California Legislature Embraces Asset Building

The California Legislature recently took a big first step to lead an effort that will help rebuild and protect wealth for all Californians. For the first time at the state level, a bipartisan legislative Select Committee on Financial Empowerment will explore the broad public policy and legislative opportunities to expand savings, and asset ownership in California.

While these are dire fiscal times for California, this is a critical time to promote wealth building in the areas of education, retirement, entrepreneurship, homeownership, and security against economic crisis. According to the New America press release, a striking thirty percent of Californians lack enough savings to get by for three months in the event of a job loss or medical emergency. This condition, known as “asset poverty,” is twice as pervasive as the income poverty rate and arguably more consequential.

Unfortunately these statistics are representative of the whole country. Kudos to California for recognizing the need for both short and long term savings opportunities and more importantly for taking action.

The California arm of our Asset Building Program, led by Olivia Calderon, has championed state-level policy to create children savings accounts, help Californians save their tax refunds and build savings for college and retirement. Congratulations to that team for their work in helping the California legislature recognize the struggles faced by residents of the state and the potential for finding answers in the asset building field.