Читать книгу Why "A" Students Work for "C" Students and Why "B" Students Work for the Government - Robert T. Kiyosaki - Страница 14
ОглавлениеThe 2012 U.S. Presidential campaign between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney brought to light the difference in their levels of financial education.
While both are highly educated men, one candidate was financially sophisticated… the other less so.
Obama vs. Romney
During the campaign, President Obama disclosed that he paid 20.5 percent in taxes on approximately $3 million in income. Mitt Romney paid 14 percent on $21 million in income.
This gap in income and taxes angered many voters, especially the poor, middle class, and younger voters. Rather than ask why and how Romney made more money and paid a lower percentage in taxes, many voters just got angry. Most failed to ask, “How did Romney do that?” Or “How did he earn $21 million and pay 14 percent in taxes?” Or “How is that legal?” Or “Who is smarter when it comes to money… President Obama or candidate Romney?”
In his second term as President, Mr. Obama seems determined to and already has raised taxes on the rich—rather than teach kids about money and capitalism, which is how and why the rich get rich and stay rich and often pay less in taxes. Rather than teach kids to fish, it seems President Obama prefers to give kids fish.
This book is about teaching kids to fish.
What Does It Take to Become Rich?
Many people believe the rich are crooks, and some are. Yet there are far more rich people who are honest, hard working people… and are not crooks. They achieved the American Dream the old-fashioned way — through education, hard work, budgeting wisely, building businesses, creating jobs, and paying their taxes… as little as, legally, possible. They also acquired this wealth by studying subjects not taught in our schools.
This difference in education is reflected in President Obama and Mitt Romney.
Both men went to great schools. President Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School. Mitt Romney is a graduate of Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School.
The primary difference between President Obama and Romney is that the President came from a poor family and the former governor comes from a rich family.
Their story is similar to the ones found in Rich Dad Poor Dad. The lesson of financial education is taught at home… not in school.
This book is written for parents who want to give their child a financial headstart, at home, studying subjects most students—even “A” students—never study.
Making the Case
The “business” of education is one of the biggest industries in the world, impacting the lives of nearly every person on the planet in one way or another. In the United States, public elementary and secondary schools alone—which employ 3.3 million full time teachers—will spend $571 billion for the 2012-2013 school year. That’s only in the United States, a country where approximately five million students entered high school in the 2010-2011 school year. Globally that number grows exponentially. I often ask myself how many of these kids finished high school… and how many dropped out? How many went on to college or university… and how many actually graduated? The staggering statistics on the college loan debt they’re saddled with have made headlines around the world. And how many went on for an advanced degree—at even greater cost—in the hope of proportionately higher salaries when they joined the global workforce?
Not only are hundreds of billions of dollars spent on elementary through university education, but the military also spends billions of dollars to train young men and women to serve their country. Corporate training of employees is another billion-dollar industry as are the trade-schools that teach future technicians to repair and maintain our cars, refrigerators, electrical systems, and computers.
But financial education, at least in the established, formal arenas of school systems and curricula, is largely ignored. I’ve asked myself again and again: Why is that?
• Could the lack of financial education be one of the reasons behind our financial crisis?
• How much of the subprime mortgage crash was caused by a lack of financial education?
• How many of the millions of families who lost their homes lost them, in part, due to a lack of financial education?
• Could the lack of financial education be the reason why so many people are dependent upon government programs like Social Security, Medicare, military and public service pensions—pensions which are bankrupting cities, states, and entire countries?
• Is the United States—like countries around the world—heading for bankruptcy because millions of Americans need the government to take care of them socially, medically, and financially?
• Is our escalating national debt a reflection of our corporate and political leaders’ lack of financial education?
• Is the United States decaying into the same economic demise countries such as Greece, Italy, France, Japan, England, and Spain are facing?
Welfare for the Rich
We all know there are welfare programs for the poor, but what about welfare for the rich?
• Why do our leaders—the President, Congress, and other political bureaucrats—vote themselves giant pensions and generous benefit packages while the number of families on public assistance goes up? Are our leaders as financially needy as those who rely on the government to meet their most basic needs?
• What would happen if we had leaders who knew how to create wealth rather than just knowing how to spend other people’s (the taxpayers’) money?
• Why do CEOs grant themselves massive pay increases, stock options, and perks at the same time they lay off workers? Are CEOs greedy due to a lack of financial education, or did they go to school to learn to be greedy?
