Give yourself a special gift this Christmas by endorsing your own spiritualized personality to become financially free. Economist Angus Deaton won the noble prize this year for his work in analyzing progress and poverty. He grew up poor but worked his whole life to achieve wealth, never forgetting his roots. That is what this great country was founded upon.
A lesson my Mom and Dad taught us, important any time of year, was treating others the way we wished to be treated. That advice included realism on how to gain one’s just place in the world. As long as it was reached through the esteemed moral values with which we were raised.
My community Christmas gift for many years was volunteering with at-risk youth. In fun I was nicknamed, “Champion of Justice”. After economic arrogance resulted in the Great Recession in 2008 I took that name seriously and became accountable to people who paid the highest price for that fiscal fiasco —ordinary Americans.
If you recall, banks caused that recession through risky investments and drove themselves out of business —only to be bailed out with our tax dollars. The decision to use billions in TARP money was made by the same “government” that repealed Glass-Steagall, which was ultimately what got banks in trouble to begin with.
Abhorrently, when the economy dried up and homeowners couldn’t make their mortgage payments, these same banks foreclosed on the very taxpayers who financed their rescue! It seems to always be hard working moms and pops that pay the price for the self-anointed elite. Emerging markets now suffer a so called “new economic disaster”. But it’s simply third wave of the crisis that started in 2008. And the usual suspects are still insulating themselves behind veils of politics or power while the middle class shrinks to its smallest size in 45 years.
Middle-income households have finally lost their majority status in the U.S., while salaries for Congress are four times greater than an average middle class family. In return citizens should demand “greater accountability” from their public servants and measure political effectiveness the way most people are evaluated at work. Ironically, if a Congressperson is fired they are salaried for the rest of their lives! Paying for them to live in top percentiles of income regardless of their effectiveness is the antithesis of economic justice.
We see greater financial disparities in America’s biggest companies. There, CEO’s earn an average of $10.5 million a year. No one person on earth deserves that kind of pay. An individual does not run a company and even if they did, they are not executed for mistakes, just fired, most often with a healthy golden parachute. Making purchase choices on companies doing things you don’t agree with is a way to combat consumer exploitation and take action for economic justice.
Bravely exposing and then fighting against wrong is sorely needed. However one first must make a positive personal choice. That is, most importantly, to redirect the noisy chatter from the loud and self-empowered back to you. Never buy into the stardom of others. You are a superstar in your own right. Don’t wear the name of a celebrity on your clothing but put your own name front and center. This is the crucial first step because your individual divinity, as demonstrated by Angus Deaton, holds unknown supremacy. And that predisposes each person to define a path to have all they want based on individual values. —that’s what this great country was founded upon.
Kevin J. Palmer
The Quiet Rich
