To address wealth gap, Wash. to consider $4K ‘baby bonds’

SEATTLE (AP) — Jennifer Bereskin dropped out of high school when she was 17 because her family was homeless, and she needed to get a job. Couch surfing with friends in Everett, Lynnwood and Seattle, her dreams of college were put aside. The Seattle Times reports a proposal coming before the Washington Legislature next year aims to break the cycle of poverty that’s trapped families like Bereskin’s and lift low-income residents toward a path of financial independence. The Washington Future Fund would create a pool of money that every child born under the state’s Medicaid program, Apple Health, could access a portion of upon adulthood to use toward homeownership, education or pursuing a small business.