Publications
High Costs of Higher Education
Source: PPICAn overwhelming majority of Californians believe that a college education is necessary for individual success. Nearly two-thirds however also believe college is out of reach for many qualified and motivated students, according to a Public Policy Institute of California study.
PDF: California Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard by County
Source: Insight CCEDThe Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard (Self-Sufficiency Standard) takes into account the cost of – housing, food, child care, out-of-pocket medical expenses, transportation, and other necessary spending in each county – and provides a complete picture of what it takes for families to make ends meet.
Conservative Protestants and Wealth: How Religion Perpetuates Asset Poverty
Author: Lisa A. KeisterThis article explores how religious affiliation affects wealth ownership for conservative Protestants (CPs). Keister's research demonstrate that religion affects wealth indirectly through educational attainment, fertility, and female labor force participation. The results also provide evidence of a direct effect of religion on wealth. Low rates of asset accumulation and unique economic values combine to reduce CP wealth beyond the effects of demographics. The findings improve understanding of the relationship between religious beliefs and inequality.
Enabling Families to Weather Emergencies and Develop The Role of Assets
Source: Urban InstituteLow-wage jobs can be unstable, leaving families struggling to cope with employment gaps and financial emergencies that can strike without warning. About four in five low-income families are "asset poor," lacking enough liquid savings to live for three months at the federal poverty level without earnings. In this essay, McKernan and Ratcliffe suggest a cluster of policies that would improve financial markets and savings opportunities for low-income families across the life cycle.
From Mattress Money to Checking Accounts: A Profile of Bank on San Francisco
Source: Community Investments MagazineBank on San Francisco has proven to be a welcome addition to the asset building toolkit for the city’s working families. Learn about how it got started and what can be learned from this program.
Income is No Shield Against Racial Differences in Lending II
Source: NCRCA new report by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) shows that minority consumers, regardless of income level, are most at risk of receiving high-cost home mortgage loans. High-cost loans represent the riskiest and most poorly underwritten home mortgages, millions of which have fallen into foreclosure in the last two years. The study, Income Is No Shield Against Racial Differences in Lending II, examined subprime and near prime (“Alt-A”) loans from more than 219 metropolitan areas, as reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data from 2006, the most recent publicly available data.
When Traditional Asset Building Is Not Enough
Author: Jessica Gordon NembhardSource: Urban Institute
This paper is a response to "Enabling Families to Weather Emergencies and Develop: The Role of Assets," by Signe-Mary McKernan and Caroline Ratcliffe.
Beyond the Mortgage Meltdown: Adressing the Current Crisis, Avoiding a Future Catastrophe
Author: James LardnerSource: Demos
With millions of American families facing foreclosure and the U.S. Senate moving toward approval of a compromise bill, the public policy center Demos takes stock of the housing market crisis and the federal response to date. The findings of a new Demos report--"Beyond the Mortgage Meltdown: Addressing the Current Crisis, Avoiding a Future Catastrophe"--show that, beyond the terrible consequences families face in this crisis, the housing market is in short- and long-term economic peril.
How Much Would a State EITC Cost in 2009?
Author: Jeremy Koulish & Jason LevitisTwenty-three states have enacted tax credits for low- and moderate-income working families based on the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. A number of additional states are considering enacting EITCs in the 2008 legislative session. The following provides guidelines that policymakers and others can use to estimate the cost of a refundable state Earned Income Tax Credit that is set at a percentage of the federal credit. The estimating procedure is a simple three-step process.
2007-2008 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard
Source: CFEDThe 2007-2008 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard is a state-level snapshot of how the country is performing in six key areas: financial security, business development, homeownership, health care, education, and tax policy, and accountability. See how California ranks in these areas.
2008 Energy Costs Survey
Source: Energy Programs ConsortiumHouseholds in the U.S. face large increases in both home energy and gasoline prices over the past few years. Coupled with the recent economic downturn and increases in costs of food and many other necessities, it is expected that low- and moderate-income households are having an increasingly difficult time making ends meet. While some of these impacts have been documented anecdotally, a systematic study of the recent impacts of rising home energy and gasoline costs, and how these impacts vary with household income, has not been done. The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the sacrifices and tradeoffs that low, moderate, and middle income households have made in response to rising fuel costs.