• Did the bankers who lost billions have an adequate financial education?
• Why were millions of employees laid off, and thousands of small businesses closed, while the bankers who caused the crash were paid multi-million dollar bonuses?
• Why do teachers’ unions and government bureaucrats determine what our children learn? What about asking the kids and their parents what they need to learn?
• Why are many of America’s highest paid workers no longer from the private sector? Why are so many well-paid employees, so called public servants, some of the highest paid workers in America today? Why are firefighters and police officers retiring with millions in lifetime benefits? What has happened to government service?
• Who caused this financial crisis?
Today’s financial crises were not caused by poor, uneducated people. Behind the chaos are some of the most well-educated people in the world, people such as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, a former Stanford and Princeton professor, a student of the Great Depression, but, unfortunately, someone without much financial education or real life business experience.
This book is about education. But not the education taught in our schools.
An Educational Crisis
We are not in a financial crisis. We are in an educational crisis. This crisis begins when our children enter school, spending years—sometimes decades—learning nothing about money and being taught by people who know little about money.
For some reason, our schools have a quasi-religious view about money. Schools seems to believe:
“For the love of money is the root of all evil.”
– Timothy 6:10
Schools ignore the passage that reads:
“My people perish from a lack of knowledge.”
– Hosea 4:6
People are perishing economically due to a lack of financial education in our schools.
Lao Tzu, the Chinese founder of Taoism in the 5th Century BC, stated:
“If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.”
Unfortunately, rather than teach people to fish, we are teaching kids the Robin Hood philosophy of economics:
“Take from the rich and give to the poor.”
That’s also known as socialism.
Ultimately, all that this generosity does is create more poor people.
On November 2, 2012 a headline in The Weekly Standard stated:
“Food stamp rolls grow 75 times faster than jobs.”
As expected, the Republicans blame President Obama for this crisis and the Democrats state that Republicans are to blame.
This book is not about politics. It is about education, and about how the lack of financial education is the true cause of financial crisis.
Lag Times
Most schoolteachers are great people. The problem is that most teachers, and parents, are products of the same educational system.
Many teachers are frustrated. Many teachers are pushing for change. Unfortunately, the education industry seems to be an industry that has one of the slowest rates of change.
Different industries have different lag times. One definition of lag time is the time delay between a new idea being proposed and its adoption. For example, I’ve been told that in the world of technology, lag time is around 18 months, the time between a new idea and that idea taking the form of a new product. That’s why competition can become so fierce in bringing a new product to market… and why new companies soon find themselves out of business because someone else can deliver new products or technology faster, better, and cheaper.
Lag times in the Agrarian Age were measured in hundreds of years. Lag times in the Industrial Age were measured in fifty-year increments. Lag time in the Information Age is measured in half-years.
I’ve heard that the auto industry has a lag time of 25 years. This means the new ideas you see on cars today were conceived 25 years ago… ideas such as hybrid cars. And that the business of government has a lag time of approximately 35 years.
The reason many teachers and parents are frustrated is because, among all industry sectors, the educational industry has the second-longest lag time—50 years.
The only slower industry is the construction industry, with a lag time of 60 years.
Notice that the automobile, government, construction, and educational sectors all have strong labor unions… and labor unions are products of the Industrial Age.
The Future of Education
The lag time in education means that children starting school today will be grandparents before the educational system adopts the changes this book offers.
By teaching your kids the lessons in this book, you are giving your child a financial headstart. If lag times hold, it will take until the year 2065 before the ideas in this book enter most classrooms. I don’t believe we can afford to wait.
This book is written for parents, who know that it’s up to them—not the school system—to prepare their child for the real world. And that world is a fast-paced, ever-changing, Information-Age world… a world unlike any of us have ever experienced.
This book is also written for parents who know their children face larger financial challenges, the financial garbage heaps previous generations have left behind.
This book is written for parents who want to understand why President Obama earns $3 million and pays 20.5 percent in taxes while Mitt Romney earns $21 million and pays 14 percent.
Once a parent knows and understands the differences in what the two men know, they can pass that knowledge on to their children.
My Story
I have been an advocate for financial education for most of my adult life.
In 1973, I returned home to Hawaii from the Vietnam War and found my dad, the man I call my poor dad, unemployed. He had been the Superintendent of Education for the State of Hawaii. His problems began when he ran for Lt. Governor as a Republican against his boss, a Democrat. In losing the election, he also lost his job.
