Penalizing the Poor
For the poorest families, federal policy actually penalizes efforts to save money by cutting off benefits to those who manage to create even the smallest financial cushion.
Economic mobility in the United States means the working poor are expected to bootstrap their way into the middle class, as middle-class families climb to greater wealth. But for the first time, we face a scenario where that may not happen. Income is not enough as assets, too, are needed to progress in the American economy. While the federal government pours out millions to help with asset building, this report shows how using the tax code for subsidies is hurting the lower income and middle class while helping the wealthy get wealthier with no oversight easily available.
We must reform the existing approach to wealth building, which amounts to an ad hoc, uncoordinated and misaligned set of strategies that are costing our nation dearly.