ASPIRE Act/KIDS Accounts: Latest Articles

Baby Bonds Pay Bipartisan Dividends

Articles — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:33:00 -0400

At a recent campaign stop with the Congressional Black Caucus, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said, “I like the idea of giving every baby born in America a $5,000 account.”

That was enough to generate a few headlines and some right-wing outrage. The Drudge Report was quick to tweak one of its favorite targets and drive some Internet traffic with a bold banner, “A Bond for Every Bassinet.”

The conservative Washington Times and New York Post blasted the idea within 24 hours, and Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani called it “pandering” and promptly incorporated it into his next fundraising appeal.

But… more

Kids' Accounts Warrant Debate

Articles — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 22:38:00 -0400

Governor Schwarzenegger was cheered when he recently talked about post-partisanship in Washington, D.C. But the post-partisan waters don’t run deep back home in California. Two state senators who just crossed the aisle to forward a creative solution to a pressing problem are getting more grief than glory.

Senator Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and Robert Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, held a press conference on February 28 to introduce their bill to create a California Kids Account for every newborn. The goal is to encourage parents to start saving early for their children’s future and, in the process, build the whole family’s financial know-how.… more

Going for Broke

Articles — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 04:55:00 -0500

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast with such ferocity in late August 2005, Americans were shocked by the broadcast images of desperately poor people left to fend for themselves. The depth and consequences of poverty in America, normally hidden from public view, had once again become the subject of debate and national soul-searching. And yet, a year and a half later, the subject of poverty has fallen so far off the public’s radar screen that President Bush did not give it a mention in his recent State of the Union Address. How can our prosperous… more

Invest $500 in Every NY Newborn

Articles — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 00:08:00 -0400

To his credit, Mayor Bloomberg challenged his anti-poverty commission to think boldly. Well, how’s this: Every poor New Yorker should have the opportunity to build wealth.

Imagine your life without any assets -- without a bank account, investments, savings, a home, an education, a nest egg for retirement or any money to pass on to future generations. Feels pretty insecure, doesn’t it? Turns out that such "asset poverty" is higher in New York than in any other state in the nation.

Now imagine the lives of 1.7 million poor New Yorkers if they suddenly had the opportunity to build real… more

Investing Now in the Future of Our Children

Articles — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Many Oregonians face a personal savings crisis that society cannot afford to ignore. For example, nearly half of households headed by adults 55 or older in our state lack such retirement assets as pensions and annuities. Furthermore, among low-income households in Oregon headed by an adult older than 55, nearly three out of five households (60 percent) are without retirement assets.

One new idea to address this savings crisis in Oregon that should be given serious consideration by Oregon's congressional delegation is called the ASPIRE Act. Under this bipartisan bill, every child issued a Social Security number in America in… more

Start Government-Funded Savings Accounts for Kids

Articles — Sat, 05 Nov 2005 04:00:00 -0500

Hurricane Katrina graphically showed how many Americans live in abject poverty, one natural disaster away from losing the few assets they have.

But many Iowans have equally few assets to weather a similar financial setback, whether the cause is a natural disaster like Katrina or an economic one, such as losing a job. More than half of households in our state headed by adults 55 and older lack retirement assets, such as pensions and annuities. Among low-income households in Iowa headed by an adult over 55, nearly two out of three households have no retirement assets.

One new idea to address… more

Share the Ownership

Articles — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Perhaps a good way to begin debate on President Bush's bold and commendable ideas for an "ownership society" would be to ask, "Who owns America?" After all, if ownership policies further concentrate the ownership of assets for those who already own a lot, while doing little for those who own nothing, what's the point?

According to the Federal Reserve, the bottom 40 percent of the nation owns less than 1 percent of the nation's wealth, while the bottom 60 percent owns less than 5 percent. The top 20 percent of our population commands 83 percent of the wealth. If… more

Fighting Poverty: Aspiring For Ownership

Articles — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 08:00:00 -0500

The onset of a debate over Social Security's future offers Democrats a chance to articulate what they're for -- not just what they're against. President Bush has provided them an opening. He's laid out a rhetorical message that works -- the Ownership Society -- but has failed to provide the means to make it happen. The reason it works is that it evokes the most promising path to security: being able to save, invest and build up a reserve of assets. Yet the challenge of any meaningful Ownership Society policy agenda is to ensure that as many people as possible… more

For Every Child, a Stake in America

Articles — Wed, 23 Jul 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain came to Washington last week to bolster President Bush against his critics on Iraq. Let's hope the two leaders found a moment to discuss domestic policy as well -- particularly Mr. Blair's effort to give every child a stake in Britain's economic future.

Each British baby born after last Sept. 1 will receive a trust fund worth at least $400, and up to $800 for the poorest one-third of children. The government will make smaller supplementary payments when the child turns 5, 11 and 16 years old -- and relatives or friends can contribute limited… more

The $6,000 Solution

Articles — Sat, 01 Feb 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Throughout our history, periods of unbounded market exuberance, like the one we recently experienced, have been followed by periods of far-reaching social and economic reform. The Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century gave way to the Populist and Progressive reforms of the early twentieth century, the Roaring Twenties to the New Deal, and the Eisenhower-Kennedy Nifty-Fifty bull market to the Great Society and the War on Poverty. From this cycle of great wealth creation (and abuse) followed by great reform has emerged a social contract that has smoothed out the rougher edges of American capitalism while making us a… more