Interview, Conference Presentation
A Conversation with Tim Scott, US Senator, South Carolina
- Senator Scott expects the African-American poverty rate to be higher due to the impact of COVID-19 and warns that failing to acknowledge such issues will cause them to worsen.
- The Senator predicts that defunding the police will reduce resources available to the 98% of residents in the poorest communities, while anticipating that government-mandated minimum wage increases will decrease employment at the bottom of the economy.
- Scott projects that raising taxes and deregulation following the 2017 tax cuts generated seven million jobs, two-thirds of which went to Black, Brown, and women populations, and asserts that natural economic drivers are superior for increasing wages and workforce participation.
- The outlook includes a prediction that the coronavirus will catalyze a "thousand-year leap" in technology use to improve education in rural America and inner cities, with a warning that neglecting to educate the poorest children will cause the nation to lose its preeminent global position.
- Scott forecasts that parent satisfaction with charter and magnet schools will increase significantly as more children enter competitive educational environments, noting that political attacks on figures like Eva Moskowitz often stem from opposition to challenging teachers' union control.
- It is predicted that people may reject legislation due to being busy without reviewing a thorough synopsis, and that policy opposition may arise from the Senator's identity as an African American conservative rather than policy content.
- Senator Scott anticipates that mentoring individuals who feel the system is broken will change the nation faster than Washington debates, while maintaining that focusing on solutions rather than past problems or statues is essential for the present.
- The Senator states that relying on Washington for solutions is a broken process that prevents dreams from coming true, whereas nurturing talent and local entrepreneurship are necessary to combat unemployment and hopelessness.
- Personal outlook includes a goal to match Frank's weight loss and a firm belief that skin color will 100% impact potential, alongside a rejection of the idea that racism is the sole factor in success or that all cards for success lie in another's hands.
- Scott expresses hope that creating opportunities for others and treating them as one wishes to be treated will maintain personal motivation and improve the nation.