Leslie Parrish

To Save, or Not to Save?

Communications — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 21:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
11/15/2006 - 12:00pm

As Americans need to, and are expected to, save more for their futures, millions of low-income Americans are hearing two conflicting messages from their government: Save, and don’t save. Over the last decade a consensus has been emerging among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners around the importance of enabling low-income persons to save and build wealth, and state and federal programs have emerged to do just that. Yet, with limited exceptions, the rules of our nation’s public assistance programs aimed at… more

State Policy Options for Building Assets

Asset Building — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 15:49:00 -0400

States continue to play an important role in helping low- and moderate-resource families save and build wealth. They have been innovators in assets policy, whether on their own or through the forces of "devolution," in which federal funds and decision-making authority are shifting from the federal to the state level. These initiatives and experiments -- these "laboratories of democracy" -- have inspired and informed other states as well as policymakers at the national level.

The following ideas to broaden savings and asset ownership include a range of simple proposals that may have a significant impact with little associated cost; some medium cost ideas; and others that, with a somewhat larger investment, would potentially alter the longer-term outlooks and prospects of millions of struggling Americans.

For the complete document, please see the attached PDF version.

Policy Options to Improve Financial Education

Asset Building — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 13:01:24 -0400

Sorting through credit card offers, deciding how to invest retirement funds in the stock market, picking the right mortgage from a myriad of options, deciding how to save for a child's college tuition—the scope and diversity of the financial decisions a family has to make has grown exponentially. Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan observed, "Today's financial world is highly complex when compared with that of a generation ago. Forty years ago, a simple understanding of how to maintain a checking and savings account at local banks and savings institutions may have been sufficient. Now, consumers must be able to differentiate between a wide range of financial products and services, and providers of those products and services." (Greenspan, 2003).

The lack of sufficient information needed to make good financial decisions is a problem for many families up and down the income scale. But the consequences are particularly acute for families with lower incomes and fewer resources. Financial education needs to be taught to both children and adults to help fill this knowledge and skills gap.

For the complete document, please see the attached PDF version.

Making Financial Education Real for Kids

Communications — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 14:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
06/21/2006 - 12:00pm

Regardless of income or race, kids are growing up without knowing the basics that will keep them out of financial trouble. In a time when the personal savings rate is negative, credit card debt is growing and kids are more likely to see their parents go through a bankruptcy than divorce, financial education is more important that ever.

Many groups from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors have responded to this need by mandating financial education in schools, developing… more

The Assets Agenda 2006

Asset Building — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 03:00:00 -0400

The purpose of this issue brief is to summarize a federal public policy agenda to broaden savings and asset ownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income Americans. It reflects our latest and best thinking, and draws heavily on the work of many experts focusing on various facets of savings and asset-building policy. The menu includes calls for new structures and policies, as well as changes to existing tax systems, government programs and financial products.

We continue to share President Bush’s vision for an “ownership society,” although public policies to achieve that must be directed at the bottom half of the population, most of whom save and own little. The current state of
ownership in America, based on recently released data from the Federal Reserve, is presented and discussed
below.

For the complete document, please see the attached PDF version.

Leslie Parrish

Operations — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 16:49:00 -0400

Former Senior Policy Analyst, Asset Building Program

Leslie Parrish was a senior policy analyst in the Asset Building Program at the New America Foundation until late 2006, when she left for a position with the Center for Responsible Lending. Her New America articles and papers can be accessed below.

Prior to joining New America,… more

Reforming 529 College Savings Plans to Better Reach Low-Income Families

Asset Building — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 04:00:00 -0500

Qualified Tuition Plans, commonly called “529 plans” after the applicable section of the federal tax code, were implemented in their present form in 2001. These state-sponsored plans can help families save for their children’s college education, or an adult can open an account to use for their own post-secondary expenses. Under current law, earnings and qualified withdrawals are exempt from federal income tax liability. Because these tax incentives are scheduled to expire after 2010, Congress intends to act to make these provisions permanent.

