Breaking the poverty chain in a polarized era
Reflections from guest blogger, entrepreneur & investor Jon Langbert
Today, something I haven’t done before: a guest blog. After reading my book Higher Purpose Venture Capital, a friend, business associate, and angel investor Jon Langbert kindly reached out to share a few reflections on solving some of the macro issues related to solving the inequality gap. I found his sentiments to be quite thoughtful and worth sharing with you, my dear readers.
So here it is, in Jon’s words:
One thing I keep thinking about when I see all the problems and challenges faced by the base of the pyramid, is “where to begin?” So many of the solutions are fixing a discrete issue, but how do we keep the problem from arising generation after generation? In a country where the wealthy have managed to divide the political power of the poor by splitting them on social issues, and then compromised their critical thinking skills with subpar schooling, what will it take to get the government to work in the best interests of those with little or no voice?
The fairest (and likely best) solution to most problems is to have the solvers approach the situation blindly. In other words, they should design programs and systems as if they had no idea what their role would be. For example, imagine if tax rates weren’t set by those beholden to donors in the top bracket, but rather by people who were awaiting a roll of the dice to determine where they would end up on the income ladder until after the tax code was developed. Or even better, enlist experts from foreign lands with more successful systems. Unfortunately, neither is a nirvana available to us, so where do we turn? It seems to me that many problems trace their roots to two systemic elements:
Low-income parents are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to raising their kids to compete (worse schools, financial illiteracy, more hours spent working, poorer healthcare access, lack of role models, unaffordable and crappy childcare, unhealthy air, lack of car alternatives, racist and overly punitive policing and criminal justice, byzantine processes to access benefits — the list is almost endless), and
All branches of the government no longer function to benefit the many, but rather donors, special interests, and the politicians themselves.
And so I’ve often thought about two businesses that might start to address those fundamental challenges:
A program to educate parents on the myriad issues in successfully raising kids, while also assisting them with getting whatever benefits to which they’re entitled (from both government agencies and private non-profits). Since the best parents are likely the ones who would self-select into the program, there needs to be a monetary or other incentive(s) to participate, along with free child care and transportation on class days (which should be at least monthly, I think). The program would begin upon pregnancy (or earlier) and last until their children graduate from high school. The curriculum would be designed to be entertaining as well as educational, prepared by nonpartisan professionals with outcomes being closely monitored against control groups. Sponsorships should be offered along with discounts on diapers and the like. Partnerships with donors and non-profits would be encouraged, but they would be strictly fire-walled from the curriculum development. Topics would include everything from health and nutrition, controlling social media, creating a home environment conducive to success, dealing with the criminal “justice” system, how to interact with the schools, dealing with challenges, how to teach financial skills to kids, critical thinking, understanding age-appropriate milestones, finding and communicating successfully with medical professionals, role modeling — again, an essentially endless list.
An app/website that allows citizens to easily draft and collect signatures in order to initiate referendums for programs that would benefit those who need the help — essentially a LegalZoom for citizen referendums, customized for every jurisdiction (both city and state). Another feature would notify people when their politicians vote and legislate against the bottom of the pyramid and then help them run recall campaigns. I haven’t figured out how to ensure the tool wouldn’t be hijacked by extremists with an unhelpful agenda, but perhaps there’s still a way for voices to get heard outside of the two-party duopoly. (This is clearly a less impactful idea than #1.)
So what do you think? Are these pure non-profits with admirable goals, or is there a way to craft a business around one of them? Is someone already doing something like this and I just haven’t discovered them? How would you proceed?
Ron’s take:
I have consistently argued that education is foundational to disrupting the cycle of poverty that passes from one generation to the next. This is about ensuring that those who enter the workforce have the intellectual and interpersonal skills necessary to advance in careers, earnings-potential, and life in general. However, education does not stop at the walls of what’s taught in schools. Many schools fail to deliver on basic, practical topics such as savings and investment. We also make the cost of higher education so ghastly expensive that, while it serves some students very well, the system also perpetuates and exacerbates income inequality by not offering accessibility to those who simply cannot afford it.
At no point in any level of formal education do we focus systematically on the topic of raising and educating our own children. It seems that we are too afraid to impart critical life lessons that we pass along to our kids from day one. We rely on new parents to educate themselves. We wouldn’t blindly trust a teacher, doctor, dentist, pilot, or any number of other skilled professionals who don’t come with years of intensive training and experience. Yet, when it comes to cultivating a human life, anyone who is able to procreate is left to their own devices to figure out what’s next. We need to engage more, not less, with informing and educating parents on raising children for health and success. We also need to find new ways of leveraging technology to engage citizens in a way that helps to solve the challenges that those of limited means face in their daily lives. While not every problem contains a singular solution today, we need to open this dialogue and provide for access to all citizens. Ultimately, we must empower lifelong learning that enables society to break the chains that keep much of humanity from achieving upward social mobility and fulfilling their full human potential.