FLORENCE – Robert D. Hudson says he gave up coaching basketball when his 14-year-old daughter started playing the game better than he could teach her.
Based on that criteria, he might have to give up writing next.
Lauren Hudson is his co-author on an award-winning book on capitalism that vaulted her into celebrity status after appearances on the John Stossel Show and Fox Business Network.
“Young kids like my brother and me aren’t learning about capitalism in school,” Lauren told members of the Florence Rotary Club at a meeting on Monday, June 2. “Dad asked if I might like to write a book on it with him last summer. I thought he was insane!”
The summer project turned into a family affair and evolved into “Our Best Tomorrow: Students Teaching Capitalism to America.” Lauren, a student at Turkey Foot Middle School in Erlanger, wrote a story about three fictional students who created their own businesses after college and “learned through capitalism how to help others have a better life.”
“Lauren’s story is what hooks the young people,” her father said.
Robert Hudson blended in the history of capitalism, a grandfather contributed here and there and wife and mother Melissa handled the editing. “Our Best Tomorrow” subsequently won Best Business Book at the Great Southeast Book Festival, took Honorable Mention at the Los Angeles Book Festival and emerged as an Amazon #1 Best Seller for Best Free Enterprise Book and Best Current Events Book.
Robert Hudson, a partner in Frost Brown Todd, earlier wrote “Better Tomorrow: Fighting for Capitalism and Jobs in the Heartland.” He wants young people to learn three essentials about capitalism from the books:
– free enterprise creates jobs, money for government services and funds for charity;
– capitalism is not immoral, and it can help people improve their lives by providing things people want and need;
– and taxes and regulations (and maybe even some debt) help to bolster the economy.
“When those go too far is when it hurts (America’s) potential,” Robert Hudson said. “Understanding how the economy works is an essential part of citizenship.
“If you understand how the economy works and apply critical thought, you can make wise decisions about regulations. It’s the human element that matters most.”
Capitalism now is a regular part of the conversation at the Hudson dinner table. A companion book about American exceptionalism is in the works, and Lauren is warming to the business of writing.
“I love to write and I always wanted to write a book that someone would actually want to buy,” she said.
No more coaching needed, Dad.
