According
to the World Bank and the CIA World Fact Book, approximately 50% of the world’s
working age population is unemployed or underemployed. It is hard to verify the exact percentage of
poverty around the world. However, it is
clear that the world has a significant poverty problem. The “Middle
Class Movement” or “MCM” was
founded to influence a reduction in poverty that would lead to an increase in
the global middle class. MCM is focused on utilizing social
impact measurement to influence an economic revitalization of the world.
Definition of the Middle Class
The
term “Middle Class” has historically had many different definitions because so
called experts have attempted to assign an income threshold to the term. The amount of money to be considered middle
class differs significantly in different parts of the world. We therefore define the middle class simply
as “households that can pay their basic bills on time.” If a household has sufficient income to pay
their basic bills (i.e. housing, food, health care, child care, transportation,
insurance, etc.) on time, they may still feel like they are struggling
economically. However, they do not feel
the emotional, mental and financial stress of households that do not have
enough money to pay basic bills on time.
These households are frequently forced to commit crimes to survive. We therefore consider households that cannot
pay their basic bills on time “Poor.”
Theoretical Framework
In
writing my dissertation this year, I discovered the importance of having a
theoretical framework that provides guidance on one’s research. I believe that this is extremely important
for successful social movements as well.
Dr. King relied on Mahatma Ghandi’s “Theory of Nonviolent Communication”
(Bode, 1995). His non-violent approach
to the Movement was a key factor in its success.
In
2010, I was writing a book on leadership and looked up Webster’s definitions of
the words “Leadership,” “Command,” and, “Authority.” I was surprised to discover that the word
“Influence” was used in each of these definitions. This discovery convinced me to refocus my
book on influence instead of leadership.
This research led me to develop “Intelligent Influence Theory” which
states that people “do what they do, think the way they think, and accomplish
what they accomplish because of influence.”
Intelligent Influence Theory suggests that the right publicly accepted
social impact measures will influence leaders to adopt policies that grow the
middle class and reduce poverty.
Mission
The
mission of the Middle Class Movement
is “to increase the middle class by reducing financial, educational and
emotional poverty.” The extant
literature suggests that previous efforts to reduce poverty have failed because
they have focused on reducing financial poverty and largely ignored educational
and emotional poverty (Caldwell, 2017).
If a household receives more income and they are illiterate, the income
will likely not be sustainable. If a
household receives more income and is literate but they are dealing with
emotional and behavioral issues, that income will likely not last. It is therefore essential to ensure that
people are financially, educationally and emotionally healthy for them to reach
and remain in the middle class.
Strategy
MCM’s strategy to influence global
change is to use social impact measures to influence leaders to adopt policies
and programs that reduce, financial, educational and emotional poverty and grow
the middle class. Measures like the
Living Wage Index (LWI) that we created based on the MIT Living Wage
Calculator, clearly show the percentage of households that can pay their bills
(the middle class). By holding leaders
accountable for increasing measures like the LWI, we can influence a growth in
the middle class through job creation programs.
Funding
We
do not believe that grant funding is sustainable so we are focused on
generating our own income. I created the company PeopleUp Inc. to “support the Middle Class
Movement’s poverty reduction efforts by producing profitable consumer driven products,
services and entertainment.” This
company has established the PeopleUp
Music and Tennis Tour which consists of professional tennis tournaments and
concerts using local talent. This unique
entertainment program is identifying the next generation of music artists and
tennis pros. It is also providing significant
funding for the operations of the Middle
Class Movement. Entertainment is the
perfect vehicle to provide sustainable funding for MCM.
84% Solution
The
roll of two or more dice hundreds of times results in what statisticians call a
bell curve or normal probability distribution.
This type of distribution is surprisingly frequent in nature. If household income data fell into a normal
distribution, then it is likely that even with the most effective programs
possible, 16% of the world's households will be extraordinarily wealthy and 16%
of the households will extremely poor.
We therefore believe that a realistic global goal is for 84% of
households to earn sufficient income to be classified as middle class or
wealthy.
The
good news is that if this goal is achieved, the world’s Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) will reach record highs and the quality of life throughout the world will
be increased significantly. If more
people can pay their bills and become middle class, the existing middle class
and the wealthy will earn more income so everyone will benefit. There is absolutely no political or financial
reason not to support the Middle Class
Movement. We are therefore looking
for as many people as possible to help us use the MCM to push the world toward this “84% Solution.” If you would like more information about MCM, please visit www.MiddleClassMovement.com.