Assets Report 2008
Source: New America FoundationThis annual report summarizes and takes stock of the current state of federal policy through an asset-building lens, especially as it affects the asset base of lower-income families with limited resources.
Brief: County Asset Building Coalitions - Promising Practices from Across the Country
Author: Heather McCullochSource: Bay Area Asset Support Center
A growing number of city and county coalitions that once started with a single issue focus have recently broadened their efforts to include multiple asset-building strategies. A new brief, produced by asset- building consultant Heather McCulloch, addresses this new trend. The brief focuses on promising examples of county asset-building coalitions and is designed to inform the work of emerging coalitions in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Locked Out: Housing Boom and Beyond
Source: California Budget ProjectThis report outlines steps that policymakers could take to help increase the supply of affordable housing, assist homeowners who face foreclosure, protect future homebuyers, and reduce and prevent homelessness.
Retirement security for Women: Progress To Date and Policies for Tomorrow
Source: Retirement Security ProjectElderly women today have lower retirement resources than elderly men, and it is projected that these gender differences will persist for future cohorts of retirees, despite secular improvements in women's earning power. This paper examines the underlying reasons for the differences between men and women's retirement preparedness and the challenges for women from lower income families.
Tackling the Mortgage Crisis: 10 Action Steps for State Government
Author: Alan MallachSource: Metropolitan Policy Program
Although most media attention remains focused on the role of the federal government in stemming this crisis, states have the legal powers, financial resources, and political will to mitigate its impact. This paper describes how state government can tackle both the immediate problems caused by the wave of mortgage foreclosures and prevent the same thing from happening again.
Building Community Assets: Growing Lower-Income Credit Union Membership
Source: Woodstock InstituteThis Woodstock Institute report details the partnership process and lessons learned from a two-year technical assistance program designed to help community organizations partner with mainstream credit unions with the goal of enrolling new lower-income members or expanding an existing partnership.
How Much Does the Federal Government Spend on Economic Mobility and for Whom?
Source: Economic Mobility ProjectThis report finds that $746 billion in federal funds were spent to promote economic mobility across all households in 2006. Nearly three-quarters of those funds (or $540 billion) were targeted specifically at employer-provided work subsidies, aids in asset accumulation, and savings incentives.
Return on Investment? Getting More from Federal Asset Building Policies
Author: Lillian Woo & David BuchholzSource: CFED
In 2005 the federal government spent $367 billion just to promote asset building. However, the biggest beneficiaries of asset-building policies are those households who need the least help in saving and investing.
The Power of Experience in Understanding Underbanked Markets
Source: CFSIFinancial institutions have begun to recognize the enormous potential in serving underbanked households, which, according to some estimates, may number as many as 40 million. But it is becoming clear that attracting underbanked consumers is no simple task. While underbanked consumers differ from their banked counterparts, they also differ among themselves. Indeed, they represent many different markets, based on their likes and dislikes, attitudes, behaviors, financial situations, and other factors. To attract underbanked consumers and win their trust, banks need to deliver experiences that are desirable to each different market.
The Role of Public Policy in Reducing Poverty and Expanding Economic Opportunity
Author: Jennifer Brooks & Leigh TivolSource: CFED
Helping America’s poor build assets is one of the most cost‐effective and sustainable improvements we can make as a society. While policymakers seeking to reduce poverty have traditionally focused on income, spending, and consumption, a new vision has steadily gained prominence in recent years, focusing on savings, investment, and asset‐building policies that work in conjunction with, not instead of, traditional anti‐poverty policies and programs.
Banking on Wealth: America's New Retail Banking Infrastructure and its Wealth-Building Potential
Source: Brookings InstitutionFinancial institutions recognize the enormous potential in serving underbanked households, yet it’s clear that attracting these consumers is not simple. A new study released by the Center for Financial Services Innovation confirms the importance of understanding the varied preferences of underbanked consumers in designing an optimal financial services experience.
