“I feel so much better about my kids’ chances in life. I’m better able to provide what they need to thrive” says Erica, a single mother who lives in Boston with her two sons. Nick, grade 10, loves art and Alex, grade 7, plays every sport from baseball to hockey to tennis.

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CFED's policy agenda promotes asset building through:

Financial Assets and Income
Asset ownership and financial security are interconnected. Owning assets means having greater economic stability and mobility; assets enable millions of Americans to plan for the future, buy a home, prepare for retirement, send their children to college, and weather unexpected financial storms.

Businesses and Jobs
Small business creation has often been a route into America’s middle class, particularly for minorities, immigrants, and the economically disadvantaged. Entrepreneurs, by creating new businesses and jobs, shift resources from areas of lower yield to areas of higher return and productivity, thereby animating the wealth-generating process in a market economy.

Housing and Homeownership
The family home is the chief asset of many American households, providing them with the bulk of their net worth.  Homeownership provides the family with both physical and financial security.  Affordable rental housing enables families to meet other needs and save for short term expenses as well as college, retirement and a future downpayment.

Education
Expanded skills and knowledge contribute to a strong economy.  Skills are central determinants of earning capacity. The more education one has, the more flexibility in the type of work, the industry, and the work location that person has and the more income s/he can earn.

Health Care
There is no greater threat to a family’s financial security than the expenses of a major medical emergency or treatment of a chronic illness. Health insurance that allows, even encourages, people to get check-ups as well as seek treatment for illnesses and injuries protects the household by ensuring that individuals seek treatment when they need it, thereby minimizing the impact of major illnesses that keep them from earning income, and protects household savings and assets from being jeopardized by large medical bills.