How to Fix America

09 Dec 2020

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 Issues Organizations-Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact Governance-Policy Education-Policy and Reform

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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.”