Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Alumni
  • Login
  • Volunteer
  • Clubs
  • Reunions
  • Bulletin
  • Class Notes
  • Help
  • Give Now
  • Stories
  • Alumni Directory
  • Lifelong Learning
  • Careers
  • Programs & Events
  • Giving
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Alumni→
  • Stories→

Stories

Stories

09 Dec 2020

How to Fix America

HBS faculty and alumni offer The New York Times their ideas to improve the country
Re: Kwame Owusu-Kesse (MBA 2012); Bill Ackman (MBA 1992); Prithwiraj Choudhury (Lumry Family Associate Professor of Business Administration)
Topics: Society-Social IssuesOrganizations-Corporate Social Responsibility and ImpactGovernance-PolicyEducation-Policy and Reform
ShareBar
illustration of bandage over US map

iStock

illustration of bandage over US map

iStock

As part of a special project, The New York Times asked several leading thinkers to weigh in on the nation’s most pressing problems. Specifically, the Times posed this query: “If you could do one thing right now to help fix America—no matter how large or small—what would it be?”

Two HBS alumni and a faculty member were among the respondents. Kwame Owusu-Kesse (MBA/MPP 2012), CEO of Harvard Children’s Zone, writing with the organization’s founder, Geoffrey Canada, suggested that, “[i]f we are going to break the cycle of poverty, we must reimagine education in America.” No longer, they write, can we simply view education as what takes place in school buildings. “Such a narrow-minded focus has proved inadequate to the task of moving large populations out of poverty. We must broaden the focus of education to encompass the communities around the school building.”

Bill Ackman (MBA 1992), CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, suggests that we address the issue of wealth inequality by creating “a way for those with no investment assets to participate in the success of capitalism.” His specific plan is “Birthright” investment funds, which would be established for every American child at the time of birth. “At historical rates of equity returns of 8 percent annually, a $6,750 at-birth retirement account—which would cost the government $26 billion a year based on the average number of children born in the U.S. each year—would provide retirement assets of more than $1 million at age 65, or $2 million at age 74,” writes Ackman.

Raj Choudhury, Lumry Family Associate Professor at HBS, argues that supporting the “work from anywhere” movement—a topic he discussed at length in a June Bulletin interview—will help address the brain drain that “has plagued noncoastal cities in America.” Choudhury also notes that the country must address issues in its immigration system, which has already caused the country lose talent to Canada. “The new administration should stop this outflux of talent,” says Choudhury. “Start by exempting immigrants with US graduate degrees in STEM fields—or PhD holders in any field—from visa quotas and provide them a faster path to permanent residence.”

READ MORE

ShareBar

Featured Alumni

Bill Ackman
MBA 1992
Kwame Owusu-Kesse
MBA 2012

Post a Comment

Featured Alumni

Bill Ackman
MBA 1992
Kwame Owusu-Kesse
MBA 2012

Featured Faculty

Prithwiraj Choudhury
Lumry Family Associate Professor of Business Administration

Related Stories

    • 01 Dec 2022
    • HBS Alumni Bulletin

    The Potential of Business to Improve Lives

    Re: Michael Chu (Senior Lecturer of Business Administration); Robin J. Ely (Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of Business Administration); Debora L. Spar (Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration Senior Associate Dean, Business and Global Society Unit Head, General Management); By: April White
    • 01 Dec 2022
    • HBS Alumni Bulletin

    Contributing to a Better Future

    Re: Drew Keller (MBA 2022); Debora L. Spar (Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration Senior Associate Dean, Business and Global Society Unit Head, General Management); By: April White
    • 18 Apr 2022
    • HBS Alumni News

    Book Smart

    Re: David Risher (MBA 1991); Andy Jassy (MBA 1997)
    • 22 Feb 2022
    • HBS Alumni Bulletin

    New Urban Order

    Re: Cheng Lu (MBA 2010); Raphael Carty (MBA 1983); Molly Middaugh (MBA 2018); Frank Yang (MBA 2006); Jules Kortenhorst (MBA 1986); Judy Judson (MBA 2000); Worthing Jackman (MBA 1991); Barbara Littlefield (MBA 1988); By: Deborah Blagg, Julia Hanna, and Maureen Harmon; illustrations by Kathleen Fu

More Related Stories

 
 
 
 
  • Explore
  • Explore
  • Explore
  • Explore
  • Explore
  • Explore
  • Explore
  • Explore
  • Explore
ǁ
Campus Map
External Relations
Harvard Business School
Teele Hall
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
Phone: 1.617.495.6890
Email: alumni+hbs.edu
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
  • Terms of Use
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College