This situation hurts minorities because it destines all but a few of them to remain an economic underclass; it hurts the nation because the

A deeper problem is the adverse economic impact of minority underachievement. The highly educated and experienced baby boomers are beginning to retire en masse. They will need to be replaced in the U.S. workforce and the entrepreneurial economy. Demographic changes destine their replacements to be primarily minorities. If we do not foster minority

The national problem is the steady decline of national competitive advantage in the face of increasingly fierce competition from rival economies in Asia and Europe.

new paradigm that will integrate and refocus the efforts of corporations, public-sector agencies, and support organizations. And we need strong leadership to ensure

• inadequate education; • difficulties in securing funding for their businesses; and • limited access to mainstream supply chain opportunities. The

The most pressing problem is that today’s minorities—who are tomorrow’s employees and suppliers—are not getting the education they need to staff the workforce in the service/knowledge economy, or the help they need to fully participate in the entrepreneurial economy.

economy can neither recover nor excel

Inadequate education is a problem in a country where wealth depends on success in the service/knowledge economy. In most of this country’s minority-dominated communities—inner cities, barrios, poor rural areas, and Indian reservations—only about half of today’s ninth graders will graduate from high school.

well-thought-out plan for recovery and progress, a plan that is not distorted by lobbyists sacrificing the common good to favor special interests. As a nation, we will have to realign public policy, corporate strategy, and nongovernmental support in order to embark on a trajectory that holds more promise for our economic futures. But before we