The 1% has to empower the 99% in capitalism, says Operation Hope's John Hope Bryant

Last hour, we spoke with pollster and political strategist Frank Luntz about how Gen. Z views capitalism, specifically meritocracy versus equality. Take a look at this. Our country is based on the idea that you do more, you get more, you do better, you make better. And this is challenging that exactly. In the end, I look at this as an entire generation that’s been educated to have resentment, to have a sense of denial, and it’s now coming true in how our young people respond. For more on this and so much else, let’s bring in John Hope. Brian, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation Hope, as well as the CNBC contributors. Got a new book out called Financial Literacy for All. Talk about that as well. Nice to see you, Sir. Nice to be here. OK, so you’ve talked about a meritocracy for a long time, but you’ve also talked about equality. You’ve talked about equity. One of the things that is discussed in this focus group is this idea of equity that everybody needs to start. Now, some of these the folks in this focus group said was at the same place because everything is so out of whack to begin with that they’re never going to get up. That’s that’s at least I think the underlying message of that. What do you think of that? I think Frank’s a good guy, by the way, the guy who did the the survey, but comma. But here it comes. I hear it. No. And even if you want to distribute money like a socialist, you have the first collected like a capitalist, right? And the ladder is broken. But we don’t all start at the same place. That’s just ridiculous. And and of course, we don’t have time on this session to go into the great history of this country where 10% of our land was distributed to people who don’t look like me. That was the Homestead Act. And it goes on and goes on and goes on up to 1930, which was the FHA redlining community. So the fact that we’re somehow somehow all fair and equal, it’s just factually mathematically incorrect. What he is correct on is the perception of the ladder is broken. And that’s one of the reasons I wrote this book is one of the reasons that I believe that we’ve got AI think capitalism image is bad. I think capitalism’s branding is bad. And and that’s capitalism’s problem. And the 1% has to empower the 99% to know if you work hard, play by the rules, do the right thing, stop the red lights, keep your nose clean, respect your elders. You can have a shot at going from the bottom of the top just like me because, you know, I was homeless for six months of my life. As you know, I lived in Compton, 15502 S Fraley for six months of my life. My mother had a high school education, my dad too. And now I sit here. It’s one of the, I guess, top 1%, which meant I got role models, mentors, not just because I was smart. Somebody gave me somebody opened the door for me and kept it open. Tony Ressler, Doug McMillan, who forwarded this book. Ed Mcgashan, the CEO of Delta. A lot of folks said the guy is smart, but he OK, so let me ask you a separate question, which is after the murder of George Floyd, we went in this country and in corporate America, by the way, women, women, women went to do the same thing, by the way, through a, a major of DEI movement right around corporate America. There’s a, there’s a, a complete ecosystem now around DEI and yet it appears that the DI ecosystem is being dismantled. You, you actually can look through, there was just a big story about it, filings, SEC filings by companies, DI being removed from the topic du jour in those in those in those filings. What do you make of that? It’s mathematically stupid, which is mathematically stupid dismantling of it. But take the moral issue out. I think there is a moral issue. I mentioned it briefly in my remarks. Take the ethical issues out. Take the fact that America’s the light on the Hill out of it. You have 4 authoritarian nations who want to take our place in the world, China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. And they’re working every day to, to knock us off. And everybody wants to be an American. But Americans, the math says that the, that the, the, the, that we’re going to have the first generation over 65 in our lifetime. And those are white people who have done well who are trying to, to retire. The math also says that the Social Security won’t be able to pay 100% of their returns by 2034. Something like that. The math also says that today black and brown people and women and poor whites are half of this population and growing and elect out of the economic system. No one taught them capitalism or free enterprise. You just take those that those numbers alone. But that’s something we can actually, we can become more complex. So go ahead. That’s something you actually agree with Frank on. He thinks that capitalism and free enterprise should be taught in schools and that it’s not being right now. Oh no. But so by the way, this book is a culmination of Squawk Box. This is me coming here and talking about this has finally mainstreamed this issue and made it, I think the civil rights issue of this generation. So the color is actually not black or white today. It’s green. And we’ve got to become the we got to stay the the largest economy in the world to be the superpower in the world. And if we stop DEIDE and I is almost like research and development for the future economy. So it’s stupid to stop it. Is DEI and meritocracy at odds? And let me ask, let me ask you to do maybe directly that way. One of the things that’s happened just in the past two weeks, Harvard University and a number of others now have replaced have brought back the SAT. There was an argument that had been made that the SAT was racist, that the SAT was actually preventing minorities from getting opportunities and giving universities the opportunity to make their own choices about meritocracy. And then studies were were were done on the SAT and you’re now seeing Harvard and others. And I know some people disagree with those studies suggesting actually that the opposite was happening, that that it that it was making meritocracy less valuable. When I was one of my first public board, I screwed up something and didn’t know I screwed it up. And I got a call from the SEC and I was, and I, I did it innocently, but I, but no one had given me a no one gave me a briefing book on a public board. No one had said, here’s the memo of what you do and what you. I’m a pretty smart guy. But it’s what I didn’t know that I didn’t know that was killing me, but I thought I knew. And once I once I got the memo, I never did that again. It’s not about the SECSET is not racist. No, credit scores aren’t racist, but it’s an and conversation, not an or conversation. And sometimes you need some additional context around the conversation because some people just never got the memo on how this system works. And some people come from a different cultural background. And once again, I think we’re shooting ourselves in the foot doesn’t help anybody. Even the people that that are benefiting you, you hope from DEI, it doesn’t help them if there’s this, this, this stigma or even a an unfair criticism that they’re, they’re not there because I can’t care less about a stigma. How about this give me cash flow, give me a line of credit. I’ve heard him say it means didn’t earn it. The guy means didn’t earn it. So do you want to be in a position where people say, Joe, the only reason you have that, Joe, not one ounce of myself esteem depends on your acceptance of me? No, no, no, Joe, Joe, Joe, you started it. Still. You started it. I’m going to finish it now. I love you. And that was one of the craziest things you’ve ever said. There’s been pushback on progress since Reconstruction. Abraham Lincoln did it and was assassinated because he wanted to get blacks the right to vote. Abraham Lincoln. Let the joke joke then I’m not picking on you, but you got to listen. I’m going to do this quickly. They stopped Reconstruction within two years of 40 acres in a mule. Then comes the civil rights movement that gets rolled back Me. He brought up, he brought up the article that says DEI is under attack because it impugns the people that it, it’s meant to help sometimes. No, it doesn’t question. No, it doesn’t. I, I, I, I believe in the, the James Brown version of affirmative action. Open the door. I’ll get it myself, but I don’t mind somebody opening the door. I thank them for it. Tony Rexler cracked the door open and said you will not close the door on my foot until John comes through. I thanked him for it. Doug McMillan just helped me. Jamie Dimon helped me. Somebody helped you. Somebody helped Jake. Somebody. Somebody helped Becky. Somebody helped Andrew.