HEADLINES OF THE DAY: ANOTHER 15,000 PEOPLE DIED YESTERDAY BECAUSE THEY WERE TOO POOR TO LIVE. THE RICH INCREASED THEIR WEALTH YESTERDAY BY $0.3 BILLION. THE 21st CENTURY VERSION OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION IS ONE DAY NEARER.
“O Ye rich ones on earth! The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust, and be not intent only on your own ease.”
Bahá’u’lláh
A preview of the unpublished book A CIVILIZATION WITHOUT A VISION WILL PERISH: AN INDEPENDENT SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH by David Willis at willisdavid167@gmail.com. CHAPTER 1: INDIFFERENCE TO POVERTY: Part 100). This blog is a continuation of the review of HOW THE POOR CAN SAVE CAPITALISM: REBUILDING THE PATH TO THE MIDDLE CLASS by John Hope Bryant, published in 2014.
The well-off possess incredibly high levels of self-esteem and self confidence
Just as the poor are not who we think they are, neither are the so-called rich. The advantages they enjoy are both financial and a mirror image of the disabling characteristics I outlined in relation to the new definition of poverty. Relative to the poor, the well-off possess incredibly high levels of self-esteem and self confidence. In fact, this is this group’s real wealth. Second, they possess strong and positive role models, typically beginning with their parents, a strong and stable community environment, and most notably, access to vitally important business role models. Finally, this group possesses strong and natural access to opportunity in their lives – strong schools, top-flight educational access, and educational resources. They also possess a natural network of family relationships to help them navigate circles of power and influence.
The things that they depend upon for their largess will fall away
If the rich and privileged simply decide to disappear behind their walls, the things that they depend upon for their largess will fall away, will be torn away, or will be destroyed. This is a global problem, not unique to America, but it is a most immediate risk here in the United States because of our reliance on freedom, life, liberty, and the promise of our Constitution at the heart of the American experience.
A new partnership between government, community, and the private sector
But there is another way, rooted in a new partnership between government, community, and the private sector that focuses on actually solving our problems in a holistic way. This is a partnership between the rich and the poor, focused not merely on decreasing levels of aspiration, hope, engagement, well-being, and, with all of that, increased economic energy and increased gross domestic product.
Every big business was once a small one
84% of all tax revenue in the state of California is paid by 15% of California taxpayers. Immigrants or their children founded more than 40% of Fortune 500 companies, which collectively employ more than 10 million people and today generate total annual revenues of more than $4.2 trillion. America has been small businesses, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and what is often referred to as “shoot-ups.” Every big business was once a small one, and the 38 million residents of California represent a huge, mostly untapped reservoir of economic energy.
Ford’s insight ushered in the birth of the American middle class
When Henry Ford introduced his first automobile, he was smart enough to pay his workers enough to buy the automobiles they were building. Ford’s factory production approach was all about volume, and he realized there was no point in building a lot of cars if he didn’t have a lot of customers. Ford’s insight helped usher in the birth of the American middle class – and provided a kick start for the city of Detroit.
It has been the masses driving this economic juggernaut
Since that time to today, from Detroit to Silicon Valley, it has been the masses of America, not the high-end classes of America alone, driving this economic juggernaut. In fact, with the notable exception of wealth gained through criminal activity, war, government contracting, and the like, almost all real wealth accumulation in this country has come through the working poor, the struggling classes, and a broad middle class.