NJ Governor proposes $1,000 'baby bond' for children to close wealth gap
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) proposed on Tuesday a $1,000 “baby bond” nest egg for children from lower income families in an effort to close the wealth gap in the state.The governor included the baby bond proposal in an amended state budget, as a scaled-down version of Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-N.J.) congressional legislation to address the gap in wealth. Murphy said the idea was “inspired by the trailblazing work” of Booker to address financial inequities specifically between white and Black families.The proposed baby bonds would provide $1,000 to each child born in 2021 into families earning less than about $131,000 per year or 500 percent of the federal poverty level, helping about three of every four children born in the state.