My dad committed professional suicide by running for Lt. Governor. He risked his “job security” because he was a man of principle. Once he reached the top of the school system’s ladder, as head of the Department of Education, he was outraged at the corruption he found in Hawaii’s government, a government Forbes magazine has since called “The People’s Republic of Hawaii.” That same article stated, “The state taxes everything that moves. Fidel Castro would feel right at home here.”
President Obama grew up in Hawaii. He is the first U.S. President from Hawaii. The Forbes article may explain why the President has the views he has on government, business, and taxes.
The End of Empires
I am not a Republican or a Democrat. And I do not blame President Obama for the crisis we face. This crisis has been brewing for decades and similar crises have occurred throughout history. Financial ignorance and political corruption have brought down empires for centuries. The same financial ignorance and corruption threatens to bring down America.
Military-Industrial Complex
On January 17, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower gave the nation a dire warning about what he described as a threat to democratic government. He called it the military-industrial complex, a formidable union of defense contractors and the armed forces. Eisenhower, a retired five-star-WWII Army general who led the allies on D-Day, made the remarks in his farewell speech from the White House.
Economics of War
Empires also end when empires fight too many wars in far away places. In doing that, America is proving we’ve failed to learn from history.
While in junior high school, I listened to President Eisenhower’s warning to the nation about the threat of the “military-industrial complex.” I was in my early teens, and his warning meant little to me. Returning from Vietnam in 1973, I understood the President’s warning. We were not fighting for the freedom of the Vietnamese people. We were fighting for money. We had been lied to by the elites. We had no business fighting in Vietnam, apart from the issue that war is big business. When I returned from Vietnam, I knew it was time to stop blindly following orders. I knew it was time to start thinking for myself.
I do not criticize my fellow sailors and soldiers. Most of the young men and women I met in the service were great people dedicated to their country. Our problem was that we were fighting wars to make the military-industrial complex richer. Any time the military-industrial complex needs more money, they simply start another war.
We are making the same mistakes, in my opinion, when it comes to printing money.
The Roman Empire crumbled when the Romans began destroying their own money, fighting wars in far away lands, and raising taxes on their workers.
The United States is repeating the mistakes of the past, proving the old saying:
“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
Studying Subjects “A” Students Don’t Study
In 1973, I informed my dad I was leaving the military service. He was disappointed because he wanted me to stay in the military for the retirement and medical benefits. Counting my time at the military academy, I had 10 years accrued toward retirement. I only had 10 more to go.
When I nixed that idea, my poor dad suggested I fly for the airlines, as many of my fellow Marine pilots were doing. When I told him I was through flying, he finally suggested I go back to school, get my Masters Degree, possibly my PhD, and climb the corporate ladder.
I loved my dad dearly, but he was suggesting I do what he had done, follow in his footsteps… proving, once again, that we repeat mistakes if we do not learn from them.
And while I loved my dad, I did not want to make the same mistakes he had made.
If I had followed my poor dad’s advice, I might be like him today… a highly educated but poor 60+-year-old, hoping my savings, pension, Social Security, and Medicare would take care of me.
In 1973, I decided to follow in my rich dad’s footsteps. I began by studying subjects my poor dad had never studied.
This book is about the subjects I studied and the courses most people do not study, including “A” students. There is a big pay-off for studying subjects “A” students do not study.
In 1997, the book Rich Dad Poor Dad was self-published because every publisher we offered it to turned it down. As you might expect, most publishers are “A” students, like my poor dad. Most publishers sent me rejection letters stating, “We are not interested in your book at this time.” A few more honest publishers stated, “You do not know what you are writing about.” Or, “Your ideas are ridiculous.”
“Your House Is Not an Asset”
Rich Dad Poor Dad was harshly criticized due to statements such as “Your house is not an asset.” Ten years later, in 2007, millions of homeowners all over the world found out the hard way that their home was not an asset. As property values plummeted all over the world, millions were pushed into bankruptcy experiencing firsthand that their home could be a giant liability.
“Savers Are Losers”
I have also been harshly criticized for saying, “Savers are losers.” Today, millions of people are aware that the central banks of the world, banks such as the Federal Reserve Bank in the United States, are printing trillions of dollars contributing to the destruction of the purchasing power of people’s savings.
