BOND BABY BOND: guaranteeing an inheritance for all
In this episode:
What if everyone was given a bit of wealth as they hit adulthood? That’s the idea behind Child Trust Funds - established back in the 2000s and coming to fruition for the first cohort of 18 year olds this month. Godfather of Child Trust Funds Gavin Kelly explains the story behind them and why we should resurrect something similar today. We ask Kerry McWalter what she plans to do with hers. And Naomi Zewde tells us why a similar proposal for ‘baby bonds’ could make a serious dent on the racial wealth gap in the US.
Guests
Gavin Kelly (@GavinJKelly1), chair of the Resolution Foundation and the Living Wage Foundation. Gavin worked on Child Trust Funds in government in the early 2000s
Kerry McWalter
Naomi Zewde (@nzewde), assistant professor at City University of New York (CUNY) and research fellow at the Roosevelt Institute
More info
Child Trust Funds
Gavin Kelly The Child Trust Fund comes of age (August 2020)
Guardian £9bn bonanza begins as child trust funds come of age (August 2020)
Polly Toynbee Britain's 18-year-olds are being given a reminder of Labour's fight against poverty (Sep 2020)
Gavin Kelly |New Statesman All shall have wealth (Feb 2000)
Robert Skidelsky Asset Based Welfare (2001)
Baby bonds in the US
The Atlantic/Annie Lowrey: Close the Racial Wealth Gap With Baby Bonds (June 2020)
Naomi Zewde Birthright: The Baby Bonds Solution to Inequality (August 2019)
William Darity The Big Idea - Baby Bonds: A Leg Up for Everyone (April 2019)
Naomi Zewde and Darrick Hamilton Truth and Redistribution: how to fix the racial wealth gap (August 2020)