Investing in
Bridgeton
By Albert B.
Kelly
When it comes to economic
health; poverty, wealth, jobs and everything in between; the picture is not necessarily
a bright one. According to the data, the poverty line comes in at just above
$23,000 for a family of four; that means that everyone below that number is
officially in poverty. But I think that number fails to capture what’s really
going on.
We’ve always had “class”
in society; the wealthy or upper class, the lower class or poor, and then
everyone else; what we call the middle class. These categories defined us and
for a generation or two they worked well enough. The poor aimed at joining the
middle class and those in the middle aimed at moving to the upper classes. That’s
what was always great about America; it was a place where you could aim high
and with hard work and imagination, actually have a chance to make it.
For the most part, people
didn’t ask for or even expect a guarantee, just a level playing field and fair
shot at achieving it. But today, it feels like the game is rigged; the rules
favor Wall Street bankers and large corporations. The talk about growth,
quarterly earnings, and rising stock prices don’t amount to much production;
it’s all about “paper wealth”, leverage, and debt.
In “How the poor can save
Capitalism” entrepreneur John Hope Bryant describes what he calls the
“teetering class”. It’s the 75% of us living from paycheck to paycheck. It’s
everyone who is just one car repair or medical bill away from real trouble. The
old formulas don’t work anymore, and the conventional wisdom on poverty and
growth is useless.
Ours is $15 trillion-plus
economy and it’s mostly consumer spending; people buying stuff. Consider that
80% of Americans, meaning those of us in the lower and middle classes spend fully
90% of our income. The wealthy only spend 50% of their income. The lower and
middle classes have approximately 12% of the nation’s wealth; the rest, (88%)
is controlled by the top tier.
The bottom line is that
for our country, region, county and city to grow and prosper the lower and
middle classes have to be about “consumer spending”…they have to keep buying
stuff. But in order to do that, they need better incomes; the poor need to have
the ability to move up to middle class status and “the middle” needs stability.
Of course the wealthy only get to remain wealthy if those below them do well.
As a city, we can only
prosper if we invest in our people. Bridgeton is considered a poor and
“economically distressed” community and so we are. But that does not mean we
are without resources. The poor and underserved that make up our demographic
don’t need to remain so. Providing financial literacy, training in the STEAM
subjects (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) and competency in
the technologies that will rule the next two decades is the place to start.
That’s why I am strongly encouraging
every young person-and the not so young-to take advantage of Cumberland County
College setting up a satellite campus here in Bridgeton. The focus on STEAM is
exactly the right thing at the right time at the right price.
Courses will allow
students to establish a foundation that they can grow into a career. What is
significant about the “STEAM” structure the college is launching is that it
serves as a starting place toward a degree through any number of County College
degree programs. Education is the tool that will allow the poor to move into
the middle and the middle to go further.
It’s the price of
admission. The old formulas don’t work anymore; a high school diploma is not
enough. The velocity of money is faster; everything is getting more complex,
life is getting more automated and the way to wealth and stability is now more
technical, entrepreneurial, and specialized then it’s ever been.
So investing in our young
people through education and training is an investment in our own community
because some will start new businesses, create new markets, expand existing
business and the economic activity they generate will stay within our broader
community. It won’t happen quickly, but that’s why we have to start now. The
fruit of our investment will take time to harvest, but it starts with providing
a reason for young minds to come and then to stay.