American Stakeholder Accounts

To greatly expand opportunity, to broaden asset ownership, and to fortify the American economy for the long-haul, an American Stakeholder Account (ASA) should be established for every child born in America and made available to all other persons age 18 and under. Over time, this “Homestead Act of the 21st Century” will evolve into a universal system through which all Americans can meet their asset needs throughout life— securing post-secondary education and life-long learning, purchasing a first home, making investments, starting a small business, and building up a nest-egg for retirement. For low-income Americans, ASAs will provide a means to develop savings and assets—an opportunity not offered, and in fact denied, by existing public policy. In the long run, building wealth through ASAs and other means will eventually break the vicious cycle in which inequality of outcomes in one generation becomes inequality of opportunity in the next.

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