{"id":7777,"date":"2021-12-17T16:03:38","date_gmt":"2021-12-17T21:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alt-fw.org\/public\/?p=7777"},"modified":"2021-12-28T15:45:43","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T20:45:43","slug":"abating-the-causes-of-poverty-in-our-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alt-fw.org\/public\/?p=7777","title":{"rendered":"Abating the Causes of Poverty in our Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"collage\"For eighteen years as of February 12, 2022, Adult Life Training, Inc. has worked to abate the causes of poverty in our community. Money is actually NOT the problem: the problem is mindset.<\/p>\n

To help people cross the socioeconomic bridge out of poverty requires a change in behavior, which can only come from a change in perspective, which can only come from personal experience and reflection that results in a personal decision to improve. Inertia is strong in humans: we try to stay in our comfort zone, where we are familiar with how life works, even if life is not good – we are risk adverse. We are miserable in poverty but it’s OUR poverty and we know what to expect. If we start rocking the boat we don’t know what will happen.<\/p>\n

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Adult Life Training, Inc.’s work has been almost exclusively with seniors, which, frankly, I feel is the “low hanging fruit”: seniors are actually willing to listen, if for no other reason than obtaining some pleasant distraction or casual entertainment, while most teenage people are instinctively programmed to blindly push ahead on whatever course their peers promote as popular, which is controlled by various kinds of advertising. Of course we were young once, and most of us did the same thing. Seniors have some influence on their youngers, and youngers tend to glamorize their grandparent’s fashions and culture: grandparents are a key to helping teens.<\/p>\n

An important step is to teach children young enough that they still listen. By training them up appropriately they learn to prosper by their own work, to budget, to pay cash and refuse to let anyone coerce them into accepting any kind of debt. Young children are extremely influenced by advertising – my three year old grandson currently speaks with a British accent because he watches Peppa (pepper) Pig (pronounced pep- ahh peeeg): the video speaks with a British accent<\/a>, so he emulates.<\/p>\n

It is very important that this financial literacy training starts early because children are already targeted to become lifetime debtors instead of freemen in their toys (Shopping Barbie, etc.) and school (corporate sponsorships) to accept credit card debt and later they will be told the only financial aide they can have for college is student loans. They need to be taught early on to reject this dogma and to know their healthy alternatives.<\/p>\n

One healthy learning example is that instead of providing an “allowance” use a list of age-appropriate jobs that they can do, for which they will be paid IF and AS OFTEN AS they do them. This teaches them that the way to get money\u00a0 is to earn it<\/span> by working, that they can earn money<\/span>, and that they will like having money to spend. It also teaches them that they can earn as much or as little as they wish<\/span><\/em><\/strong> – their income depends upon their personal choices, not some magical outside force beyond their control. Kids can control very little, and helping them take control of their own income is a huge life skill lesson for them, and one that adults in poverty did not learn from their parents.<\/p>\n

The Problem<\/h2>\n

Debt harms our communities and I feel that debt advertising is more destructive than smoking and drugs combined.\u00a0 We need to counter the massive financial services marketing juggernaut ($17 Billion as of year 2013 https:\/\/www.consumerfinance.gov\/<\/a>. See the report at https:\/\/files.consumerfinance.gov\/f\/201311_cfpb_navigating-the-market-final.pdf<\/a>)\u00a0 that is targeting young people purposed to trap them in debt forever.<\/p>\n

\"Industries-Consumers-Trust\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Financial-Services-Search-Ad-Spend-2020\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

In recent years people have increased their on-line activity, and Search Engines control what information we can find on-line. The “Financial Services” $15.69 billion digital spend alone is expected to reach $18.25 billion in 2020, overtaking automotive to claim the number two ranking in terms of overall ad spend. (https:\/\/mindstreammediagroup.com\/2020-trends-in-financial-services-marketing\/)<\/a>. Almost $8 Billion of that is to control the results returned by Search Engines.<\/p>\n

Consider that again: the group most trusted by people to treat their very private data with integrity is actually exploiting that very private data for financial gain.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But financial services debt marketing does not end with simple advertising. It involves collecting and using very private personal financial information to manipulate people into ever deeper debt. Again from Mind Stream Media Group, “Sixty-five percent of financial marketers say that while they do use their institution\u2019s data to discuss, educate and cross-sell customers, they don\u2019t use it as often as they should or would like to.”\u00a0 (https:\/\/thefinancialbrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/reports\/State-of-the-Financial-Marketer.pdf<\/a>) Consider that again: the group most trusted by people to treat their very private data with integrity is actually exploiting that very private data for financial gain. Not surprising, but very disturbing.<\/p>\n

Countermeasures<\/h2>\n

The debt industry marketing has been very effective: debt is no longer a critical problem, it is now an existential crisis. Something on the order of 80% of Americans cannot afford to miss one paycheck or social support payment. The average American has $90,460 in personal debt<\/strong><\/span>, according to a 2021 CNBC report. That included all types of consumer debt products, from credit cards to personal loans, mortgages and student debt. (https:\/\/www.debt.org\/faqs\/americans-in-debt\/demographics\/<\/a>) That is on top of<\/span><\/em> the $88,346.46 share of the US National Debt<\/span><\/strong> for each of the 332,401,414 persons<\/span> living in the US<\/a>. The U.S. Treasury’s official figure for the debt of the federal government is $29 trillion<\/span><\/strong>\u2014or more precisely\u2014$29,366,487,278,631.21<\/span> as of Dec 24, 2021<\/span>. [US Treasury Department, “Debt to the Penny”]<\/a>\u00a0 This is relevant because the affects of National Debt encroach on Individual Quality of Life in many ways, some immediately and others grow over time.<\/p>\n

As detailed in publications of the Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Budget Office, the Brookings Institution, and Princeton University Press, the following are some ways in which large government debts can affect people:<\/p>\n