EPISODE 4

Nothing Moves Unless Power Shifts

LENGTH: 34:20 | AIR DATE: 1/6/2020

Joe Biden is a member of the Silent Generation who just received over 81 million votes in the 2020 elections, at a time when millennials and Gen Z are poised to make up the largest voting bloc. How will the new administration center the next generation? In Episode 4 of #Millenniheirs, we brought together an old and young voter to debate and discuss rebuilding the American economy. Host Jessie McGuire interviews Richard A. Fazzone, who is part of the Silent Generation and has retired after a 30-year career in telecommunications at General Electric, as well as Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, a 24-year-old activist and writer who founded the Sadie Collective to get more black women to participate in economics, finance, data science and policy. To hear more, listen below and subscribe to ThoughtMatter on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or SoundCloud.

BIOS

SYNOPSIS

In this episode, we discuss economics, and how two generations think differently about building a more equitable world. Who has the power to build an economy that works for everyone and not just one segment of society? How will the new administration center the next generation, and address progressive ideas around climate change, equal opportunity and justice for all?

The case here about bringing in black, brown voices, in particular into the spaces of economics and policy and finance and banking is really a question of who has power, and who has the power to tell stories about the economy?

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman

(1:44) As people from two opposite ends of America’s primary generations – Silent Generation and Gen Z – Richard and Anna weigh in on what they know about each other.

(2:35) Richard admits he doesn’t have a direct connection with anyone younger than his 44-year old daughter and is skeptical about reducing generations to generalities, but he refers to one particular characterization about Gen Z: “cancel culture.” His generation grew up as buttoned-up kids during simpler, more certain times. Growing up in the 50s and 60s was different and the world has changed a lot since then.

(4:35) Reacting to the term “cancel culture”, Anna prefers the notion of holding people accountable and a growing phenomenon online, describing #MeToo as an example of a cancel movement. What you say or do matters and if it isn’t appropriate, you should be held accountable for it.

(7:07) Anna’s view on the Silent Generation as the “silent majority,” contextualizing the Civil Rights movement and race relations that unfolded during a historical period. To some degree we’re seeing a strong revival of the movement today where people are using public spaces to declare why racism is bad.

(8:45) ”We were kids who skated:” Richard reframes the perception of his generation as “traditionalists” because religion, politics, economics and culture were pretty uniform.

(10:03) In today’s political landscape with our future President as part of the Silent Generation, Anna believes  it’s important for Joe Biden to surround himself with an inclusive cabinet that focuses on key issues championed by forward-thinking boomers and younger staff members of color; to embrace ideas coming from millennials and Gen Z around climate change as a social justice movement and intersectional environmentalism. For Anna, age and wisdom are not synonymous. How will progressive ideas be reflected in the administration? What does it mean to have an inclusive economy? To center the next generation means putting your ego aside. Issues like access to healthcare and student debt are surprisingly controversial.

(14:28) Are age and wisdom synonymous? To Richard, wisdom is not an easy word. We live in a world where people hold vastly different beliefs. As someone who sees politics as simply one important part of society, he’s skeptical that there is an easy solution.

(17:53) On the question of equal opportunity, Anna believes the system is fundamentally unjust and working as intended to benefit certain groups. She is influenced by Janelle Jones’s compelling idea based on Black Women Best. If the economy works for Black women it will probably work for everyone else, because they’re the backbone of society and the economy, yet continue to be the most marginalized group not just in the country but worldwide. If we center Black women in the economy, we’ll see a more equitable world.

(22:35) Richard acknowledges not having strong political views, and that the system has and will continue to change over decades, having been around long enough to know there’s no simple measure. In contrast, Anna explores the rhetoric of “I don’t get into politics.” Certain groups inherently are political because their identities are constantly politicized.

(26:37) The discussion explores the topic of access and the need to include different voices to gain more perspectives. Just because something is the way it is doesn’t mean that is correct. Who has the power to tell stories about the economy? For Anna, recognizing more perspectives in economics and policy-making is a matter of life and death, with the present tragedy of the pandemic disproportionately affecting the Black and Brown communities. The goal isn’t just to live but to thrive. Nothing moves unless power shifts.

REFERENCES

• Black Women Best, The Framework We Need For An Equitable Economy, Roosevelt Institute / Groundwork Collaborative

• Sadie Collective, co-founded by Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman

• Richard’s latest read: The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again by Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett, October 13, 2020

• Richard’s current read: THE WEIRDEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD – How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph Henrich, September 8, 2020.