Community Revival: The Power of Good-Paying Jobs

On the two blocks where I spent most of my formative years in North City, there are mostly abandoned or run-down homes and overgrown lots. I visited the neighborhood this past week on my way to spend time with Bishop Mike Jones of Friendly Temple, who is working to improve these neighborhoods as much as the Church and their partners’ resources allow.

As I drove through the neighborhoods, I asked myself what could have made a difference in the health and well-being of my community. My answer is simple: more good-paying jobs. When I say this, some people argue for the importance of education or other systemic changes. While these factors are important, I believe that the single most crucial and practical factor for making it and ultimately thriving is bringing more money into your home. Did you catch that? Practical. Let’s be practical. Let’s stop studying and be practical. Practical is important when it’s urgent. The best way to help more people, both urban and rural, is to help them get good jobs or start and scale a business. We need to unleash industriousness. Everything we do to help, including supporting education should be in pursuit of this singular goal: a good-paying job for each person, whether they work for someone else or have gained a skill and now work independently as a business owner.

It doesn’t matter who I am talking to—whether it is healthcare leaders wanting to know what can make a difference to social determinants of health, or business leaders who want to make a difference—I always say money. Healthcare leaders should leverage their balance sheets to help promote jobs and the acquisition of wealth in local communities that create more jobs and money going into the pockets of local people. If I am talking to business leaders who want to do something, I say open up a plant or an office, give people jobs, and support them in keeping those jobs. If I am talking to government or political leaders, I say invest more in creating the conditions to help people work. You want economic mobility? Put the parents to work, and their kids will grow up to take over the business and go further in the company. It's work.

Earlier this week, Harvard economist Raj Chetty and others released new data on 57 million kids, showing that money and opportunities have changed a lot based on race and family income. For white kids born between 1978 and 1992, kids from rich families earned more money as adults, while kids from poor families earned less. For Black kids, earnings went up for everyone, helping to close the gap between Black and white kids from poor families. These changes happened because of differences in factors like parents' job rates in their communities, which improved kids' outcomes, especially if they moved to better areas when they were young. This means that making communities better can help kids do better in the future. Come on now, we didn’t need a report to tell us this. This simply validates what we all know. Let’s be practical. Let’s stop overthinking.

I have argued that what we are experiencing in much of rural America, and generally among the White population, is a loss of historical jobs that communities could rely on. This happened in the urban core in the 60s and 70s and was replaced with drugs and other issues. We are seeing a similar phenomenon now. Many people are angry at the prospect and the reality that they may not do better than their parents. Black people grappled with a different phenomenon—they were so far at the bottom that the only place to go was up. That said, JOBS = MONEY, and people's access to this means taking care of their families. If all boats aren't rising in this country, we are in a lot of trouble.

Final Thought:

In our quest to improve the health and well-being of our communities, we must prioritize practical solutions that address the root causes of economic disparity. Good-paying jobs are the cornerstone of prosperity, enabling families to thrive and communities to flourish. By focusing our efforts on creating and supporting opportunities for meaningful employment and ownership, we can break the cycle of poverty and build a stronger, more resilient society. Let’s harness our collective industriousness and commit to the singular goal of economic empowerment for all. Only then can we ensure that every boat rises, and every family has the chance to succeed.

It Matters Where You Bank.

Originally published in the St. Louis Business Journals Ask The Expert Column in August 2024 by Orv Kimbrough, Chairman and CEO.