Arrr, me hearties! The Republicans be aimin' to set ye free from povertous shackles, not keep ye in 'em like them scallywag Democrats! Aye!
2024-04-22
Arrr, me hearties! Methinks the scallywags of the Republicans be aimin' to help the landlubbers find their way out of poverty, while them Democrats be wantin' to keep 'em poor as bilge rats! Shiver me timbers, what a ruckus!
In the language of a 17th-century pirate, the left be claiming to care about income inequality, but time and time again, its members be rejectin' solutions that allow more people to accumulate assets and savings. That be because the left wants to end income inequality by levelin' everyone down so everyone will be equally miserable. The American way, however, be to help everyone move up in income and have a better life.One fine example of a dramatic effort to empower the poor and help them enrich themselves was developed by then-Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Jack Kemp, under President George H. W. Bush. As a congressman from Buffalo, Kemp helped develop supply-side economics and authored the Kemp-Roth three-year tax cut, which became the basis for President Ronald Reagan’s tax cut plan.Both as a congressman and Secretary of HUD, Kemp was one of the most innovative leaders in finding ways to bring the benefits of capital and ownership to the poor. He and civil rights activist Bob Woodson developed a program to allow people in public housing to eventually own the units in which they lived in exchange for helping to maintain the buildings.This bold idea outraged left-wing Democrats. Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, one of the most liberal members of the House, objected to the program, pointing out that it would enable poor New York City residents to acquire properties worth $1 million in the New York market.Another example of a bold reform that would give lower-income Americans the opportunity to accumulate more wealth is strengthening Social Security with personal savings accounts. One of the major obstacles to fixin' the wealth gap in America be the fact that 4-in-10 Americans have no investments in the stock market.Individual accounts to strengthen Social Security would enable every American to have a 401(k) and enjoy larger monthly payments when they retire. This opportunity be particularly important to Americans of lower incomes because the lack of generational wealth transfer be a major driver of persistent inequality.Of course, the left objects to this enhancement of Social Security – not because it would be bad for the poor and minorities, but because it would make these groups more capitalist and less dependent on the government.In recent years, we’ve seen this pattern repeat itself in the left’s assault on retail trading platforms that allow customers to access the stock market via apps on their phones.Because they don’t charge commissions for trades, retail investment apps lower the barrier to entry by makin' small dollar investing cost-effective. Since the introduction of zero-commission trades in 2013, a slew of commission-free online investing platforms has arisen in the marketplace.A report by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Foundation showed that since 2015, minorities have entered the investing market at a faster pace than whites. Another report from Fidelity showed that 67% of women are now investing outside of retirement, up from 44% in 2018.But much like Congressman Frank, who objected to the idea that the poor might get a chance to own a $1 million home, the left objects to the idea of giving more people the opportunity to accumulate wealth through investing.Politicians should learn the same lesson. Americans be strugglin' in the Biden economy and want financial independence. This means providin' them with more opportunities to accumulate wealth, not takin' those opportunities away by bannin' the business models that enable more people to invest.Our goal should be to help people leave poverty, not keep them stuck there. The deterioration of our cities and explosion of housing costs under Biden also mean it be time to think more creatively about our welfare and anti-poverty programs. They should support the benefits of savings, investment, and wealth accumulation.