The Power of Experience in Understanding the Underbanked Market
Source: CFSIFinancial institutions recognize the enormous potential in serving underbanked households, yet it’s clear that attracting these consumers is not simple. A new study released by the Center for Financial Services Innovation confirms the importance of understanding the varied preferences of underbanked consumers in designing an optimal financial services experience.
A Generation of Widening Inequality
Source: California Budget ProjectSince the late 1970s, California’s job growth has become concentrated in low-wage and high-wage jobs and the gap between workers at the low end and the high end of the earnings distribution has widened. Meanwhile, income has become increasingly concentrated among the richest Californians.
Families Saving and Building Hope
Source: Silicon Valley Community FoundatThis new and important study contributes to the growing body of research demonstrating that low-and moderate-income families can and will save when offered targeted incentives, quality financial education, and access to appropriate financial products. It also provides key insights for policymakers committed to expanding savings and wealth-creation opportunities for low-income persons throughout the United States.
Making Ends Meet: How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Family in California
Source: California Budget ProjectFor many Californians, just making ends meet is a struggle. Many families live paycheck to paycheck, juggling rent or a mortgage payment with child care, food, and emergencies such as unexpected car repairs. During the past decade, welfare reform has focused attention on the challenges involved with moving families off welfare and into the workforce. Yet far less attention has focused on whether the jobs that are available provide sufficient income to support a family, or on the economic challenges facing many working families as they attempt to make ends meet.
Hard Work and a Fair Shot
Source: California Budget ProjectMillions of Californians work in jobs that fail to provide enough income to raise a family, let alone achieve self-sufficiency. A new California Budget Project report, Hard Work and a Fair Shot: Helping California's Low-Income Working Families Make Ends Meet, outlines a policy agenda, which includes asset-building strategies, to help working families make ends meet despite low earnings from work.
Emerging Domestic Markets: Increasing Capital by Improving Data
Author: Glenn YagoSource: Milken Insitute
Ethnic groups now constitute majorities in four states (California, Hawaii, New Mexico and Texas) and the District of Columbia. If the purchasing power of the country's ethnic groups represented a single nation, it would constitute the world’s seventh-largest economy. Yet these business owners continue to face challenges accessing capital, thus hindering their opportunities for growth. This publication by the Milken Institute answers why, and what can be done about it.
What Does It Take for a Family to Afford to Pay for Health Care?
Author: David CarrollSource: California Budget Project
As the health reform debate moves forward, policymakers will need to make important decisions regarding the income level at which coverage should be subsidized and the size of the subsidy needed to make coverage affordable.This report provides insight into how much Californians can afford to pay for health care by estimating how much they currently pay for health care – including both insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses – and how much they pay for the cost of other basic necessities – including housing, child care, transportation, food, and taxes on the income needed to purchase these necessities.
Community Investments: Special Issue on Asset Building
Author: VariousSource: Federal Reserve Bank of San Fran
Articles in this special issue cover such topics as the case for asset building policies and programs, engaging the financial services industry in asset building, the asset policy initiative in California, and leveraging the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Community Investments is a publication of the Community Affairs Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Hidden in Plain Sight: A Look at the $335 Billion Federal Asset-Building Budget
Author: Lillian G. Woo, F. William SchweSource: CFED
For years, lawmakers have enacted policies that encourage individuals to accumulate assets. Throughout generations, these policies have helped millions of Americans plan for the future, buy homes, prepare for retirement, send their children to college, and weather unexpected financial storms. Today, through a diverse array of initiatives the federal government spends billions of dollars to foster asset building. Yet, for all the analyses of the federal budget, there has never been a comprehensive look at these policies in total. Now, for the first time, the Corporation for Enterprise Development has analyzed spending and tax policy to determine how much American asset-building initiatives cost, where the money goes, and who benefits.
