To address wealth gap, WA to consider $4,000 ‘baby bonds’
“A new proposal coming to the Washington Legislature for consideration next year aims to break the cycle of poverty that’s trapped families like Bereskin’s and lift future generations of low-income residents toward a path of financial independence. The Washington Future Fund would create a pool of money that every child born under the state’s Medicaid program, Apple Health, could access a portion of upon adulthood to use toward homeownership, education or pursuing a small business. Lawmakers introduced the plan during the last legislative session but paused the idea, opting instead to create a state committee charged with outlining exact details and recommendations for how Washington could create a trust fund program for the roughly 40,000 children born each year under Apple Health.”