Build It Back Better: Towards a Human-Centered Capitalism

For a recent #BuildItBackBetter event, NationSwell Council member Andrew Yang, entrepreneur and former Democratic candidate for United States President, and Wes Moore, CEO of Robin Hood, gathered around our digital table to identify some of the most compelling and precise solutions for creating a more human-centered and dynamic national economy. The event was moderated by Marie Groark, Director of Programs at Schultz Family Foundation

Here is the NationSwell Takeaway from the event.

Three Numbers

90%
The percentage of American voters concerned about the economy in 2022.

8.2%
The current rate of inflation, up ~250% from the long term average 

50
The approximate number of years wages have stagnated in America

Three Trends

Attitudes towards capitalism are shifting — largely along generational lines. A 66% majority of young adults view capitalism negatively, and about 50% of young adults are likely to hold a favorable definition of socialism compared to 30-34% from older generations.

Millennials are the first-ever recorded generation in American history to hold the opinion that they will be less wealthy than their parents. 

Philanthropy is increasingly being seen as the risk capital — and the increased popularity in trust-based approaches that center community and remove red tape from grantees are pushing it to be even riskier.

The Challenges

The structure of the current economy has been broken for some time. COVID didn’t break anything, it simply exacerbated already existing realities of inequality.

You can’t solve trillion-dollar problems with a million dollars. Half of all philanthropy each year goes to alma maters, and half of the remaining half goes to hospitals and houses of worship. How can we allocate the majority of resources to where there is the majority of need?

What’s Working

We all need to think of ways we can better give people power and autonomy over their own financial circumstances. An important tool in this regard can be direct cash assistance. Millions of people recently received cash assistance in April 2020 and this didn’t make them lazy, it simply allowed them to address immediate needs and take care of themselves and others. On top of this direct cash assistance, give every American 100 dollars they can use to give to a non-profit every year.

Embrace philanthropy as risk-capital. Philanthropy should be able to nurture ideas that are scalable, prove they can work, then pass them on to our government partners. We should not be thinking about ourselves as a line item. Ask yourself: what’s the problem you’re trying to solve? And how are you trying to solve it?

Create a dashboard for human flourishing. People in power need to change the very measurements of our economic progress from GDP, stock market values and unemployment rate to life expectancy, mental health, freedom from substance abuse and childhood success rates. 

If you missed the conversation, watch it here on our Facebook page.