I spent part of my morning sitting on the set of CNBC’s “Squawk Box“. I have visited the show several times in the past, but this time was different. I joined anchors Joe Kernen, Andrew Ross Sorkin, and Becky Quick as a guest co-host from 7-8am EST. Here are my thoughts on those topics…
The student loan debt crisis and whether college is worth it… Bottomline, we need to be more innovative about how we re-imagine education. Education is the ultimate poverty eradication tool. Unfortunately, most people getting student loan debts are minorities. We must focus on providing financial literacy from childhood. Then, we should have a system in place to allow students to pay as they grow in their careers.
We also talked about a proposal to tax capital gains annually. Now, while the proposal may be well-intentioned, we have to be careful. We’re too busy focused on penalizing, not incentivizing. Think about giving an incentive for doing good, for example, if you invest in internships or apprenticeships at scale.
How to value Lyft, now that’s gone public? Lyft and its rival, Uber have a way to upgrade capitalism itself. Millennials tend to look at companies that are purpose/mission driven. It makes sense for Lyft to invest in its drivers. The company could work with a nonprofit like Operation HOPE and help them with their financial wellbeing. This could make them more empowered and, eventually, lead to higher profits.
Thank you again to the team at “Squawk Box” for giving me a chance to join in on the conversation.