Peer2Politics

Inequality and poverty are suddenly hot topics, not only in the United States but also across the globe. Since the early 1980s, there has been a growing underclass in America. At the same time a much smaller class, now called the superrich, built its wealth to levels of opulence not seen since France’s Louis XVI. Despite this, the resulting inequality went mostly unnoticed. When the Great Recession of 2008 hit, and the division between the very wealthy and the rest of us came starkly into focus, various people and groups, including the Occupy movement, began insisting more publicly that we tax wealth. But still, helping the poor has been mostly a discussion on the fringes. At last, the terms of public debate have changed, because inequality and poverty now are debated regularly in the mainstream media and across the political spectrum, not solely by labor, by the left, and by others imagining a new economy.

For the past 15 years, I have invested a great deal of time, energy and money in the field of social entrepreneurship. I did this because I believe we need to take very significant actions to address global poverty and socio-political inequality, primarily through the creation of livelihoods and personal wealth. This will only happen by financially and politically empowering the disenfranchised so that they may climb out of poverty.