Too many Angelenos lack a basic financial tool – a bank account. Without one they pay more to cash their paychecks, pay their bills, and don't have a safe place to keep their money. And a bank account is the first step onto the ladder of affordable financial services people need throughout their lives. Without one, it’s harder to build credit and get well-priced car loans and mortgages – the exact financial tools needed to plan ahead and climb… more
Hosai Ehsan is a Policy Analyst with the Asset Building Program at the New America Foundation. Based in Sacramento, she leads and conducts policy research designed to help low- and moderate-income families build assets. She also writes issue briefs, working papers, op-eds, represents the program to media outlets… more
The tanking economy is putting local governments in a double bind.
As the ranks of the poor and jobless swell, authorities have dwindling
funds to help them. Incredibly, officials in San Francisco and other
cities can't even prioritize who to help because they don't know who
their poorest citizens are. The problem lies with an obsolete federal
measure of poverty that will only make hard times harder in San
Francisco until it's changed. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has spearheaded
just such a revolution in New York City, allowing… more
Please join us on January 13, 2009, for the sixth California Working Families Policy Summit, hosted by the California Center for Research on Women and Families for a stimulating day of discussion and debate about the needs and aspirations of California's working families.
On Wednesday, December 17th, the Bipartisan Asset Policy Forum hosted American Dream 2.0: Safe & Sound First-Time Homeownership Strategies for California Working Families, a dynamic lunchtime discussion on how public policy can encourage wealth-building in California to bring homeownership opportunities into reach for working families across our state.
Sacramento, CA -- The New America Foundation today commended California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and California mayors for the launch of "Bank on California," an initiative to help working Californians without bank accounts to open starter accounts and take their first step into the financial mainstream.
Volatile energy costs are a concern for every California family-particularly the millions of households for whom every extra dollar spent on energy comes at the expense of other necessities and the ability to save. For these families, securing affordable energy would result in savings that could be used for short- or long-term investments. In a cruel twist, the people most in need of relief from high energy costs are those least able to afford the longer-term investments that… more
The California labor market has experienced drastic transformation and further change is expected as the workforce ages, immigration continues, and the gap between the earnings of skilled workers and those lacking education widens.
Although the State of California currently offers its residents a 529
college savings plan through the ScholarShare program, the investment
vehicle lacks incentives that encourage low- and middle-income
individuals to participate in the program. Other U.S. states offer a
variety of attractive incentives, such as matching contributions and
state tax deductions. Californians are ready to adopt a stronger and
more incentive oriented 529 plan that will encourage families to build
savings for their children's college education. Postsecondary
Join
us at the next Asset Policy Forum, a
series designed to inform policymakers, legislative staffers, and advocates
about asset-building research, data, and policies.
The price for higher education continues to rise. As government and institutional aid fails to keep pace with increased costs, fewer families can expect to afford higher out-of-pocket education expenses. For families wary of taking… more
