A new year is a time for optimism and as we settle into 2022, I find it helpful to reflect on important accomplishments from 2021 that few of us would have predicted a year ago. Globally, over four billion people have been vaccinated against COVID-19. In the U.S., child poverty has fallen in some months by 29.4%. And Congress committed $1.2 trillion to address long-neglected infrastructure.
Looking ahead, we see promising signs that impact Commonwealth’s work: rising wages for working people, historic policy actions to support families, a much wider embrace of the idea that capitalism must serve many stakeholders, and the beginning of the end of overdraft fees.
And yet, in truth, many of us had hoped for a turning point that has not yet arrived – in public health, in our politics, perhaps too on racial equity, climate change action, or pending policy proposals.
In the face of this conflicted picture, with widespread uncertainty and continued change ahead, one of the few levers we control is what work we prioritize.
For Commonwealth, as we seek to make wealth possible for all, our long-standing goal is to help get the “landscape right” – to create the conditions that enable financial security and opportunity for everyone. This means changing the critical corporate, technology, and policy systems that determine the options for people seeking a positive financial future.
This systemic change is the work that individuals cannot do for themselves. It’s also critical if we are to overcome the legacy of racism and sexism, and make meaningful progress toward racial and gender equity.
What does this mean for Commonwealth in the coming year?
It means continuing our work supporting and encouraging firms, institutions, and leaders to play their part to foster financial security and opportunity for working people:
- In the retirement and payroll industries, it means firms developing infrastructure solutions that make it possible for workers at thousands of employers to build emergency savings – the foundation of financial security.
- In the retail investing industry, it means providers prioritizing LMI women of color – and other potential first-time, underserved investors – as viable customers who want, deserve, and will seize opportunities to access one of the most powerful drivers of wealth, capital markets.
- In the workplace, it means employers and gig platforms offering proven tools to help workers achieve near-term financial security, and developing the next generation of financial benefits tailored for working people and designed specifically to produce financial security.
- In the fintech and technology ecosystems, it means ensuring that game-changing technologies of tomorrow –like AI and distributed ledgers– will serve and benefit underserved customers, even while today’s innovators incorporate proven financial security innovations and pioneer new distribution channels.
- Among policymakers and public officials, it means embracing automatic enrollment for short-term savings (“Autosave”), exploring new ways that existing state 529 plans can serve working families, and ensuring that tax credits and the tax filing process enable family financial security.
- In capital markets and among ESG and impact investors, it means investors recognize that worker financial security is a critical driver of financial and social returns, and support and reward firms that offer proven tools and policies to foster it.
Influencing systems is long-term work, and it demands that we work in partnership across sectors. Our work is part of a larger puzzle, and to achieve full impact, our “puzzle pieces” must fit with others’. If you have ideas about how our pieces might fit together with yours, please take a moment now to email me directly and share your thoughts. Together, we can influence the systems that enable financial security, and ultimately, make wealth possible for everyone.
Timothy Flacke, Executive Director