I am taking my first child to college this week. He is excited about being a freshman and taking interesting classes in history and other subjects. I realize how very fortunate he is to have this opportunity and how many other students lack the financial resources to go to college. There are others still who have not had the family support or educational opportunities to even think about college.

For the first time, all tax filers have the opportunity to easily grow their savings by purchasing Series I U.S. Savings Bonds directly through their federal income tax returns in 2011. Tax filers may buy bonds for themselves, their children or grandchildren, or others.  This is a welcome development that will help many lower-wealth taxpayers use some of their tax refunds to build savings and assets in a safe and simple way.

Advocates for asset-building believe that expanding access to the fundamental building blocks of financial stability—like savings accounts, investments, a home, or higher education—can help individuals make better financial decisions and weather unforeseen crises. The research backs that up: assets encourage individuals regardless of income to save more, expand their aspirations, and encourage their loved ones to do the same.

When most people think of economic insecurity, the first thing that comes to mind is an income that’s insufficient to meet basic needs. Low income is certainly part of the problem, but it leaves out a large and often-overlooked group of people who are one or two unexpected expenses away from an economic crisis: the asset poor. A person who is asset-poor does not have enough assets—home equity, checking and savings accounts, stocks and bonds, business assets, and the like—to cover three months’ worth of basic expenses in the case of an emergency. In a volatile economic climate like today, the asset poor walk an especially tenuous line between security and insecurity.

People with disabilities, advocates, and government officials recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) at the White House. While acknowledging that much progress has been made, participants agreed there is still a long way to go to achieve inclusion and opportunities for the one in five U.S. residents who have disabilities—that’s 54 million people, including 7 million who receive federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.

More women will declare bankruptcy than get college degrees this year. Over one quarter of U.S. households are unbanked or underbanked, and 85 percent of these consumers are people of color. For every dollar that white Americans have, Latinos have 12 cents and African-Americans have 10 cents.