Poverty In America
What Vince and I discussed today was Poverty In America. It was a fabulous discussion and I gave some input for him to think about. What I'm about to say is only my opinion, but one I feel strongly about.
The highest level of Poverty In America comes from the inter-city and depressed rural areas. My beloved ex-boss, Jose, taught me that: "words have Meaning." Sooo, as soon as we white folks hear "inter-city" we think of black people. The term really means any people of color and some whites, who are affected by the poverty and the depressed nature of the inter-city
We think the depressed rural area people are rednecks (stupid white people). Not true. Yes, depressed rural area people are mostly white, but most of them are not "stupid white people."
The facts are that both depressed inter-city and depressed rural area people have many common traits. One, they lack education from both the school system and their parents (who never got the education they deserve). Second, most of the kids caught up in this depression, don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. Once, someone or anyone believes that they will never have a chance to a better life, they turn to all kinds of bad behavior that solidifies their status in life.
Therefore, as the saying goes: "what goes around, comes around." It's a vicious cycle that has been going on way too long.
Some would say that "these people" need to break that cycle on their own. Well, try that someday when you believe there is no way out and your friend just got gunned down last week. Some believe that "these people" are happy to be in gangs, selling drugs and don't care about community. Some believe that criminal activity is a product of their genes. Some believe that "these people" are too stupid to learn something new. Some believe that if the Government gives them money (food stamps, money for having more and more babies, etc., etc.), they will just spend it on drugs and crime.
I choose to believe none of that is true. I choose to believe that people (especially kids) in that situation want a better life, but don't have the means to make it happen. I choose to believe that there are masses amount of untapped brain power in these communities.
Sooo, what can we do? The truth is that the Government free money programs have not worked and the bad people are making it hard for the good people. The truth is that these Government programs have not changed the dynamics. We need a much better solution and I'm going to give you a few.
IMHO, education is the building block to fix this problem. The Politicians say that we need to give more money to the schools, we need to have more and better teachers and we need to pay teachers more money. IMO, all that sounds good, but doesn't solve the core of the problem.
As a marketeer, I learned quickly you have to give people what they want. You also, have to give people something that will greatly enhance their chance to have a better life. What is that thing - JOBS? Well how are these kids and adults going to get JOBS when they are not trained to do so.
Let's start with, where are the JOBS. Just two (of many) fields have so many needs for America (and around the world) - Hi-Tech Engineers and family doctors. The government and industry are dying to get their hands on anyone who can create AI, create robots, create and fix software problems, solve Climate Change problems, High-Tech used in the Medical field and create applications and tools to better the human experience. These JOBS are in the millions and currently we are importing the talent needed from Japan, India and even the Arab nations.
The Japanese realized long ago that High-Tech Engineering was a way to create JOBS and a better the economy. India suffered from poverty. They didn't have home grown resources like Oil. A very smart Indian leader, told his people that the way to economic success was to focus on education in the High-Tech fields and Doctors. Even the new leader of Saudi Arabia has decided to fund more education in High-Tech Engineering and Doctors to fend off the countries reliance in Oil.
Sooo, I propose, we tap the untapped brain power of the inter-city kids and the depressed rural areas. How should we do that? Our schools should get Government money to give kids and adults their chance for these jobs. I propose that 50% of a school's budget should be spent on special classes in High-Tech Engineering and math. Teaching history is nice, but where are the jobs. Also, anyone interested in history can get all they want from the internet.
We don't need critically needed teachers teaching classes that don't lead to real JOBS for kids and adults that need and want to get out of their depressed situation. I'm not saying we should scrap all other classes, but our priorities should be focused on where the JOBS are. I believe a 50%+ priority for Hi-Tech is appropriate.
We need to give High-Tech "Lay" teachers enough money so they will want to teach these kids and adults. We need to create schools and universities that have all the necessary needs and High-Tech equipment to create these classes. IMO, every inter-city and Rural area kid should be on a computer at five years old.
Who is going to pay for all this? It's clear it has to come from the Local and Federal Government. Where will they get the money? Give me a break. These efforts are peanuts in a multi-trillion dollar budget. Going to the Moon and Mars one year later will pay for the whole thing. Also, the savings from getting people out of poverty and into the workforce, will probably pay back for at least half of that budget.
Well, what about Doctors? States are having a very hard time getting more Doctors. There are tens of thousands of job openings in that field. Yes, we could use more specially Doctors (like surgeons, ENT Doctors, etc.), but the real needed JOBS are in Family Medicine Doctors. The inter-city and Rural area people can solve this problem. People with means, want to be Plastic Surgeons or Dermatologists because that's where the money is. Those people can afford to go to school for eight or more years to learn their trade. People from poverty will accept less wealth to get a great job healing everyday family people.
OK, how do we do that? I propose, teaching basic medicine in High School (using High-Tech methods). I propose we limit the number of years to become a Family Doctor to four years of college. What am I nuts? I don't think so. 95% of the people that go to a Family Doctor go because they have the flu, a pain they don't know why it's happening, A wound that needs treatment, A blood test to look at their vitals, solutions for diabetes, etc. etc..
These are not rocket science solutions. In four years, schools should be able to give future Family Doctors enough education and tools along with a year or two apprenticeship with an experienced Family Doctor to make them qualified. Lastly, the Government could and should make Doctor medical insurance affordable for new Family Doctors coming on the scene.
Lastly, Colleges should allow entry to inter-city and Rural area students that don't have the grades (or clout) to get scholarships as long as they have had High School experience in High-Tech engineering or Medicine. Also, the Government should give low cost college loans to students who want to work in these fields. These loans should be removed after the student is in the field after two years.
Again, where is the money coming from? Again, give me a break. Becoming the worlds leader in the High-Tech Engineering fields and having the best Doctors to help the people, should be enough to find the money in the bloated Federal Budget.
These are my suggestions on how America can fix:
Poverty In America.
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