S1E2 - Baby Bonds

Over 13 million Americans have zero or negative wealth, and vast racial inequities in wealth persist. Baby Bonds are a way to ensure every young adult has some wealth to invest in their future. Baby bonds are publicly funded trust accounts established at birth for children, particularly those from low-wealth families. Upon reaching adulthood, beneficiaries can use the funds for purposes such as education, homeownership, or entrepreneurship.

Connecticut was the first state to create a Baby Bonds wealth building initiative. In this episode, we hear from two guests. One is David Radcliffe, who was the policy director for the Office of Connecticut State Treasurer, where he championed implementation of the first-in-the-country “Baby Bonds” program. David grew up in a small factory town in the Appalachian foothills of western Pennsylvania. David is now the State and Local Policy Director with the New School’s Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy.

And the second guest is Amit Khanduri, Director of Programs at the Georgia Resilience & Opportunity (GRO) Fund, where he leads efforts to narrow wealth inequality in Georgia — including through GRO’s Baby Bonds program. In Georgia, an accelerated baby bonds program has launched where young adults receive an investable lump sum (“Baby Bond”), a $500/month guaranteed income, and financial advising services.