Amidst all of our region's successes, poverty and inequality threaten our shared fate.
Triangle Community Foundation
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Dr. Tony Iton, physician/lawyer at The California
Endowment, speaks to the Triangle Community
Foundation on April 27th.
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I was once a disciple of "trickle-down economics" and "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" self-determination. In recent years I've had an attitude adjustment.
There's still some truth in trickle-down, but in a global economy the trickling (job creation) may occur in China or Sri Lanka, not necessarily in NC. Money invested on Wall Street might become profit for a company that has off-shored, not supporting our tax base at home.
And personal bootstrapping has little motivational luster in places of high poverty. Weak schools, poor job prospects, high crime and health deficits conspire against upward economic mobility.
I received a refresher course on this a couple of weeks ago at the Triangle Community Foundation's What Matters event. We heard about a California initiative - an attack on poverty and inequality - through the lens of public health. Please invest five minutes watching this video. And it's narrated by George Takei, Mr. Sulu from Star Trek!
Congratulations to our CEO and his wife. Jim and Barbara Goodmon received the Catalyst Award from TCF for their support of the foundation, their emphasis on regionalism and their philanthropic work.
