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Americans Struggle to Rebuild Wealth, Savings

  • By
  • Justin King
June 3, 2013

Americans have rebuilt only 45 percent of the wealth they lost in the Great Recession, according to the Washington Post and a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

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Asset Building News Week, May 27-31

  • By
  • Elliot Schreur
May 31, 2013
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The Asset Building News Week is a weekly Friday feature on The Ladder, the Asset Building Program blog, designed to help readers keep up with news and developments in the asset building field. This week's topics include the economy, inequality, government assistance, and financial services.

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An Assets Agenda for the States

  • By Karen Harris, Illinois Asset Building Group
May 31, 2013

"An Assets Agenda for the States" examines current state asset building efforts with an eye toward examining those policies and priorities that are emerging as trends in this challenging economic environment. This appendix serves as a resource accompanying the paper, which can be viewed here.

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Guest Post: Health is Wealth: The Affordable Care Act As a Groundbreaking Asset Building Tool

May 30, 2013
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Editor's note: this blog post was authored by Ambika Panday, Assistant Director of Policy & Advocacy at The Financial Clinic, and is adapted from an article that appeared originally in the Clearinghouse Review Journal of Poverty Law and Policy, March-April 2013 (pp. 492-508).

Chronic illness, poor health, and inadequate health insurance are three major obstacles keeping low and moderate-income families from building their financial security.  While it is unclear whether poor health begets financial insecurity or vice versa, the correlation between the lack of health insurance (and poor health) and poverty is unmistakable.

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Google+ Hangout Tomorrow with Heritage and D2D Fund on Innovative Ways to Promote Savings

May 30, 2013

Editor's note: The Heritage Foundation is hosting a Google+ Hangout tomorrow (5/31) at noon Eastern Time to discuss ways to promote savings in America. Justin King from the Asset Building Program will participate, along with Stuart Butler of Heritage and Joanna Smith-Ramani of the Doorways to Dreams Fund. The post below was authored by Rob Bluey of Heritage who will host the Hangout and provides details on how to participate tomorrow.

I learned the importance of saving money early in life. After birthdays or holidays, my father would take my brother and me to the local savings bank to deposit money into our accounts. We even had a small booklet to track the interest we earned between visits. I consider it to be one of the most important lessons from my parents.

Technology and innovation have made saving money a whole lot easier today, yet the savings rate in the United States is on the decline. In fact, roughly one-third of households having no savings at all.

How do we restore the spirit of saving? It’s the subject of a new report from Heritage’s Center for Policy Innovation, “Boosting Economic Mobility Through Prize-Linked Savings.” The paper explores how to increase the savings rate in America using approaches such as “prize-linked savings,” which draws on the appeal of a lottery-style prize system to save money.

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Guest Post: Bill that Encourages Savings for TANF Recipients is Sent to the Governor’s Desk

May 29, 2013

Editor's note: This blog post was authored by Courtney Eccles, Policy Director at the Woodstock Institute, and originally appeared on Woodstock's blog. Read more about the issue of asset limits on our blog here.

A bill that removes the asset limit for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients in Illinois, making it easier for them to build savings, has passed both chambers of the General Assembly and is on its way to the Governor’s desk. HB2262, sponsored by Rep. Robyn Gabel and Sen. Mattie Hunter, passed the Illinois House last month and passed the Illinois Senate on May 21 with bi-partisan support. Woodstock Institute and colleague organizations advocated in favor of the bill.

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Guest Blog Post: States Fail to Make the Grade When Providing Economic Security

May 28, 2013
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Editor's Note: This blog post is written by Matt Unrath, Director of National Projects at Wider Opportunities for Women. Matt oversees WOW’s national projects—The Family Economic Security Project, the Basic Economic Security Tables™ Initiative (BEST), the Women and Work project and the Economic Security for Survivors project. He serves as the principal contact for WOW’s state and local partners across the country and represents WOW in national advocacy efforts.

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Asset Building News Week, May 20-24

  • By
  • Hannah Emple
May 24, 2013
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The Asset Building News Week is a weekly Friday feature on The Ladder, the Asset Building Program blog, designed to help readers keep up with news and developments in the asset building field. This week's topics include public benefits, poverty, housing, and unemployment.

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CalWORKs’ Car Ban Keeps Families Poor

  • By
  • Aleta Sprague
May 24, 2013
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Editor's note: this post appears as an op-ed in today's edition of the San Francisco Chronicle. It is authored by Judy Darnell, Director of Public Policy at United Ways of California, and Aleta Sprague, Policy Analyst at New America Foundation.

After Melissa’s parents kicked her out at age 15, she survived on her own for years. She eventually married and had children, but her husband was abusive. Melissa left him after he broke her 2-year-old’s leg. She needed help to pick herself up. So what stopped her from getting it? Her 8-year-old van.

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CalWORKs' Car Ban Keeps Families Poor

  • By
  • Aleta Sprague,
  • New America Foundation
  • and Judy Darnell, United Ways of California
May 24, 2013 |
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