The Homestead Act and the GI Bill, for example, were for their respective eras the means to create a larger, more secure middle class. Today, pre-tax retirement accounts help families build for the future, and home mortgage deductions enable acquisition of the largest tangible asset available to most, a home, through a direct governmental subsidy to homeowners. Similar subsidies sustain a system of college and workplace education and training that have helped them improve their workplace skills in order to move up the economic ladder. So broad and commonplace are these governmental investments that many Americans view them with an expectation, if not as an entitlement. A truly inclusive policy framework would extend such asset-building opportunities to all Americans.
Income is an asset because it provides the means to subsist and eventually accumulate wealth.
Government policies, such as unemployment and minimum wage laws, protect and enhance employment income. Another key to economic opportunity is human capital , which includes the knowledge and skills that enable individuals to obtain good jobs and move up the economic ladder at work. In addition, financial assets such as checking and savings accounts, stocks, bonds, and equity in property are critical means to economic security and opportunity. They enable people to maintain a home, start a business, meet life crises, supplement employment income, and sustain retirement. Other assets, such as community resources, may come into play, but individual assets are of paramount importance insofar as they directly impact the economic well being of households.