(ThyBlackMan.com) My PhD is in Finance, so I know this field pretty well. I’ve taught dozens of students who’ve earned millions on Wall Street. I studied finance for several hours each day from the age of 18 to 31, and then became a full-time professor at Syracuse University. I’ve taught nearly every Finance class you can think of, and I’ve written more solo authored research papers in my field than any other Finance professor in the history of my campus.
The reason I say all this is because I am hoping that this will make you listen to what I am about to say.
Here’s the deal: America has really screwed itself economically, in ways that are fundamentally irreparable in our existing political system. When I look at the size of the federal debt, disappearing jobs, an aging population and a few other factors, I see a country in the midst of nearly irreversible economic and social decline. Our kids aren’t being educated well enough to compete in a global economy, and their parents are having their jobs ripped away from them by the boatload.
The gap between the rich and the poor is the highest it’s ever been. Simultaneously, wages have remained flat, while consumption has been increasing to the point of being gluttonous. Much of this gap is sustained
by large amounts of consumer borrowing, home equity loans, etc. What this does is lead to a wealth transfer between the rich and the poor, where the top 10% of our country controls half of the nation’s wealth. Those who own capital are doing better than ever, but those who work for a living (you hear that black people?) are being left further and further behind.
The truth is that the US is descending toward economic chaos. I’m not lying, joking or exxaggerating. Either prepare for your financial future or get left behind. Over the last 30 years, things have taken a severe turn for the worse, and many of the most respected economists in my field are deeply concerned about the economic future of this country. The best economic period in recent American history was the 1950s, when the gap between rich and poor wasn’t nearly as great as it is right now. During that time, consumption was able to grow in a stable way because wages were growing too. But now, globalization and deregulation, mixed with unchecked corporate and political greed, have created an era during which consumers are standing five feet tall while swimming in 6 feet of water. It’s just not sustainable.
Here are a few tips to deal with these economic challenges and to protect you and your family from significant harm:
1) Save your money, don’t engage in mass consumption. Keeping up with the Joneses will send you off the same cliff as the people down the street. It’s OK to be modest and live well within your means. It’s no longer cool to be flashy.
2) Create secondary streams of income and learn to create your own business. Teach this to your children. It’s not an option that will save everyone, but it will at least protect you and your family and give you the ability to create jobs for the people you love. Corporations don’t care about you and will downsize you in a minute. I don’t care how much education you’ve got, I know doctors, lawyers and professors who can’t find meaningful work.
3) Avoid taking on massive debts for education or healthcare if you can, and especially avoid large amounts of consumer debt. This is one way that corporations and banks are able to exploit the American consumer. They know how hungry you are for that expensive iPhone, the fancy car or any other status symbol to which you’ve become addicted. Live a comfortable life if you want to, but don’t get carried away with materialism.
4) Save for retirement as if no one is going to help. Social security is going bankrupt, pensions are being taken away, and if you’re under the age of 40, the government probably won’t have much for you by the time you retire anyway.
5) Raise economically independent children. You can’t survive yourself if you spend the rest of your years taking care of adult kids who’ve not learn to be responsible citizens. Your children should be assets, not liabilities. They should be taking care of you.