The Naked Economist (and no ladies, he is not actually naked in the picture, disappointing I know) in his most recent Yahoo Finance Article made this comment:
The living wage: Wouldn’t it be great if everyone in America earned at least $12 to $15 an hour? I think it would be. The fact that America’s poverty rate still hovers in double-digits is a national disgrace. But requiring employers to pay double or triple the hourly wage they’re currently paying wouldn’t necessarily do any great favor to many of America’s working poor.
The context is about quick fixes. But I think there is a bigger problem that cannot be solved with higher wages or more a more bankable skill set.
The problem is lack of financial education. It doesn’t matter how much money you make if you do not know how to manage it well. I am financially free through investments as a stay at home single mom; conversely, there are extremely high paid people who live pay check to pay check or are drowning in debt.
The divide is getting greater between the haves and have-nots. And if you divided up all the money evenly among the masses, it would end up the same way. Some people know how to make and manage money, but most don’t.
Managing money is a life skill. Until people are more educated about how to make, manage and grow money, the poor will always be with us. The question is, will you be one of them?