Monday, January 16, 2012

Education vs Money Part 1



Have you ever heard that black people are the biggest consumers? I find that hard to believe when blacks in the US only consume a very small fraction of the country’s wealth. Maybe a more suitable phrase would be ‘Black people don’t know how to save their money’ and/or ‘Black people like to appear as if they have money’. Do you think these statements are true? These statements couldn’t be true because it’s a generalization.Let’s think about the blacks that we know that have an obsession with ‘making money’. Besides their skin color what else does this group have in common? 
One thing they want more than money is the appearance of having money: The fake-it-until-you-make-it syndrome. For instance, jewelry; there were more diamonds at the NFL Draft than there were at the Royal Wedding. Compare the two, who is wealthy and who has the desire to appear wealthy? Kanye said it best ‘They made us hate ourselves and love their wealth’.

Education
Education is an underrated investment. Education is liberation. Education leads to power. When you are in a community that lacks in resources, the best thing you can do is educate yourself.
Knowledge is power; cliché as that may sound it is true. The more knowledgeable you are, the less you can be manipulated. If you receive $100,000 today from an insurance policy, what would you do with that money? Buy a car? Or put a down payment on a house? If you buy a car, do you expect your investment to depreciate or appreciate? The more you are educated, the more likely you are to make informed decisions. The more likely you are to acquire wealth. Everyone isn’t going to go to college. However, you do not have to have a college degree to be educated. You must have ambition, and a willingness to learn.
The poor communities do not value education, however, they value wealth. This is one of the greatest tragedies.  If you do not have education you can still acquire wealth (you probably won't sustain it), but your chances decrease significantly. Acquiring wealth is not the real issue. It’s the way one decides to acquire wealth and the mentality that money can satiate all of your needs. If you spend your entire life in the pursuit of money, you will miss out on life. You’re pursing money in belief that it will make you happy, so you will not allow yourself complete happiness until you have money, and the money you obtain will never be adequate. You have now fallen into a vicious cycle.
One thing you need to realize is that you are rich. You may not be the richest, but you are in fact rich. Look at the other countries in the world and see how they, impoverished, still maintain happiness. However, you, with food, shelter, clothing, are lacking? You need the latest phone, the biggest chain, the flyest car, but unknowingly, you are only investing in products that depreciate and can be easily taken. Once the new phone, car, or jewels come out, your former treasure has become obsolete. However, the ones providing these materials will continue to maintain their wealth.
We have to learn where the true treasure lies. It is not material, it is not flashy jewels, but it is our own understanding. Treasures can be stolen; however, they can never take your education away from you.

2 comments:

  1. This weekend I experienced a weekend on FAMU campus. It was a wonderful experience. I was in a different world. I never had the opportunity to go away to college. I can appreciate this article however what it offers is options. I contemplated the financial obligation going back to school but just like a mortgage it's worth it.

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  2. My aunt told me that an education is investing in yourself. And the more you invest in yourself the more you are worth. But again, it doesn't start and end with college. The options are endless. You just need a vision and a plan. Good luck, Kim!

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