But we must do more. I believe that it's up to society as a whole - educators, the government, individuals and employers - to foster a culture that embraces wealth-building through financial investment. We need to educate our kids about personal finance. If I had my way, I'd make personal finance a key part of the curricula at every middle school and high school across America. We need to ensure that every employee knows about the resources available to him or her, like 401(k) plans and other tax-advantaged vehicles, and has the confidence to participate. And we must continue to make investing as simple and accessible as possible for the greatest numbers of people.

A few major companies shine above the rest. McDonald's and Exelon, in particular, have taken the issue of cultural differences to heart and tracked their employees' 401(k) investment patterns by ethnicity, revealing a gap comparable to that found in the Ariel/Schwab study. As a result of their findings, McDonald's instituted an automatic enrollment plan for its restaurant managers and created an aggressive matching program. The restaurant giant also deployed a number of resources to help participants make good investment decisions and learn about financial planning, coupled with a communications campaign to spread the word about these topics. The result? Some 95 percent of African-American store managers are now 401(k) plan participants.

In addition, many other companies are taking the opportunity to encourage all of their employees to save and invest by taking advantage of the auto-enrollment provision of the Pension Act.

So what can you do? First and foremost, you can build your own financial literacy. Use the Web, take a class or read a book. Learn how the markets work and how investing offers the potential to turn savings into wealth. Teach your kids about money, saving and investing for the future; get them started with their own savings accounts. If you know someone who should be investing but isn't, talk with them. Help them understand the benefits of compound growth and encourage them to get started themselves. If you have clout in your own company, encourage it to use auto-enrollment in the 401(k) plan.

Financial literacy is an enormous issue for millions of Americans and, by extension, for society as a whole. I encourage every one of my readers to take seriously the lessons we can cull from the Ariel/Schwab study and the Generation X research.

Yes, we must all learn to take responsibility for our own financial futures; however, I also encourage us all to take special notice of cultural and attitudinal differences to do whatever steps we can to help our friends, colleagues and neighbors help themselves.