Beginning Another Year: Asset Building at the 2011 Working Families Policy Summit [VIDEO]

The California Asset Building Program and the New America Foundation proudly co-sponsored the annual Working Families Policy Summit, held last week at the Sacramento Convention Center. The Asset Building and Asset Protection panel, the only discussion on the topic of helping working families build and protect wealth, was also the only policy breakout session to be taped. The conversation, moderated by Assemblyman V. Manuel Perez, highlighted some of the biggest advances in the field from last year as well as upcoming efforts and can be viewed here.

An overview of the topics covered by Olivia Calderon, Sarah Brennan from the Office of Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcon, and Leigh Phillips of the San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment, has already been provided by panelist Sunaena Chhatry of EARN. 

But the video provides additional insight into the types of responses asset policies get from a room packed with advocates--most of whom had never heard of asset building before.

The room, one of the largest at the summit, filled to capacity before registration ended. Descriptions of the Kindergarten to College pilot and local efforts to curb payday lending brought applause and approval. And the tape ran out long before the questions from the audience did. 

It's a welcome reminder, especially as the reintroduced Banking Development Districts bill moves forward and other policies are crafted, that many more people are continuing to discover and support sensible tools that help people help themselves.