A New Spin on MBK Programs

MBK programs were started during the last Presidential administration. Many focus on engaging an active volunteer base in local communities.

Volunteer opp’s are nice. But ‘brothers’ need full time paying jobs.

‘Jobs’ only come when governments, big businesses, and wealthy families choose to cut a check to them, in exchange for using their talents to serve the mission a gov’t agency, work for the investors of a big business, or serve the private interests of a wealthy family.

Indeed, it’s a choice. Money can’t be stolen, and unless you own a bank, it can’t be ‘made’.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional-reserve_banking

How Money Supply and Its Distribution Promotes Wealth Inequality

Yet, after our ‘brothers’ attain talents and skills (in “college”), and years of volunteer experiences, our ‘brothers’ remain at higher risk of employment insecurity. Literally, there’s a 400% disparity in student loan default rates by race, among college graduates.

Too often, people who control financial capital choose not to avail it to our ‘brothers’, per study after study after study.

Per the Harvard economists who showed us the limits of mentoring…

http://www.nber.org/papers/w24441

“the black-white income gap is driven entirely by large differences in wages and employment rates between black and white men”. The people who are hiring managers in government, big businesses, and wealthy families simply don’t push dollars to ‘brothers’.

This isn’t attributable to Lakisha’s inability to write resumes.

https://www.chicagobooth.edu/pdf/bertrand.pdf

This isn’t attributable to Jamal’s ability to write proposals.

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/19/science/19nih.html

And this race-based gap is larger than the gap in default rates between ANY OTHER demographic groups… It is LARGER than the gap in default rates by gender, by academic major, by parental income, and any other sociologically relevant methodology to compare relative risk of economic failure between two large and prominent groups.

Which is all the more reason to initiate a voluntary workforce diversity program.

Choose Economic Development AMIDST Bias

Unfortunately, the people who fully control financial capital have no strong policy incentives nor enforcements to put our young ‘brothers’ into full time employment… despite the benefits.

Full time workers commit fewer crimes, b/c they’re too busy working. Full time workers are better parents, b/c they have resources to invest into their children.  More full time workers reduces the need for ‘public housing’ programs, Medicaid, community policing, and reduces the cost of other State funded social programs.

Despite the benefits, if I am a government program manager with a budget, or if I’m a business executive to make hires, or if I’m a high net worth person ready to make investments into ‘brothers’, there is no incentive written into law for me to voluntarily hire and direct dollars to ‘brothers’.

No incentive to hire homeless ‘brothers’. No incentive to hire ‘brothers’ with Doctorate degrees in default on student loans from long term unemployment. No incentive to reduce standing levels of economic discrimination by race…

If I had $10 million, there’s no incentive written into law for me to give it to ‘brothers’… not a mandate – just an incentive.

Notably, advanced education is available to everyone – per the Federal student loan program. There are no disparities in education – nearly anyone with a heartbeat and brain can access hundreds of thousands of dollars in student debt. The disparity rests purely in access to full time jobs.

Herein, exactly how much would it cost to hire every single ‘brother’ who’s in default on their student loans, who applies to work in a full time role, and has successfully completed a Doctorate degree? Again, there are no disparities in education – everyone has equal access to the Federal Student loan program, and thereby can access hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan monies.

Only 13,000 black Americans graduate with a doctorate degree yearly. More than half are women – about 6,000 ‘brothers’?

https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_svc.pdf

Such a national program would cost less than a quarter billion, to hire each ‘brother’ who has completed doctorate level training.

Prioritize hiring those who are in default on Federal student loans. Half of black borrowers are in default — that’s a max of 3,000 new ‘brothers’ in default yearly?

Most would likely work where they have family.

MS, LA, AL, GA, DC, then all the other places where ‘brothers’ live…

At the most, this is an estimated 127 new doctorate holding ‘brothers’ being fully employed in the nation’s capital (for example) yearly?

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2017/03/dc-per-capita-income-25-percent-higher-national-average/

At wages in the nation’s capital, this is a $10,000,000 program – to hire all low income+low wealth ‘brothers’ with a doctorate degree this year, with family in DC, in financial distress (in default on federal student loans)? Only $50m over 5 years for each cohort?

This is easily affordable with partnership between governments (Fed and State) and private sector (big biz and wealthy families). It’s also legally permitted in many case, and even encouraged.

See CFR 124.104, which is written to allow for economic development among economically disadvantaged people.

See EEOC’s Title VII Section 15, which says “The Commission encourages voluntary affirmative action and diversity efforts to improve opportunities for racial minorities”.

Best part, we would be grooming a class of ‘brothers’ every year who participate in the program for a limited number of years, to ‘graduate’ and become the private sector partners to help co-sponsor the next generation.
Meaning, it’s potentially a self-sustaining program eventually.

Isn’t this the role of government (per its laws and tax payer dollars)… to provide a safety net for citizens who are motivated and capable yet more vulnerable to injustices?

Contact us to serve as a manager for this prospective program to serve our ‘brothers’.

Author: pH14 Plan Staff

pH14 Plan is an economic development model for all U.S. households' participation. You can support this research by subscribing for more access, or contact us to make a gift.

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