Friday, November 16, 2007
Early To Rise
The Internet’s Most Popular Wealth,
Health and Success E-Zine
Issue #2201
“It’s Just So Much Tougher for Kids These Days.”
By Michael Masterson
***Begin Quote***
That’s the view of Tamara Draut, who works for an agency that promotes government action and whose book, Strapped is subtitled “Why America’s 20- and 30- Somethings Can’t Get Ahead.”
I read the book because I was curious. Her assertion didn’t seem true.
Draut argues that escalating college costs, high rents, and a tough job environment have forced our young people into an endless cycle of borrowing. The result? A generation that simply can’t make it in today’s economy. She supports her argument with anecdotes. And she concludes her book with a short chapter urging governmental reforms and running credit card companies off campuses.
***and***
I tried to put everything I know about starting out and becoming successful – as an entrepreneur and as an employee – in Automatic Wealth for Grads… and Anyone Else Just Starting Out. If you get the book (and I hope you will), you’ll see that I put a heavy emphasis on what has worked for me:
Don’t fret about your problems. And don’t wait for the government to solve them. Create a personal plan for success and follow it.
***and***
This is probably not the kind of advice that Tamara Draut would like to hear, because it doesn’t do much to solve the “starting-out problem” on a global level. But I’d like to think it can help individual people – college grads and young people – become wealthy despite the challenges posed by our shaky economy.
***End Quote***
I think anyone, who looks to the gooferment for “helping” getting on track, is going to be sadly disappointed.
In my warped world view, when we help our fellow man, we are awarded certificates of appreciation (i.e., money). Help lot’s of people and get lots of certificates. These are really IOUs that promise to be redeemable at a future date for a like contribution.
[They should be aware of “inflation” aka gooferment counterfeiting. Running the printing press causes inflation and it is an unavoidable tax on money. At least, the old kings had to physically clip coins to steal from the people. Today, it’s a silent hidden tax.]
I see “children” of many chronological ages wasting their attention, time, money, and energy on frivolous things. Probably the biggest waste is attention. When I watch a college football game and they intro the players and identify their major, I’m stunned. Majors like “Sports management”, “Government Studies”, and “Peace” give me the greatest shock. At least if they say “undecided”, I have some hope.
No, as I have said before, I think the model for success in the future generation starts with: (1) ruthless financial discipline. And, maybe it should be shortened to just “ruthless self-discipline”.
In the days of an agricultural America, children grew up quickly. Chores and the harsh realities of life taught discipline. That has been lost. Today, children are allowed to be dilettantes. Unfortunately, there’s no national trust fund to keep them in the style they’ve been accustomed to.
So, I hope that all the young people can see their way clear of the “smoke” that people are blowing up their a…… in their collective eyes making them “blind” to the realities and possibilities of life. They have a lot less room for error than I did when I was a kind.
It’s a global world and their are a lot of hungry people who will eat their lunch unappologetically.
Sigh!
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Reinke Faces Life 