John Hope Bryant

John Hope Bryant Speaks on United Nations Yak

Yakkers Corner: Muriel invites John Hope Bryant back to the Yakkers Corner to discuss his new role as Chairman of President Obama’s Subcommittee for the Underserved and for Community Empowerment

 

John Hope Bryant currently serves on President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability and chairs its Subcommittee on the Underserved and Community Empowerment

Listen to the complete interview here.

Commentary on Poverty and the Current Economic Crisis

I just finished radio taping a segment for the John Bachelor Show on ABC Radio (a national show), with a person I really respect, Ms. Diane Brady, and dealing with economic policy, my role as the new chairman of the Subcommittee on the Underserved and Community Empowerment for President Obama and the US President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability.  

We covered, amongst other things, my view on what's coming out of Washington, DC these days, and specifically the view that this crisis was somehow created by poor people, and you have to punish the poor to get them to take charge of thier lives.

I said a lot of what I believe on the show, which will air later tonight, but here are a couple additional points of focus:

• This crisis was NOT created by poor people. The fact is that more middle class white men received subprime loans that kicked off the global econoic crisis, than all poor people combined in the United States. Furthermore, poor people do not have 20 trillion dollars to lose, which is how much wealth evaporated in this crisis in the U.S. alone. This was and remains a middle class crisis.  Well educated people for the most part, who bought too much house, and asked the wrong questions; asking what the payment was when they purchased a home, and not what the interest rate was.

John Rogers Quote of the Day

"...Black families have yet to feel the end of the recession because, generally speaking, blacks bypass the stock market — where wealth is created — and instead, invest in their homes.  ...We’re still not investing in equities in the stock market, we have more of our wealth in the housing market, and the housing market got hit by a recession and therefore we took a bigger hit than white Americans — who are still more heavily invested in the stock market. ...Research shows that African Americans are not as comfortable in the stock market; not as comfortable with starting a 401(k) plan at work; and we are not compounding our money.”

John Rogers, chairman, Ariel Capital Management, and chairman, U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

 

 

President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability Helps Americans Achieve Financial Security

 

Special from the Operation HOPE Blog.

President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability Helps Americans Achieve Financial Security.