How the Poor Can Save Capitalism ─ Rebuilding the Path to the Middle Class

The American economy is stalled because business and political leaders are ignoring the one force that could truly re-energize their companies and the economy: the poor. The massive economic energy and potential of the poor and the struggling middle class has been left on the sidelines. John Hope Bryant’s stirring book shows how this came to be and lays out some simple ideas for making the economy work again—for everyone.

The poor are not stupid or lazy, but they know when the system is stacked against them. Business loans, home loans, and financial investments have vanished from their communities. The path up to the middle class has disappeared, while the path down from the middle class is in danger of becoming a superhighway.

The future of our nation fully depends on overturning powerful myths about how the economy works. Fully 70 percent of the American economy is driven by consumer spending, but more and more consumers have less and less to spend and feel like the deck is stacked against them. When business leaders begin to value the poor and understand that helping them succeed will help the economy thrive, we'll be well on our way to restoring the American Dream of equal economic opportunity.

John Hope Bryant is an American financial literacy and poverty-eradication activist and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of the nonprofit Operation HOPE, a member of President Obama’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, and a cofounder of Global Dignity. He is a member of the Forum of Young Global Leaders for the World Economic Forum and sits on the forum’s Global Agenda Council. He served as vice chair of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy and as chairman of the council’s Committee on the Underserved. Bryant grew up in Compton and South Central Los Angeles but now directs Operation HOPE from its headquarters in Atlanta.