Trump Platinum Plan Announced
At a campaign stop in Atlanta on Sept. 25, President Trump announced what he called his Platinum Plan to help blacks in the United States achieve economic empowerment.
Read our related content, The Finances of Race and Income Inequity: By the Numbers
The plan calls for a variety of social and economic programs—from safety and justice to education and jobs. Of most interest from an insurance perspective is the emphasis on:
1
Capital access for black-owned businesses
2
Alternative ways to build credit worthiness
3
Using regulatory reform and public/private investment to increase the number of black-owned contracting businesses, financial services entities, and private equity investment funds
4
Improving lending relationships with financial institutions, with particular focus on businesses that were ineligible for Payment Protection Program funds
5
Bringing major financial institutions in to the administration quarterly to advance new and equitable lending programs for black communities
6
Making the Minority Business Development Agency permanent, creating a sub-office for African-American Affairs, and bringing in private sector advisors to ensure real-world plans and solutions are implemented.
The lack of financial stability, creditworthiness and access to capital are detrimental elements in underwriting, so these initiatives may represent a substantial step forward for minority businesses in terms of both economics and insurance. It is not clear at this juncture how much of the plan relies on Congress, though much appears to be doable from the executive branch through regulatory and budgeting moves.