Investment today in our youth will yield rewards in the future: Opinion

Albert Kelly Albert Kelly.jpg

When it comes to economic health, poverty, wealth, jobs and everything in between, the picture is not necessarily a bright one. According to the data, the poverty line comes in at just above $23,000 for a family of four That means that everyone below that number is officially in poverty. But I think that number fails to capture what's really going on.

We've always had "class" in society — the wealthy or upper class, the lower class or poor, and then everyone else, what we call the middle class. These categories defined us and for a generation or two they worked well enough. The poor aimed at joining the middle class and those in the middle aimed at moving to the upper classes. That's what was always great about America, it was a place where you could aim high and with hard work and imagination, actually have a chance to make it.

For the most part, people didn't ask for or even expect a guarantee, just a level playing field and fair shot at achieving it. But today, it feels like the game is rigged and the rules favor Wall Street bankers and large corporations. The talk about growth, quarterly earnings, and rising stock prices don't amount to much production, it's all about "paper wealth," leverage, and debt.

In "How the poor can save Capitalism," entrepreneur John Hope Bryant describes what he calls the "teetering class." It's the 75 percernt of us living from paycheck to paycheck. It's everyone who is just one car repair or medical bill away from real trouble. The old formulas don't work anymore and the conventional wisdom on poverty and growth is useless.

Read the full article here.

Watch the 4-minute movie on How The Poor Can Save Capitalism here.

Listen to the first national interview for How The Poor Can Save Capitalism, on the Steve Harvey Morning Show here.

Join the national HOPE 100-City Book Tour here. 

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