Welfare

Things tend to get better with successive iterations; think the newest i(anything). Returning to a previous version is usually a sign that things have taken a turn for the worse: think Coke II. Public policy can also follow this pattern. Tomorrow, however, Pennsylvania bring back their asset test for SNAP. Classic Coke it ain't. 

The Asset Building News Week is a weekly Friday feature on The Ladder, the Asset Building Program blog, designed to help readers keep up with news and developments in the asset building field. This week's topics include taxes, inequality, the impact of demographic shifts on retirement security, education, and housing regulation.

Monday, the House Republicans announced new domestic budget cuts to SNAP/Food Stamps, which would include lowering benefit levels and reinstating the federal asset test of $2000 for most families. The Budget Control Act pledged to cut budget deficits by $2.1 trillion between 2012 and 2021, with almost $500 million designated to come from defense. Automatic spending cuts would begin to take place in January—apparently prompting House Republicans to seek sufficient savings from other programs to fund future defense spending without resorting to new taxes. You’re reading that correctly, in order to prevent cuts in defense spending the House GOP has chosen to scale back food support for struggling families. Note the chart here that designates the amount of spending on the Defense budget and the amount of spending on the safety net (of which SNAP is a fraction.)In addition, these new rules will not only hurt millions of families struggling in the wake of the recession, but also impose additional administrative costs on states that are already dealing with their own budgetary shortfalls.

In many ways, the asset poverty line is a better and more complete indicator of how a particular family is faring financially than the traditional poverty measurement. Asset poverty acknowledges that income only goes so far; even earning a wage sufficient to meet basic expenses, a household without any savings is always one emergency away from disaster. Unfortunately, while some segments of the U.S. population are strongly encouraged to save, others, such as most recipients of public benefits, are effectively banned from saving due to restrictive asset tests. Additionally, lower-income households have inadequate access to products and incentives that facilitate saving. Two policy interventions that could significantly increase the abilities of lower-income families to save include the elimination of asset tests in public assistance programs, and the implementation of the Saver’s Bonus.

The Asset Building News Week is a weekly Friday feature on The Ladder, the Asset Building Program blog, designed to help readers keep up with news and developments in the asset building field. This week's topics include our new Assets Report, welfare reform, food security, veterans, housing, tax time, alternatives to mainstream banking, economic security for the working poor, and student loan debt.

Yesterday’s President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability meeting sharpened the case for making financial capability building a top priority in the US.  Treasury Deputy Secretary Neal Wolin set the stage by stating that, “The economy is regaining momentum.  But we still have more work to do to repair the damage caused by the worst financial crisis in our lifetimes.”  A following panel disc

Last week the Washington Post featured a piece focusing on the complexities of navigating the safety net – in particular, deciphering the eligibility rules in Medicaid as they apply to different individuals in the same family. I’ve written before about the inequities and frustrations in the public benefits system that result from different programs and different states applying remarkably varied income and asset tests. Currently, Medicaid is an especially egregious example; not only are there discrepancies among what types of resources are countable and which states have asset tests and which don’t, but also discrepancies regarding eligibility within the same household. Though upcoming reforms will vastly improve equity with respect to Medicaid access, greater coordination among means-tested programs—and ultimately the removal of asset tests altogether—is essential to creating a safety net that functions reliably and effectively for all.

The Asset Building News Week is a weekly Friday feature on the The Ladder, the Asset Building Program blog, designed to help readers keep up with news and developments in the asset building field. This week's topics include public benefits, consumer behavior, financial services, conversations about race and wealth, and the mortgage settlement.

The Asset Building News Week is a weekly Friday feature on the The Ladder, the Asset Building Program blog, designed to help readers keep up with news and developments in the asset building field. This week's topics include housing, inequality, banking options, welfare, and jobs.

The Asset Building News Week is a weekly Friday feature on the The Ladder, the Asset Building Program blog, designed to help readers keep up with news and developments in the asset building field. This week's topics include young adult unemployment, student loan debt, banking products, asset building at tax time, and the racial wealth gap.