Reaching Deeper: Using Alternative Data Sources to Increase the Efficacy of Credit Scoring
Author: Katy JacobSource: Center for Financial Innovations
Consumer debt levels are at an all-time high and the credit card and mortgage markets are heavily saturated. To find new markets, the financial services industry has begun to turn its attention to the vast untapped pool of consumers who are not necessarily poor credit risks, despite their minimal credit histories. As many as 70 million underbanked Americans are believed to have no credit history, making it difficult for financial institutions to use traditional credit scoring methods for underwriting asset-building products such as personal or auto loans and mortgages. This report describes the current credit reporting system, why it doesn't work for everyone, and efforts underway to improve it with the addition of new data sources.
Financial Counseling: A Meaningful Strategy for Building Wealth in the Latino Community
Author: Beatriz IbarraSource: National Council of La Raza
The report shows that current policies to improve financial literacy for Latinos fail to include one-on-one financial counseling programs, the linchpin of any strategy to close the wealth gap for Hispanics. Financial Counseling: A Meaningful Strategy for Building Wealth in the Latino Community provides specific policy recommendations on how to increase programs proven to improve financial decision-making of Hispanics – especially the more than 14.5 million who lack a basic checking account.
HUD Program Evaluation Confirms FSS’ Success in Promotion of Self-Sufficiency and Asset Building
Author: Jeff LubellSource: FSS Partnership
On October 21, 2005, HUD released the first-ever national evaluation of FSS. Based on a comprehensive examination of HUD administrative data from 1996 to 2000, supplemented by site visits, the evaluation found that FSS participants increased their incomes and decreased their dependence on welfare much faster than non-FSS participants and that FSS graduates experienced substantial asset growth. This is a two-page summary of the Evaluation's findings.
Promoting Economic Security for Working Families: State Asset-Building Initiatives
Author: Heather McCullochSource: Fannie Mae Foundation
This report examines six states that are defining this emerging movement: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Each state's approach is unique. But they share common goals -- enabling lower-income families to accumulate and preserve assets -- and they employ common strategies. This report is a resource for policymakers and other state leaders who are exploring statewide initiatives that promote asset building among working families. It aims to illuminate the consensus-building process and provide an overview of state-level activity that is advancing the asset-building movement.
Solving America's Shortage of Homes Working Families Can Afford: Fifteen Success Stories
Author: Homes for Working FamiliesSource: Fannie Mae Foundation, Urban Lan
A new report highlights several California cities—San Jose, Camarilla and Santa Clara—among other communities across the nation that demonstrate creative solutions that result in more affordable homes for more families. What are the hallmarks of every solution highlighted? Resiliency and adaptability, the report finds. The case studies cut across areas and exemplify a variety of strategies to move families into homes and help them build assets.
State Policy Options to Encourage Asset Development for Low-Income Families
Source: National Governors AssociationThis issue brief by the National Governors Association presents state policymakers with a range of strategies that increase income levels, promote savings, and bolster local economies. Innovative efforts in states like California, Delaware, Illinois, New Mexico, Pennsylvania are creating opportunities for families to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.
The Assets Report 2006: A Review, Assessment, and Forecast of Federal Assets Policy
Author: Reid Cramer, Leslie Parrish , anSource: New America Foundation
This report by the New America Foundation’s Asset Building Program reviews federal policy developments of the past year related to asset-building policies, describes and analyzes the President's budget proposals for Fiscal Year 2007, and previews asset policy issues that may be considered in Congress during 2006.
The Best Value in the Subprime Market: State Predatory Lending Reforms
Author: Keith Ernst and Wie LiSource: Center for Responsible Lending
The authors of this study found that states that had enacted anti-predatory mortgage lending laws were able to successfully weed out predatory loans, while still allowing subprime credit to be offered under fair terms. They concluded with three primary findings: 1) Borrowers get fewer loans with abusive terms; 2) Borrowers have ready access to subprime credit; and 3) Borrowers pay about the same or lower interest rates for subprime mortgages.
The Ultimate Employee Buy-in A Berkeley-based Pizza Shop Helps Employees Build Assets
Author: John CaseSource: Inc. Magazine
One of the great ironies of entrepreneurship is that many people spend years building their companies, only to undo all of that work at the very end by deciding to sell the business to the wrong person. Decisions like that don't have to be made, especially today. Employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs, have become a mainstream alternative for business owners who wish to sell their business but want it to remain largely intact.
