Welcome to The Ladder

The Asset Building Program of the New America Foundation is pleased to welcome you to our new blog, The Ladder. Technorati Profile

The primary goal of our program is to ensure that assets--broadly conceived--become a permanent feature of how social policy is conceived, developed, and delivered in the United States and around the world. In our view, broadening access to asset ownership is just a means for enabling people to fulfill their aspirations, achieve their goals, and reach their full potential. {You get it, right? The ladder is the means for going up to where you want to go, reach for the stars, clean the gutter, etc.}

Our work has been focused on finding innovative ways to insert the assets perspective into a range of social policy discussions. In the past we've tried to so this through the usual set of "think tank" activities--publishing analysis and reports, convening panels of experts at public events, and supporting the thoughtful development of promising policies capable of broadening asset ownership.

This is all potentially good work and I'm sure we want to continue doing it, but everyday we see events unfold in real time which call out of more attention and an immediate response. Whether it is the emerging housing crisis, the failure to protect consumers from predatory financial products, or the calls from an out-of-touch Congress to stimulate spending at a time when many need to save, we think there is a need to contextualize current events within an assets perspective.

We plan to use this space make these connections and offer our commentary. As you will see, we take an expansive view of the asset building field and offer a wide range of perspectives. What we will strive to offer across the board is being on the lookout for concrete and creative ways to show how opportunity and ownership go hand in hand.

Enjoy.