The Key To Closing The Economic Gap Is To Encourage Entrepreneurship In Our Children

By: Brandon Gaskins

    This past June, thousands of students graduated from educational institutions across the country. Some went on to continue their education at other educational facilities, while others went on to become working adults; contributing, unknowingly to the capitalistic culture of America. I was one of those proud parents attending my daughters fifth grade graduation. However unlike many parents who attended the graduation I knew in a very short amount of time she would be graduating from high school. I then had to ask myself am I doing everything I can to put her in a position to be successful, sadly that answer is no. Sure I do my part to make sure my children have morals and values, I make sure they respect themselves and others. I even try to encourage them to chase their dreams and not settle for being an employee but that is not enough. 

    If, I want my children to face their fears and pursue a path that is less traveled then I must do the same. It is not enough for me to tell my children to follow their dreams, I have to set the example and take the necessary steps to pursue my own goals. As parents we have a favorite saying, "don't do as I do, do as I say". We say this because we have already adopted bad habits that interfere with us becoming the best person we can be.  Many parents are not financially sound and are not doing enough to make sure their elder years are not spent in despair, trying to make ends meet. We go through life expecting the best, but not doing enough to get the best results. We work two jobs, sign up for as much overtime our employers offer and still we find ourselves falling deeper into debt.

    We may not realize this but everyday the cost of living increases, our dollars are buying less and less and employers are not willing to increase our wages. The average employee will only receive a fifty cent raise on their yearly evaluations, meanwhile that raise will get absorbed by the cost of living, leaving the employee unable to have any kind of social mobility. So many parents are pleased when their children reach the age where they can contribute financially to the household. While this seems like a natural progression, it is one that is stifling most working class families ability to close the economic gap. When young adults are not encouraged to pursue the dreams or motivated to become entrepreneurs, their future income is drastically reduced.

  You don't need an independent study to know that young adults who do not settle for the workforce an instead opt to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors make more than their counterparts and I would imagine they are much more happier. So instead of motivating our youth to get underpaying jobs that will leave them unsatisfied and unmotivated, encourage them to pursue those things that make them happy and then help them find a way to turn that passion into a business.