Although Americans perceptions on the economy dipped late last year, their financial well-being increased and hit its highest level since 2013, when the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System survey began. The results of the latest wide-ranging survey, reported in the Economic Well-Being of U.S.

While there has been increasing public questioning of the value of a college degree, statistics on net worth by educational attainment paint a clear picture. In 2022, the median net worth of those without a high school diploma was approximately $38,000, while those with a college education sat at around $464,000. When looking at averages instead, the difference becomes even more pronounced, with non-high school graduates averaging a net worth of approximately $176,000 compared to college graduates’ $1.92 million.

From the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to the Department of the Treasury, the White House budget, and Congress, various stakeholders across the federal government have proposed multiple regulations in the past several weeks that would affect the venture capital industry in general and, in some cases, venture development organizations. We offer a brief roundup of these issues.

House passes bill to facilitate private investment

The U.S. Small Business Administration finalized new rules that provide more opportunities to leverage the agency’s flagship lending programs to support economic development strategies. The most significant changes in the rules would allow more non-depository lenders (e.g., loan funds) to participate in SBA’s lending programs, make employee ownership transitions an eligible use of loan proceeds, and remove many of the existing underwriting criteria. These changes mean tech-based economic development organizations should consider becoming approved SBA lenders.

Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the median net worth of Americans jumped an inflation-adjusted 37%, from approximately $141,000 to $192,000, representing the largest increase reported across available data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). Breaking net worth down into its two main components, assets and debts, shows that while debts have increased, the sharp rise in assets—both financial and nonfinancial—has driven these numbers.

The launch of a new private equity firm in central Ohio is a reminder of the continuing ripple effects of a decades-long strategy of cultivating an innovation system. If the State of Ohio hadn’t created and provided sustained funding over decades for its integrated array of technology-based economic development programs, the founders of a newly launched private equity firm wouldn’t be in the position now to commit to helping more mid-market companies succeed in central Ohio.