Ray Boshara

To his credit, Mayor Bloomberg challenged his anti-poverty commission to think boldly. Well, how’s this: Every poor New Yorker should have the opportunity to build wealth.

Imagine your life without any assets -- without a bank account, investments, savings, a home, an education, a nest egg for retirement or any money to pass on to future generations. Feels pretty insecure, doesn’t it? Turns out that such "asset poverty" is higher in New York than in any other state in the… more

Prime Minister Tony Blair swings through California next week to enjoy some down time with Governor Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver. No doubt he’ll want to take a break from a string of bad press in the U.K. Let’s hope he and the Governor find time to talk about one of his quiet but groundbreaking successes that holds great promise for California -- Blair’s new program to give every child a stake in Great Britain’s economic future.

Each British baby… 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

Ray Boshara is Vice President and Senior Research Fellow at the New America Foundation, a Washington-based think-tank. Until July 2009, he was the director of the Asset Building Program, and launched the Next Social Contract and College Savings Initiatives at New America as well.

America's personal savings rate is abysmally low. Last year the personal savings rate was negative, the lowest annual rate since the Great Depression. Whether the objective is to promote retirement security, improve educational attainment, provide a financial cushion for life transitions, or increase national savings, the need to increase household savings is vitally clear. Public policy should take a cue from some innovative financial institutions that encourage connecting savings with the one activity that almost every household undertakes -- tax… more

"Building Communities," a sequel to the highly popular 2004 "Bootstrap Capitalism" conference, aims to infuse fresh, new thinking into the current discussion about poverty in America.

Presentations addressed critical questions of economic justice and speak directly to current legislation before Congress, including the New Markets Tax Credit, the Community Development Block Grant, the Community Development Financial Institutions Loan Fund, and regulation of predatory lending. This was a very timely discussion with leading anti-poverty experts and community development practitioners from around the… 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

On January 24th, 2006, the New America Foundation convened a forum of the leading asset development policy architects from around the world to discuss Children's Savings Accounts. Children's Savings Accounts, or CSAs, are savings and investment accounts, often established at birth, and usually restricted to enabling kids to go to college, buy a first home, and build up a nest egg for retirement. Many CSA policies and proposals are progressively funded, meaning that more public resources are available to… more

Many Oregonians face a personal savings crisis that society cannot afford to ignore. For example, nearly half of households headed by adults 55 or older in our state lack such retirement assets as pensions and annuities. Furthermore, among low-income households in Oregon headed by an adult older than 55, nearly three out of five households (60 percent) are without retirement assets.

One new idea to address this savings crisis in Oregon that should be given serious consideration by Oregon's congressional… more