After the crash of 2007, banks lowered interest rates on savings. Before the crash, many savers lived off the interest on their savings. Today, millions of savers are living on their savings.
In the year 2000, the price of gold was less than $300 an ounce. Today, gold is over $1,500 an ounce, which is yet another reflection of the loss in the purchasing power of the dollar. At the same time, banks are paying less than 2 percent interest on savings while inflation runs at 5 percent… although the government claims there is no inflation. That is why “Savers are losers.” It’s simple math: $1,500 for an ounce of gold is greater than $300 an ounce. Inflation at 5 percent is greater than 2 percent interest on your savings. You do not need algebra or calculus to figure out that “savers are losers.”
“Debt Is Good”
Most financial pundits recommend that people “Get out of debt.” To me, that shows a lack of financial education.
The fact is that there is good debt as well as bad debt. Simply stated, “Good debt can make you richer and bad debt makes you poorer.” Unfortunately, most people only know bad debt, the money they borrow to acquire liabilities versus assets.
“Taxes Make the Rich Richer”
Not only does good debt make you richer, good debt can also reduce what you pay in taxes. Learning to leverage good debt and understanding its ability to lower a person’s taxes makes a good case for the importance of financial education.
Since taxes are the number one expense for most people, doesn’t it seem odd that taxes are not a subject taught in most schools? In this book, you will learn who pays the least in taxes—and why. And this will offer another point of view on why President Obama paid taxes of 20.5 percent on $3 million of income and Mitt Romney paid taxes of 14 percent on $21 million.
Oprah Called
In the year 2000, Rich Dad Poor Dad made the New York Times Best Sellers list, the only self-published book on the list at the time. Then Oprah Winfrey called. I went on her television show and the “Oprah effect” took over.
Rich Dad Poor Dad has become the number one personal finance book of all time. It was on the New York Times Best Sellers list for over six years. To date, it has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, has been published in 53 languages and is available in 109 countries.
The irony is, I failed English twice in high school. I failed because I could not write, could not spell, and because the teacher did not agree with what I was writing.
I mention all this not to brag or toot my own horn. People from around the world have told me that Rich Dad Poor Dad speaks to them, resonates with them. The book has struck a chord with people around the world who know that there are voids in their education—especially related to money. I’ve also been told that one of my gifts is the ability to take complex ideas and concepts and simplify them. That’s what I did in Rich Dad Poor Dad and that’s my goal in writing this book for parents.
An important part of this book is the Action Steps for Parents that you’ll find at the end of every chapter. They were created to give you tips, tools, and resources in taking the first steps to teaching your child about money.
Closing Thoughts
President Obama and former governor Mitt Romney are very smart men. Both appear to be good men. Both men received the very best in formal education, yet one made $3 million and paid 20.5 percent in taxes while the other made $21 million and paid only 14 percent in taxes.
The difference it seems is not what they learned in school, but what they were taught at home. In many ways, the story of Romney versus Obama is similar to the story of rich dad versus poor dad.
This book is written for parents who want their child to have the type of education most people do not receive, not even “A” students.
Action Step for Parents
Turn your home into a place of active learning.
Kids learn most by doing. Unfortunately, in most schools kids are expected to learn by sitting at a desk then coming home to sit (again) and do homework.
Create a WEN, a “Wealth Education Night.” Set aside one night a week or a month to be a time for active learning about money. Make it a family ritual. And make it fun.
Play games like Monopoly® or CASHFLOW® For Kids or CASHFLOW 101® and 202® and use the time playing and having fun. In the process, opportunities will present themselves to discuss age-appropriate, real-life money activities, challenges, and problems as they relate to the game. I encourage you to check out the Rich Dad online financial games and content for mobile devices.
That one night a week or month will serve as a foundation for a better life for your child, better family relationships, and a commitment to be a life-long learner.
Use this book for support and discussion material. Rich Dad also has a workbook and study guide, Awaken Your Child’s Financial Genius, that delivers more focused content as well as games, activities, and exercises. The good thing about money is that there is a lot of information out in the world. All a person or family needs to do is dedicate the time to absorb it. And learn to tell the difference between education and a sales pitch.
My rich dad played Monopoly with his son and me at least once a week for years. He used fun lessons from the game to teach us lessons in real life. My poor dad only asked, “Have you done your homework?”
