If large numbers of people believe they have no shot at a better life in the future, they will work less hard and generate fewer new ideas and businesses. The economy, as a whole, will be poorer.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
It is clear that the economy has not gotten better for everyone.
We can no longer prosper by increasing human productivity. The more we try to do, the more poverty we will create.
We know that in our free market economy some will prosper more than others. What we don't accept is the idea that some folks won't even get a chance.
When our economy is truly healthy, and everyone rises with the tide of prosperity, then issues such as the lack of affordable housing, homelessness, and hunger are greatly diminished.
By 2035, there will be almost no poor countries left in the world. Almost all countries will be what we now call lower-middle income or richer.
Unfortunately, in a recession, the people who suffer the most aren't the rich, but the wanna-be rich and the poor.
Ironically, for the mega-rich, recession brings with it the ability to live well at a lower cost and with less of a hassle.
Although everyone does benefit from lower-priced goods and services, people also care greatly about the chance to be productively employed and the quality of their work. Declining employment opportunities feel real and immediate; the rise in real incomes brought by lower prices does not.
I believe that people of substantial wealth potentially create problems for future generations unless they themselves accept responsibility to use their wealth during their lifetime to help worthwhile causes.
We expect that in the next years, the economy will improve. And we expect that extreme poverty will drop from 22 percent to 11 percent by the year 2000.