On June 13, 2023, Prosperity Now held an event for Children’s Week to address unequal wealth distribution and build financial security opportunities for future generations. The Director of Policy explained that baby bonds are one of many solutions to create opportunities for those who face the brunt of the wealth gap. The Vice President of Policy & Research described the implications of baby bonds becoming less effective if tuition and inflation increase.
The panel discussion was given by Emily Burne; Executive Director of Connecticut Voices for Children, Kenyan R. Mcduffie; Council Member at Large for the Council of the District of Columbia; Dr. Naomi Zewde; Assistant Professor at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and moderator Shira Markoff; Senior Policy Fellow at Prosperity Now. The panel discussed the success of Connecticut and the District of Columbia in enacting the program into law and the opportunity for children to have better economic outcomes in families who cannot provide financial support during childhood. They noted that Baby Bonds could help attain economic justice as the wealth gap widens by race.
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) reintroduced the baby bonds program in the American Opportunities Accounts Act (AOAA). Senator Booker explained that the program empowers children and their future endeavors to thrive while preventing the loss of a future generation of Einstein. Congresswoman Pressley explained that baby bonds not only allow children to succeed but also make a return to the economy. The speakers emphasized that the Baby Bonds program and the AOAA are no silver-bullet solutions to address unequal wealth distribution and the racial wealth gap but provide pivotal support for children to turn their dreams into reality.
By Ellison Olson, Policy Intern
