Inclusion in Privilege: Increasing Emphasis on Savings to Promote Capabilities for All

Abstract

Defining poverty as lowness of income dominates anti-poverty efforts in America and averts attention away from schemes that promote capabilities that cumulate to build a minimally dignified life. Meanwhile, the emphasis on income limits discussion regarding another form of economic facility, wealth. Wealth, particularly in the form of saving, provides a number of different benefits to households by promoting economic, social, and psychological well-being. Currently, the United States' tax structure, welfare system, and social institutions promote wealth accumulation and asset building for middle-and-upper class households, while preventing more disadvantaged and historically marginalized portions of society. Because the United States is perpetuating injustice, it is the moral obligation of society to stop preventing disadvantaged groups from building assets and create programs to help them save. This paper looks at one such program that could benefit capability building for disadvantaged individuals: individual development accounts.