WEST VIRGINIA (WOAY) – West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore is behind the Jumpstart Savings Act.
It’s a savings account you can access after graduating from a trade or technical school or community college. Students can stash up to $25,000 in tax-free contributions. The catch? They can’t touch the money until after graduation.
“It’s the first of its kind in the country. No one else is doing this right now. It has gotten a lot of attention in Washington D.C. and the regions around those surrounding states,” says State Treasurer Moore.
75% of West Virginians -don’t have a college degree. State Treasurer Riley Moore says it’s a very working people’s state, a blue-collar state. He wants to show that attending a four-year university is not the only answer and also show what’s best for people living here.
“I think college is good, but it is not the only answer. I think sometimes it’s about what fits us best, instead of trying to pushy everyone into college when we have this great opportunity outside of college.”
Treasurer Moore is passionate about the bill. He started his career as a welder and wanted to create his own business, but was afraid to take the financial risk.
“I think it’s going to really incentivize and help people get going on their career path. This is just about getting people to work. It is a very West Virginia bill.”
And West Virginia would be the -first- state in the country to implement such a program.
“This is about working class people in the state of West Virginia and now giving them an incentivization in their career path like we’ve been doing for college students for so long now.”
The money in the savings account can be used for business startup costs or to buy the necessities needed to get started after graduation.
