ASPIRE Act/KIDS Accounts

Newborns typically are mailed birth certificates and Social Security cards within weeks of leaving the hospital. In at least two states they could soon be receiving other important documents: savings account statements.A bill being considered in the California Legislature would create savings accounts for every child born in the state after Jan. 1, 2008. Each account would be seeded with $500 in state funds, and the money could be used only for specific purposes, such as college or… more

Governor Schwarzenegger was cheered when he recently talked about post-partisanship in Washington, D.C. But the post-partisan waters don’t run deep back home in California. Two state senators who just crossed the aisle to forward a creative solution to a pressing problem are getting more grief than glory.

Senator Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and Robert Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, held a press conference on February 28 to introduce their bill to create a California Kids Account for every newborn. The goal is to… more

Even though California is being modeled as the birthplace of post partisanship, ideological divisions still run deep in the political process. Two state senators who just crossed the aisle to forward a creative solution to a pressing state problem are getting more grief than glory.

Sens. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and Robert Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, held a press conference two weeks ago to introduce their bill to create a California KIDS Account for every newborn. The goal is to encourage parents… more

Two seemingly unrelated developments last week tell us a lot about immigration and the public's attitude toward it.One was the conservative reaction to a bill introduced in the Legislature that would give a $500 savings account to every child born in California.The other was a study by the Public Policy Institute of California concluding that immigration -- legal and illegal -- tends to increase wages for everyone except earlier immigrants.The savings bill was introduced… more

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast with such ferocity in late August 2005, Americans were shocked by the broadcast images of desperately poor people left to fend for themselves. The depth and consequences of poverty in America, normally hidden from public view, had once again become the subject of debate and national soul-searching. And yet, a year and a half later, the subject of poverty has fallen so far off the public’s radar screen that… more

California lawmakers are considering giving $500 to every single baby born in the state. The bipartisan bill aims to give babies a financial head start with a savings account. "Anything we can do to encourage savings and investment and to provide a young adult -- especially young adults from lower income families, families of modest means -- to be able to have a small nest egg to go to college to learn a career, down payment on the… more

Mar. 1 - KGO - A new plan to give newborns a head start is getting mixed reviews. The idea is to give every baby born in California $500 dollars. It would be a nest egg they would have money out of taxpayers pockets today -- that would be a nest egg when those babies become young adults... After families add money, at 18 the child would have to pay the state back $500 and use what's left… more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Every child born in California would get a $500 savings account to start building a nest egg for college or a down payment for a home, under a state Senate bill introduced Wednesday.California would be the first state with such a program, said David Lesher, a program director for the nonprofit New America Foundation, based in Washington. A national savings program has languished in Congress since 2005; a similar program has increased savings in Britain… more

Happy birthday, baby, here's $500 -- courtesy of California taxpayers.Legislation announced Wed- nesday would provide a tax-free, long-term investment account to every baby born in California, regardless of the parents' financial or immigration status.Senate Bill 752 is meant to persuade more families to invest for the future. "If we ask people to invest in California, California must invest in its people," said Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, who is co-authoring the bill with Republican Sen. Bob… more

Senators from both sides of the aisle addressed a public policy institute last week on issues that could shape banking policy. Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham spoke to members of the New America Foundation about the need for bipartisan compromise on issues like a federal savings account and a government-run investment plan.An "American Stakeholder Account," one of the foundation's Ten Big Ideas for a New America, would start with $6,000 for every… more