In his book A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens famously wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” Amazingly, things have not changed much since Dickens wrote that in 1859.
For some people, deflation makes these the best of times. The cost of living is going down as the prices of oil, real estate, stocks, and commodities drop and thus become more affordable. Apparently, Walmart isn’t the only one rolling back prices. The central banks and governments of the world, hoping people, businesses, and governments will get deeper into debt by borrowing more money, are pumping trillions of dollars into the economy at interest rates near zero—virtually free money.
Holders of massive pools of money are waiting like vultures for the right moment to flood back into the market and pick clean the bones of dead and dying companies. For well-positioned investors, this is the opportunity of a lifetime to snatch up assets at a discount. For well-positioned businesses, now is the time to gain market share, as their competition goes under due to bankruptcy. These people see abundance.
For others, these are the worst of times.
The cost of living may be going down, but these people are unable to reap the benefits because they no longer have a job to cover even their basic living expenses, or they are so saddled with debt that they owe more money than their assets are worth—and the assets they have are really liabilities, such as their houses.
The central banks of the world are flooding the system with money, but it is not helping these people because they cannot get loans for cars or houses. As the money supply blows up like a balloon, their access to that money shrinks.
These people do not see the opportunity of a lifetime. They do not have pools of money waiting for the right deal. They see scarcity and feel fear. Many wonder if they will lose their jobs, homes, savings, and retirement, if they haven’t already.
The difference between those who find it to be the best of times and those who find it to be the worst of times is simply knowledge and financial IQ. The great failure of our education system is that it does not teach people about how money really works, and what it does teach is antiquated and obsolete—the old rules of money. They teach you how to balance a checkbook, but they don’t teach you how to grow a balance sheet—or even read one for that matter.
They teach you to save your money, but they don’t teach you about inflation and how it steals your wealth. They teach you how to write a check, but they don’t teach you the difference between assets and liabilities. One wonders if the system is intentionally designed to keep you in the dark.
In today’s world, you can be an academic genius but still be a financial imbecile. This goes against the conventional wisdom, especially when we equate people who have high-paying jobs like attorneys or doctors with being financially and academically smart because they make a lot of money. But as we’ve seen, making lots of money doesn’t mean you are financially intelligent, especially when you spend and invest that money unwisely—or turn your money over to people who do not care if you make or lose money. Always remember there is a big difference between job security and financial security, and true financial security requires a sound financial education based on the realities of the real world of money.
That is why I was not surprised when our economic crisis spread wider than just the mortgage defaults of subprime borrowers. The talking heads and our leaders appeared to be surprised. That is why our presidential candidates did not mention the problem during the campaign. They toed the line for as long as they could, assuring us that there was no crisis and that our financial problems were limited to poor people not paying their mortgages. As we now know, the problem was not just poor people with too much debt. The problem started at the highest levels of government and finance. Millions have lost much of what they spent their lives working for because they have no undestanding of the new rules of money and how they affect our lives. And that is a systemic problem that can’t be solved by one charismatic politician.
So here we come back to the question posed in the title of this chapter: Can Obama save us? The correct question should be: How can we save ourselves? The answer, and the key to our freedom from the tyranny of our economy, is knowledge. By educating yourself about money and how it works, you unlock the potential within yourself to break free from the mentality of scarcity and see the abundance all around you. For you, these truly can be the best of times.
Personally, I do not expect government or big business to save me. I simply watch what the powers that be actually do, more than what they say or promise, and I respond accordingly to those actions. Knowing how to respond, rather than follow, and taking confident action, rather than waiting to be told what to do, requires courage and financial education.
I believe our financial problem is too big and getting bigger. It is out of control. It is a monetary problem more than a political problem. It is a global problem, not just a U.S. problem. There is only so much Obama can do, and what he can do I fear may not be enough. Worst of all, the people really pulling the strings in the financial world do not answer to the president of the United States. They do not need his approval to do what they do. They are beyond the control of world governments and their elected leaders.
How Can We Save Ourselves?
When I am asked what I would teach if I were in charge of financial education for our school system, my answer is: “I would make sure the students understood the relationship between taxes, debt, and inflation before leaving the school system.” If they understand that, they will have a more secure financial future. They would be able to make better financial decisions for themselves rather than expect the government or so-called “financial experts” to save them.
Reader Comment
Because of things that I learned through financial education, I have known for a long time that my 401(k) was not the great investment it was touted to be, and today I’m better for having that knowledge. I’m reminded of something else Robert said which is, “It’s not silver, gold, or real estate that make you rich; it’s what you know about silver, gold, or real estate that makes you rich.”
—dafirebreather
Ultimately, this book is about the relationship between taxes, debt, inflation, and retirement. These form the foundation for the new rules of money. This book will equip you to take control of your own financial future by giving you the knowledge necessary to understand these forces, and thus the new rules of money. And once you understand these things, you’ll be in a position to opt out of the conspiracy of the rich and to live a life of true financial freedom.
THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST OUR EDUCATION
Why Money Is Not Taught in School
The purpose of the foundation [the General Education Board] was to use the power of money, not to raise the level of education in America, as was widely believed at the time, but to influence the direction of that education… The object was to use the classroom to teach attitudes that encourage people to be passive and submissive to their rulers. The goal was—and is—to create citizens who were educated enough for productive work under supervision but not enough to question authority or seek to rise above their class. True education was to be restricted to the sons and daughters of the elite. For the rest, it would be better to produce skilled workers with no particular aspirations other than to enjoy life.
—G. Edward Griffin in The Creature from Jekyll Island, on Rockefeller’s General Education Board, founded in 1903
The New School
I was nine years old when my suspicions about school began. At the time, my family had just moved across town to a new