The Assets Report 2006

Asset Building — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 20:00:00 -0500

The second year of the Bush Administration’s second term is underway and the prospect of a large breakthrough for asset building policy appears remote at this time. The President’s second Inaugural Address, which highlighted the transformative potential of “ownership” and an “ownership society,” has given way to the political realities of budget deficits, international commitments, and uncertain electoral prospects.

In this difficult political environment, a “dual track” strategy should be pursued: continuing to lay the foundation for larger, more ambitious asset-building policies while aggressively pursuing lower-cost policies that are poised to boost savings and asset accumulation by the poor in the near term -- especially ensuring that the IRS’s “split refunds” proposal becomes a reality in 2007, as promised. The other potentially low- to modest-cost idea that could advance this year is promoting financial education for children and youth by creating a KIDS Accounts at birth for all newborns. Congressional attention is likely to focus on financial education following the Administration’s release of a “national strategy” paper in April. The purpose of this annual report is to summarize and take stock of the current state of federal policy through an asset-building lens, especially as it affects the asset base of the poor. Accordingly, this report is divided into three sections. The first is a review of policy developments of the past year related to asset building; the second is an examination of the President’s budget proposals for Fiscal Year 2007 from an assets perspective; and the third is a forecast of the assets policy issues that may be considered in Congress during 2006.

For the complete document, please see the attached PDF version.

TANF and Asset Building

Asset Building — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 04:00:00 -0500

The 1996 welfare reform law which created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program gave states far more flexibility in determining the best ways to move their neediest families from dependence on cash assistance towards economic self-sufficiency. Policymakers have issued a series of short-term extensions to TANF in recent years while attempting to build a consensus on how it should be reauthorized. Therefore, an opportunity exists to build upon existing -- and incorporate new -- asset building strategies into the eventual reauthorization of TANF. In addition, state governments have broad discretion in administering their TANF programs and can take the lead in helping their constituents save and build assets.

This brief lays out four policy options for increasing economic self-sufficiency among TANF recipients that encourage savings and asset building. For the complete document, please see the attached PDF version.

For the complete document, please see the attached PDF version.

A Post-Hurricane Policy Response to Poverty in America

Asset Building — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 03:00:00 -0400

The recent hurricanes wrought havoc on families and communities across the Gulf Coast and poignantly revealed how the debilitating effects of poverty persist across the country. The President has wisely proposed asset-based ideas as the core of his policy response—a urban homesteading act to encourage the ownership of land and homes, a Gulf opportunity zone to foster business ownership, and worker recovery savings accounts for job training and education. While insufficient in their scope, these proposals identify a promising path for federal policy efforts.

After the federal government responds to the immediate needs of those affected, a primary goal of rebuilding should be to assist evacuees build up long-term savings and assets as a means of reconstructing their financial lives. But the President should not lose this moment to provide a coherent and far-reaching strategy to address poverty. Poverty, such as that which was on display in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina, remains a national affliction, and it has been on the rise since 2000. Even by the Census Bureau’s outdated measures, 37 million Americans—including one in four blacks and one in three black children—are now living in poverty. And since initial surveys indicate that more than half of the evacuees do not plan to return to the Gulf region, how can we discriminate between the evacuees and the poor in their midst? In responding to Katrina, the federal government should assume the responsibility of severing the disquieting ties between race, poverty, and ownership. As recent events have shown, families without a stock of assets to draw upon in times of need are vulnerable to unexpected events. Their lack of a personal safety net makes them completely dependent on others. Policies that enable families to save and build up resources offer a means to move up and out of poverty. These policies will be most effective if they are delivered through a platform that is flexible and portable, one that works for evacuees regardless of where they re-settle as well as for others from the general population.

This brief offers a blueprint for a post-Katrina policy response to poverty in America. The proposals highlighted here are designed to address poverty by promoting the development of long-term savings and assets. Several proposals can be targeted to those directly affected by the Gulf Coast Hurricanes, while others can be implemented more broadly as a down payment on a renewed national commitment to strengthen anti-poverty efforts.

For the complete document, please see the attached PDF version.