How a National Baby Bonds Program Could Close the Racial Wealth Gap

As supporters of Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs), we want to call your attention to a new report released by Prosperity Now and the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University. A Birthright to Capital: Equitably Designing Baby Bonds to Promote Economic and Racial Justice builds on the idea of Baby Bonds developed and long-championed by economists Darrick Hamilton and William “Sandy” Darity Jr., as well as 15 years of practice and research around CSA programs, to outline why the United States government should provide an account, with up to $60,000 held in public trust, to every one of the four million children born each year in the United States.  

The report illustrates how the U.S. could close the wealth gap between median Black and White households by more than 50% by implementing a national Baby Bonds program. It also provides several policy recommendations for creating a national Baby Bonds program that is equitably designed to address rising economic inequality and the racial wealth gap, such as making enrollment automatic at birth and structuring government deposits so that children from the lowest-wealth families receive the most money.  

Alongside our support for local and state CSA programs, Prosperity Now supports creating a national Baby Bonds program, such as the one proposed by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D, New Jersey) and Representative Ayanna Pressley (D, MA-07) in the American Opportunity Act. Learn more about this crucial policy in the full report.

Help us close the racial wealth gap by joining the conversation about Baby Bonds on Twitter: @prosperitynow and #BabyBonds

1200 G Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC xxxxxx
HOME | BLOG | ABOUT
Copyright © 2020, Prosperity Now, All rights reserved