century Responsibility and Accountability Agenda for Consumer Financial Services
- Ellen Seidman; 10/24/07; Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, Washington, DC
- Asset Building: Catholic Social Thought and a New Strategy for Helping the Poor
- Ray Boshara; 02/15/07; Catholic University, Washington DC
- Savings and Asset Development for the Poor in Developing Countries
- Ray Boshara; 01/23/07; The World Bank, Washington DC
- Children's Savings Accounts; Forum on Building Wealth for the Next Generation
- Ray Boshara; 10/11/06; Puerto Rico
- The U.S. Experience with Asset-Building Policies and Programs
- Ray Boshara; 06/19/06; HRSD Roundtable, Ottawa, Canada
- Asset Building: The Path to Financial Independence for Women
- Ray Boshara; 10/26/05; Women’s Policy, Inc. & Congressional Women’s Caucus, Washington DC
- The Perils and Promise of An “Ownership Society”
- Ray Boshara; 06/22/05; Federal Reserve Bank; Cleveland, OH
- The “Ownership Society” and Social Policy in the 2nd Bush Administration
- Ray Boshara; 01/14/05; Tokyo America Center, Tokyo, Japan
- OECD Forum on Mexico: Policies to Promote Growth and Economic Development
- Ray Boshara; 11/03/04; Mexico City, Mexico
- IDAs and Asset Building: Some Lessons and Observations on the Future
- Ray Boshara; 06/22/04; Building the Financial Futures of Working Families, Chicago, IL
Creating a Save-and-Invest Economy at Tax Time
President Obama recently called for a new era in the American economy--an era where Americans save and invest, rather than borrow and spend. Now that the 2008 tax season is coming to a close--with over three-quarters of Americans receiving federal refunds averaging more than $2,700--how can families best save and invest these windfalls?
To help more low- and middle-income Americans save, the Obama Administration proposes expanding the Earned-Income Tax Credit (EITC), improving the Saver’s Credit, creating “Automatic IRAs,” and reforming asset limits in public assistance programs. How can we refine and advance these proposals, and what are some other new and promising ideas to consider to encourage even more savings and investment?
Jason Furman, Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council, discussed the Administration’s plan to help taxpayers save and invest at this critical time, and Rep. Earl Blumenauer offered his ideas as well. To view their comments, or see the work of the three pioneering organizations who presented their ideas and data on innovative efforts to promote savings and investment among working Americans--please click here.
Spotlight on Policy Innovations--The Saver's Bonus
Low-income families, like
any other household, need to save to gain economic mobility and
financial stability. Research has also shown that despite their low
incomes, poor families can and do save when presented with the right
incentives and methods to do so.
The Saver's Bonus directly addresses this
issue by using the federal tax system to provide a monetary incentive
for low-income families to save.
To learn more about The Saver's Bonus please visit our new page dedicated to the idea by clicking here.
Spotlight on Policy Innovations-- SAFE-T Accounts
Given the arrival of tax time in 2009, the Asset Building Program would like to shine a spotlight on one of our policy proposals that would have it's greatest impact at tax time. Savings and Financial Electronic Transaction (SAFE-T) Accounts is a policy proposal that would use new technology and innovation to help provide safe, affordable banking services to Americans who currently lack such access. The proposal would help low-income taxpayers save for the future, provide alternatives to high-cost financial products, and save the federal government money.
To learn more about SAFE-T Accounts, please visit our new page dedicated to the idea by clicking here.
