Just Futures Fund

What does it take to provide true financial security to Americans? While having an income floor is critical, debt or lack of assets can still act as a barrier to getting ahead in life for many. This is particularly true for Black and Latinx communities, where the historical lack of wealth-building opportunities and ongoing wealth extraction has pushed many into deep asset poverty.

The Just Futures Fund policy aims to simultaneously address income insecurity and asset poverty, with a particular focus on racial equity. In the report Accelerating Equity and Justice: Basic Income and Generational Wealth, the Institute for Assets and Social Policy in the Heller School at Brandeis University and Universal Income Project lay out the contours of a Just Futures Fund federal policy and analyze what impact this policy would have on income poverty, asset poverty, and wealth inequality in the United States.

Key Takeaways on the Impact of a Just Futures Fund

• Cuts the poverty rate amongst Black parents by a factor of six — from 30% to just 5% — and amongst Latinx parents by a factor of four — from 22% to 5%
• Eliminates poverty entirely among Black and Latinx elders
• Radically reduces the number of people of color living in asset poverty, from 54% to 6% for Black families and 49% to 1% for Latinx families

Read the full report “Accelerating Equity and Justice: Basic Income and Generational Wealth” here.