The germ of a good idea.

It was not a surprise, since the idea of children's trust funds, or "baby bonds," was included in Labour's manifesto. But British Finance Minister Gordon Brown's announcement in the budget that the government would put money into a savings account for children at birth is nonetheless a welcome and intriguing idea--and one that has support from both left and right. Most children will get £250 at birth, though poorer families (a third of the total, says the government) will receive £500 and their families will also qualify for full child tax credit. Like many original ideas in political economy, this one was born in America. The debate was started in 1999 by two American academics, Bruce Ackerman and Anne Alstott, in their book "The Stakeholder Society." Growing wealth inequality, they said, meant that few in America had a fair crack at life. In Britain the idea has been pushed hard by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a left-leaning think-tank.