I’ll Take - ‘Being Born for $1,000’

Brad Gerstner is the brain child behind the Invest America Act, a program funded by Michael Dell that will seed accounts for newborn children with $1,000 dollars at the time of their birth.

This is pivotal because most don’t get started investing until their late 20s or early 30s. By that time, many young, well meaning, well educated, adults have little to show in the way of assets. The credo (and rightfully so) is that wealth inequality is rampant. The transfer of wealth from young to old through tax policy, opportunity, and unaffordability has manifested itself in doom scrolling, a k-shaped economy, and splurging on experiences and some luxuries.

Now every person can play on the same team, with the same system, and by the same rules.

One can easily imagine the impact of this farther down the road and the pledges that could be made in the future. Institutions, large companies, or any given person would be able to chip-in and help make a positive impact that can create ripples and opportunities for decades to come.

We want our tax dollars to be used for good purposes, but we often find that it’s hard to trust in the institutions that manage them to allocate capital well. Sometimes there are too many cooks in the kitchen and money eeks out when there are too many hands involved. What’s capitalism if not trusting you in the marketplace of ideas and commerce to put your money where you best see fit? What’s not American about that?

I think it’s important to note good ideas wherever they are found. To me, it serves as a reminder that while there is a lot of noise on the day to day, there is also a lot of good in the world. Sometimes it just needs a spotlight.

It's possible that we will see the biggest wealth creation events of our lifetimes in the coming years. Shouldn’t everyone get a piece of that?