Leslie Parrish

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

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… more

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… more

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 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… more

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

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… more

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… more

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… more

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… more