Big Idea: An Investment Account for Every Child at Birth

GOOD Magazine is running a series on the ideas that SHOULD be debated during the Presidential campaign, as they say,

The 2012 presidential race is well underway, and we’re talking about the important issues—whether Mitt Romney is offending bakers or Obama once ate dog meat. The snarky back-and-forth of the campaign trail may be entertaining, but this is our once-every-four-years chance to mix it up over the big challenges the United States is facing. We’re launching the Campaign for Big Ideas to make the run for the White House smarter, bolder, and a lot more ambitious.

First up in their series is a piece I wrote on The ASPIRE Act, the Asset Building Program’s foundational idea for creating a culture of savings in the United States. The basics: open an account at birth for every child in the US, everybody gets a seed deposit, poor kids get a little bit more. Entice people to contribute by allowing contributions to grow tax free and creating a match for the contributions for the children of low-income parents. Make sure the accounts are used productively by restricting them to post-secondary education, homeownership or retirement. The potential this has to change lives is tremendous.

The ASPIRE Act could help reverse the dismal savings performance of millions of Americans. It would provide an opportunity for kids to learn the benefits of saving early on in life. Armed with that knowledge, this empowered generation would be educated enough to avoid the web of payday lenders and check cashiers that strip wealth from too many vulnerable households and enter adulthood with concrete means to attain their dreams of a college education, homeownership, and a secure financial future.

Read the whole thing.