Refining Work Hard Philosophy To Maximize Black Economic Benefits

Recent studies by the Pew Charitable Trust conclude that African Americans are much more likely than whites to be stuck at the bottom of the income and wealth ladder from generation to generation.  Even when blacks manage to achieve the middle-class status they do not pass functional economic knowledge on to their children to the same degree as white families.

Yet, many of our black political and civic leaders continue to focus attention on black economic disparity problems with solutions dependent on and controlled by the white majority (Government Programs).

Too often the Black Community seems to be mesmerized into inaction because of the uncertainty associated with dynamic economic conditions created outside the community.

However, history has shown that this challenging unpredictable economic environment will continue to be the norm.  Congress and the Administration, whether Democrat or Republican, seem to be overwhelmed by America’s out-of-control debt and deficit spending resulting in more partisan political rancor and little bi-partisan mitigation.

Obviously, the black community cannot afford to continue embracing a strategy of talking and doing little to control its own economic destiny.  The National Urban League’s equality index has only registered a tenth of percent incremental moves since its inception in 2005; which if extrapolated indicates that black economic parity is still at least 600 years away.

While high-level black intelligentsia focus on time-consuming conferences, forums, and blue ribbon commissions we should be implementing a simple but powerful financial concept in the black community that individuals and families can immediately put into practice.

It starts with Refining the Work Hard Philosophy To Maximize Black Benefits for the individual and the community.  But first, we need to fully understand how a one-to-one work-pay ratio job has kept average workers from maximizing the potential benefits of their hard work.

Typically we are indoctrinated at an early age to get a job or engage in some service where our time is exchanged for money.  I was introduced to the work for pay concept as a child when I cut grass, shoveled snow, and delivered newspapers.  For others, it may have been an allowance for doing chores around the house.  Whatever the means, the end result was actual money in hand for time expended.

The money received for working on a job is gradually spent.  To get more money the work cycle must be repeated.  Each new unit of time worked results in a new unit of money received which equates to a work-pay ratio of one to one.

While there are obvious short-term benefits resulting from having a one-to-one work-pay ratio job the long-term consequences are not obvious until it is too late to remedy. Initially, the worker is convinced that by buying things (home, car, clothing, food) his hard work is justified and there is a sense of gratification and accomplishment.

However, 20-30 years later when the worker’s physical and mental agility begins to diminish his attitude towards hard work changes when he realizes he is simply working to pay bills for things that no longer gratify.  Maintaining the status quo becomes more difficult as the purchasing power of the money for time paycheck becomes less because of punitive inflation policies.

Sadly the worker realizes that retirement is becoming less feasible and he will have to work longer or perhaps indefinitely.

Consider an alternative.  If instead of simply participating in a standard work-pay ratio job the worker (you) had been mentored early in your career to address the question, What can I do with some of my earned money that will make money for me?

For example, suppose you had $10,000 (this baseline amount is individual choice) that was averaging 5 percent a month return or $500 and you became proficient at doing this consistently?  In other words this single investment of dollars that you worked hard for is now making money for you each month.

Does it seem reasonable if you could make $500 each month with $10,000 you could replicate the process each month with $50,000 and make $2,500?  It does not require more work.  You expend the same effort that you did with the $10,000.  This template, once perfected, can be expanded to any multiple of $10,000 that fulfills your individual objective.  Since work expended is constant and pay increases your work-pay ratio is no longer one to one but is one to 5, one to 10, or even more.

It stands to reason then that the earlier in life the concept of short term benefits versus long term consequences is understood the sooner individuals can make the decision to transform a stagnating one-to-one work-pay ratio job into a perpetual money machine that delivers continuing long term benefits from short term hard work.

The Bible in Gen:41 and Matt: 25 outlines these principles and Section 322 of the public library contains work-pay implementation information.

This is the type of economic indoctrination our homes, schools, and churches should be instilling in our black youth if the black inter-generational economic disparity gap is to ever become a historical relic.

James W. Breedlove

Comments or opinions may be sent to the writer at: thebreed@swbell.net.

Mr. Breedlove is available to conduct workshops on the Work-Pay concept.