How can asset building and ownership help low-income families?
Asset-based programs raise aspirations and allow people to see hard work and increased earnings as a way to achieve such goals as owning a home. Since the 1930s, social policy has mostly sought to maintain an income floor by a variety of approaches. That helps prevent poverty, but it doesn’t move people into the next phase or level. Income support doesn’t bring them a middle-class lifestyle, and it doesn’t make them financially secure. Furthermore, many income-based programs discourage building assets. As the nation grows richer, do we want to devote so many resources just to providing a minimum income? Instead, we need to move as many people into the middle class as possible by raising people’s aspirations and helping them see how they can move from financial insecurity to the point where they enjoy greater financial security and hold some assets for the future. Some of this will entail improved financial education. Many programs currently teach people about finances, but the record o
