Money is the subject of this week’s blog. All together too many people want it and yet push it away because they believe that money and profit are evil. Is profit evil in your mind? Should entrepreneurs and businesses in general seek to do business at a loss, or even at some break-even point, in the name of social good? Would creativity be kindled if we but shared and shared alike—I mean what if the Bill Gates and the Steve Jobs and the Mark Zuckerbergs of the world shared equally with the folks sitting at home watching TV who are unwilling to take a job that pays no more than what they can collect on welfare and/or unemployment? Do you really believe that these economic drivers would have worked as hard, taken the risks, been as creative, contributed as much to production in our economy as they have under those circumstances? If you do, I think you should rethink the matter from your own private perspective.
The Rich
Think of it this way. Most of you work hard for your pay, so the next time you see some panhandler on the street with a camouflaged bottle of wine in his pack, stop and give him half of what you have earned. If you prefer to be really fair, gather all of the homeless in your area together, and divide your earnings between them equally. Most will actually have a gut reaction to this idea that goes something like, “But I am barely getting by. This is the job of those rich people who don’t know what work is.”
This week a friend of mine on FaceBook brought an interesting article to my attention titled, “We Are Wealthy. And Why It Matters.” The article begins by pointing out three significant facts:
1. It is currently estimated that by the year 2016, the richest 1 percent will control more than half of the world’s wealth.
2. Even more shocking, the combined wealth of the 80 richest people in the world is the same as that of the bottom 50% of the Earth’s population—totaling 3.5 billion people.
3. In America, the wealth inequality gap continues to grow as America’s middle class shrinks. The share of American households in the middle class fell from 56.5 percent in 1979 to only 45.1 percent in 2012. And there is no indication this trend will reverse itself. 1
The Mind Gap
The author, Joshua Becker, is quick to acknowledge that the fix for this problem is not easy, but then he recognizes yet another and perhaps more important problem. In his words, “But recently, I have begun noticing another unhealthy trend. One that may be related to the widening gap, but more likely, finds its root in the human spirit. It too requires a solution, albeit a much easier one to define. This equally negative trend is the wealth gap we focus on in our mind and the resulting division we artificially create because of it.” 2
Think about that for a moment. What sort of gap in the mind might he be addressing? Could he be addressing the notion of the other 1%, the jealousy many have when they see someone in that new Cadillac or Mercedes, or when they hear of someone’s incredible monetary success, or the wages paid corporate executive versus the poor working person laboring for the same company, and so forth? It turns out that it is exactly this sort of thinking that betrays our desire for success.
We Are the Rich
Comparatively speaking, people in this country are quite wealthy. Again, quoting Becker,
“Globally, an estimated 6 billion people live on less than $13,000/year. And nearly half the world’s population, 2.8 billion people, survive on less than $2 a day. According to the non-profit group Giving What We Can, an annual income of $40,000 places you in the richest 2.0% of the world’s population. An income of $25,000/year puts you in the top 3%. Even a minimum wage job ($7.25 an hour, 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year) puts you in the top 8% of all people on the planet in terms of income. Adjusting for actual purchasing power makes little difference in the percentages. In other words, we are the rich ones.” 3
Most of us seek to improve our way of life, perhaps to pay for a child’s college education, or to take a much deserved vacation, or to buy that new high definition giant screen television, or to purchase the car of our dreams and so on. All the while we are seeking increased monetary success, we can be condemning it—consciously as well as subconsciously.
Blessing Wealth
Here’s my suggestion for what it’s worth. The next time you see someone who appears to be wealthy, say to yourself with as much conviction as you can muster, “Wow—that’s for me!” When you pull up behind that fancy new expensive automobile, bless the owner for in all probability he or she has contributed to the production of this country and that contributes to everyone’s welfare. Blessing them also acknowledges the fact that it’s more than okay to have, to realize, the economic prosperity you seek. And then, offer a sincere thank you for everything you do already have.
Remember this, the root of money is exchange. Money represents your stored energy. It is the result of your labors. Money is a tool of exchange and without it we are left to the jungle, rule by force and guns. Money is the tool of the honest. Money is the material manifestation of value in exchange for value. It means most to those who recognize this and least to those who are ignorant moochers convinced that somehow they’re entitled to a share of the bounty of another’s production. Now that’s not to suggest that there isn’t a real problem with the distribution of wealth, and particularly it’s application when used to buy the political sway that is often the case, but it makes no sense to sabotage our own success by thinking of money or profit as a vice. That’s how I see it anyway.
Thanks for the read,
Eldon Taylor
Provocative Enlightenment
NY Time Bestselling Author of Choices and Illusions
www.eldontaylor.com
Sources:
1 We Are Wealthy. And Why It Matters.
2 Ibid
3 Ibid