Examples, Proposals, Costs

There are many possible applications for Individual Development Accounts, but some are much better than others. Americans are more interested in specific welfare needs, such as housing, food, medical care, child care, and education, than in poverty as an abstract economic concept. ¹ For example, the general public is more sympathetic to the need for basic shelter than to the idea that everyone should have a certain level of income. Poverty as a general concept does not capture the nation’s imagination, but concrete human problems and aspirations do capture the nation’s attention and concern. Therefore, a primary consideration in policy-making is to construct asset-based welfare targeted toward basic needs and specific goals.