John Hope Bryant on financial literacy and fighting poverty

[bush1tman]

This is the same shit that has been rehashed by socialist self appointed god men for the entire 20th century. It's good intentions led to mass killing everywhere. Rebuild the Jericho road? In whose image this time? Mine?

[KayandB]

WOW i REALLY APPRECIATE HOW HONEST HE IS BEING AND REAL

[xobeht]

Mr. John Hope Bryant speaks clearly on the most meaningful and immediate solution to improve life on this planet. The root of all evil is the lack of money. This planetary economy is based on money and without it our brothers and sisters become poor. Poverty breeds and creates a downward spiral for the family. The way out of poverty is for business and social leadership to obstain from profiting on the backs of the unfortunate and to instead create opportunity. Teach another to fish.

[stillonparolee]

It's the love of money that is the root of evil. Money doesn't change you, it just brings out who you really are.

[openmind301]

money does change people, i had lot of friends who were nice, once they became rich, they changed lot !

don't get me wrong, some changed to the good so they helped the poor, others to the bad that they won't even say hi to you unless you are in business with them !

[xobeht]

Teach your brothers to fish, stop handing out fish. One handout feeds one meal. One person taugh to fish removes one lifetime of daily handouts.

[williamhemsworth13]

You need to help mothers that are struggleing in life because when i get a job im only 13 so when i get a job im goin to get my mom somthing good.

[Policritic]

So far this is the only guy who's made some sense in the larger context. The word is ownership. It's the only way to prosper in a capitalist world economy. GWBush pushed for ownership and the Democrats smacked it down, but as this guy explains, it's the only hope for the poor people of the world to free themselves from those who would hold economic and political power over them. This includes all politicians and governments. Set your people free!

[cosmicjackpot]

I liked hearing this. I won't pretend I'm convinced that the idealism is persuasive, but I liked hearing this.

[schenker4]

Here in the USA we are letting poachers from south of the border fish out the job market.

Construction companies pimp out this black market labor and the American citizen wages and opportunities for good jobs continue to diminish. Construction was the one place a uneducated person could make a decent living but now how can you competed with under the table wages. It's so bad that even the unions are force to troll these waters. Frankly I see no hope greed will always rule the day.

[Tesselator]

This guy sounds like Ron Paul... Kewl!

[cherielnz]

If we are going 2 change this world & make it a better place we are first going 2 have 2 start with changing ourselfs, there is 2 much negativity in all of us.We must listen 2 what everyone is saying for us 2 move forward & make a difference.Nothing in this life is for free you must work hard 2 get the things that u want, u cant expect things 2 be given 2 u on a silver plater. Give a man a fish and he will feed himself for the day, teach a man how 2 fish and he will feed himself for a life time.

[wildchildplasma]

Just the man. Yaer you sitting there cold. not that being white technically helps more how one adapts over time anyway i have a cool idea.

Settled cheap to make conductive cloving that can warm and can cool using special crystal stuff and other fibers. and Afro global food markets for Afrocans and old men as the main health improvement target.

[Godzilla1909]

I am sooo big

[jeronimofl]

You certainly have a point there. I couldn't agree with you more. Yet I live in a third world country and it's really hard to put in words how frustrating it is to see how people just 'go with the flow' as they are fed a very narrow, poorly articulated yet somehow convincing view of the community they live in by the government through the media (which has grown fond of the govenment's financial support) This is just too complex for a 500 chars post. But trust me, they deserve those cellphones.

[TOILETLOG]

financial education 101: if you're poor it's because you have a crappy job. if you have a crappy job it's because you have no skills or you have a felony criminal record. nobody wants to hire either one.

as far as creating a generation of "entrepreneurs" in africa, that's all africa needs? i guess islamic insurgencies, druglords, warlords, tribal conflicts, malaria, corruption, wars, civil wars, etc. will just go away because people are selling shit on the corner??? keep dreaming.

[jeronimofl]

Perhaps we should let africans use cellphones without looking down on them. When there is no way you can buy a house, a car or pay for a degree in Harvard and a mobile is one of the very few comforts you can actually afford, you should go for the iPhone if that makes you happy. Sure it looks shallow or even foolish; but that not as messed up as some other examples of seemingly messed up priorities you see in first world countries among what it looks like highly literate people.

[ChefTillDeath]

I want to work for this guy.

Financial education is the most important step to elevating the lower classes quality of life and access to education.

[tonygem]

if you don't raise people's conscious about who they are and what value they have, all the financial education in the world will not help them. becoming responsible individuals means first that people are responsible to themselves in that they know themselves. the rest is extra.

[stephendedlus]

civil rights to silver rights?????????? why should anyone be forced into a profit generated economy? corporatism controls everything now - a person has two choices; find an occupation within the corporate economy and eek out whatever kind of living you can muster or live an ethical life outside of corporatism and starve.

[LarsNielsen]

we don't starve if we live an ethical life, we just don't buy the unethical, useless things. Organic food costs only a bit more, not actually that much more expensive, and having a cell phone is a choice. There's so much you have that you don't need. That itself supports a wasteful economy. tvs, gap clothes, 2 cars... there's alot of hypocricy in the ethical community. Investing in people instead of yourself is all it takes, and if you have enough money, you find you will get a major return.

[stephendedlus]

perhaps i need to clarify a little bit more; corporatism rewards people who sell and punishes people who do. hence we have a world where positions that are needed, but nonprofit motivated are devalued ie firefighter, social workers, teachers, bus drivers, etc. when people choose to go into these fields they forego the primacy of a profit driven existence and also put their livelihood into the dependency of market driven whims.

[LarsNielsen]

I agree. One of the reasons that American tax goes into war but not health care is because war is a money maker. I don't mind if my taxes go towards humans basic and next-to-basic needs: Health, food, shelter, education, employment, clothing.

If a larger portion of this world were properly literate, not just in finances, but in health and their effects on their surroundings, perhaps the golden rule would win out when people actually understand their effect on everybody else.

Thank you

[Nephtys80]

I am so glad that people like you are there at Davos to speak about these issues!

[itwasaaron]

I never really took the time to think about it that way, that is inspiring for those of us who had almost given up on becoming something of success. Thankyou! Take charge of your life, and your future!

[ockteby]

Thank you, John I hope you are successful in your journey. You will be in my prayers.

[Tarz4nn]

Very well answered.

5/5

[waycar111]

This is a REAL black leader.

[saulpaulus]

I was very interested to listen to what President Clinton had to say in Giving about your fine work. The world needs more people like you!

Please take a look at my response to the Davos question, "One World, One Community" and let me know your thoughts. I think it could transform Africa and the Developed World for the better. God Bless!