#52 Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz, Capital Area Asset Builders

What does it take to build wealth in low-income and communities of color? It requires more than personal responsibility and savings. Bridging our nation's gaping racial wealth divide means taking on systemic barriers: racism, student debt, low wages and resistance to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. We need changes to the US Tax Code, which, as Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz, Acting Director of Capital Area Asset Builders explains, "rewards the rich, misses the middle and penalizes the poor." In combination with other financial education and resources, families that file for and receive a credit can aspire to and reach financial goals, from a college education to the purchase of a home or the launch of a small business. In Washington DC, where over 1/3 of the residents are unbanked or underbanked, Capital Area Asset Builder leads a network of nonprofits, City government, corporate and foundation partners, in advocating for the EITC. CAAB also promotes the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, a critical alternative to the unregulated tax preparers who strip wealth wealth in poor communities.