Is it a problem if some people do not read as passionately as others?

I have been enjoying the evolution of the new The Free Press.  An interesting phenomenon to see a new news enterprise gain traction amidst the legacy failures.  

One of today's pieces is A Fifth of American Adults Can’t Read. Here’s How To Teach Them by Larissa Phillips.  The subheading is 48 million adults in the U.S. read at or below the third-grade level. Some educators think it’s not possible to teach them. They’re wrong.

I am sure that it is true that there are some programs which might help.

What is interesting to me is to observe the conviction that 50 million not reading above a third-grade level is a problem that needs solving.  

I am a gluttonous reader.  I own and have read thousands of books.  Not to mention magazines and articles and newspapers, etc.  I love the printed word and revel in it and in language.

I founded a company to help parents create a reading environment in which children would be more likely to become enthusiastic readers.

But over the years I have learned to recognize at least four things.

Third grade reading gets you further than you would expect.  

People pick up information aurally to a far greater degree than you think.  I have been astonished at the percent of very bright, very accomplished people who can read fluently but who do not read to any significant degree but who are also versed and current on sophisticated topics.  All through conversations and listening. 

Reading is as much a hobby as it is a tool.  The passion for reading as a hobby is greater than the utility of the tool (which is still a critical tool.)

Conceptual/language/word people tend also to be socially fluent.  They are effective advocates for their atavistic talents and passion without comprehending that others have different interests and capabilities.  

So the critical question is not whether there are programs that can help people read better.  The question is whether people do need or want to read better.  

The Free Press article assumes into existence a problem.  Other people are not as interested in reading as those who read and write passionately.  That in itself is not a problem.