After spending a few hours on the Hill this morning, we have both good news and bad news. The bad: No one in Congress appears to be working to avert the so-called "sequester." The good: key tax writing committees of both the House and Senate are hard at work evaluating proposals and developing plans to reform the tax code. Those reforms could make it easier for Americans to save money, and become more financially secure – if they’re done correctly. How do we help ensure that the reforms will help – not hurt – average Americans? CFED (an organization dedicated to promoting economic opportunity) hosted a forum today called "Can America Save Itself?" to highlight a range of promising (and often bipartisan) strategies to leverage the tax reform process to promote asset building, thereby making it easier for Americans to cope with emergencies, save up for a big purchase like a home, or live comfortably in retirement. As CFED President Andrea Levere noted, Americans of all income levels struggle to save and remain financially stable. Roughly 44 percent of all Americans are living in liquid asset poverty, meaning they do not have enough funds on hand to survive at the poverty level for three months in the absence of income. While concentrations of liquid asset poverty are higher at low-income levels, the challenge of living "paycheck to paycheck" is still present well up the income ladder.
