The Asset Building Policy Project (ABPP) at CEDAM coordinates a statewide Michigan Asset Building Coalition and works to move progressive asset-building policy forward at the state level. The ABPP prioritizes public policy that increases access to higher education, career-advancement and job-training opportunities, and personal economic and finance skills for the residents of Michigan. Our goal is to empower low-wage workers and their families to escape poverty through building and developing their personal assets.
Asset-building policy includes any government policy or program that aids, encourages, or rewards people for developing personal assets. Assets are important, especially for low-income workers, because they provide a financial base from which people can draw resources in times of economic crisis, like an extended period of unemployment. By assets, we mean anything of value or anything that can help a person to develop wealth. Savings accounts and homes are obvious assets, but education and social networks are also assets because they can help people to acquire financial resources.
Subsequent ABPP blog posts will keep you updated on current ABPP projects and let you know what is happening with asset-building policy in the state and across the nation.
For more information on asset-building, see the ABPP page on the CEDAM website. Also, check out these websites:
From Ross Yednock and Megan Kursik, Asset Building Policy Project staff