How To Save The World

Upfront, I do not know this guy. I just found this info and blog thanks to Prometheus 6. I make no claims as to the background of the author. Having said all that, if we are planning to work on Black economic empowerment, there are some systemic issues that must be understood. Let's not pretend that it's as simple as figuring out a way for a few of us to make some money. I've resigned myself to the fact that very few people think like I do. At heart, I'm a big picture guy, and often I find that people with a more focused view of things are challenged by my thought processes. But I find it really hard to work up the motivation to struggle to make it in an economic system that I firmly believe is traveling at breakneck speed directly towards a crash of epic proportions. That's what this guy, Dave Pollard, from the How To Save The World blog, talks about in an article entitled "Will Increased Income and Wealth Disparity Lead to Generational Class War?"

"In the US, reports USA Today, all of the increased wealth since 1989 has accrued to those 55 years of age or older. Like in the UK, the big losers have been those who are now 35 to 50. This generation doesn't look poor -- they have as much stuff or more than previous generations at the same age, but their debts are astronomical. They are horrifically vulnerable to an interest rate spike (even a small one like the one that has, along with the US housing crash, created the current credit crisis). The disparity is expected to increase, and accelerate."

"There are only three things keeping it from blowing:
1. Ignorance: The majority of people think they're financially better off than they really are. They don't realize how vulnerable they are to economic downturn. Just listen to people who have just been laid off, or who realize (and this is the rich, older, boomer generation) that they can't ever afford to retire.
2. Shame: The propaganda machine, especially in the US, has convinced most of the poor that their situation is somehow their own fault.
3. Economic Overextension: The economy is wound up tighter than a drum, with all the dominoes propping up each other. It depends on sustaining high ROI on listed stocks, a continuing housing boom, perpetually artificially low interest rates, fuel costs and manufactured goods costs, and the continued and uninterrupted exploitation of labour and natural resources of struggling nations. None of these things is sustainable.

So when the economy unwinds, will the poor overcome their ignorance and shame and rise up in mutiny against the old rich elite that has hoarded 100% of the benefits of economic development for a half-century?

Do your ideas on economic empowerment include any consideration of the possibility of the overall economy not being the unbreakable force we are led to believe it is? If not, why not? If so, how have you factored in this possibility?

First Suggestion: Forex Trading

Sorry, that I have not posted here yesterday. I’ve been busy. I’m a bit busy today as well, so this will be a short intro post.

Ok. It’s time to deal with one of the concrete ways black folks can make money.

Foreign currency trading.

The Foreign Currency market (Forex for short) is the largest market in financial assets, period. Any other market: Oil, commodities, and, in particular stocks, pales before the Forex market.

The market is open on a 24 hour basis from Sunday afternoon to Friday afternoon New York time. What is traded are words: US Dollars against Euros against Yen etc. None of these different currencies are backed by anything or are physical things. Nonetheless, they are used to exercise power.

Getting into the Forex trade is easy, not that risky, and requires almost no capital these days. Moreover the leverage is astounding.

While in the stock market one may work with a margin of 50% (that is the broker loans you 50% of the purchase price of the shares you want to buy), in the Forex market you only have to put up 1% or 2% of the amount of the currency you are trading. That means that with $100.—one can control $10,000.--. Of course I would not recommend to anyone to use this kind of leverage.

The other thing that is of a great advantage is that there are no brokers or brokers fees involved. Market makers solely make their profit of the spread. That is the difference between the purchase price of a particular currency and its sale price. The spread is usually negligible.

Given the great amount of leverage involved, your capital can get lost as quickly as you can make it. This is why you should not begin with more than $100.—and at the most with $1,000.--. The most crucial thing here is money management. That is, finding the right leverage to work with. 20% should be ok for a beginner.

More later…

The Essence Of Money

"mon•ey (mŭn'ē)
n., pl. -eys or -ies.

1. A medium that can be exchanged for goods and services and is used as a measure of their values on the market, including among its forms a commodity such as gold, an officially issued coin or note, or a deposit in a checking account or other readily liquefiable account.

2. The official currency, coins, and negotiable paper notes issued by a government.
3. Assets and property considered in terms of monetary value; wealth."


A medium that can be exchanged for goods and services.

Let that sink in.

If I have money I can get you deliver to me goods and services. Cars, food, houses, maid services, plummer services. I can get someone to clean my toilet, deliver pizza, provide me with sex, whatever.

That means I can get people to do things for me and give me things. That’s power, ain’t it?

"Power : possession of control, authority, or influence over others"

If the ability to pass out money confers power, then every unit of money is an expression of a unit of the conferee’s power.

Power is a social relationship. It is a social relationship that confers control onto someone over someone else.

So let’s call money by it’s real name: Each unit of money (one Dollar, one Euro, one Yen, one Yuan) then is, logically, a unit of an Expression of Power. Less confusion. Let’s stick with this term for now.

So how do the folks who possess these units of Expression of Power obtain them? Do they dig them up somewhere?

Nope.

They are created out of nothing physical and they are not physical. They are just words. The authority to create these words here in the United States has been conferred to the Federal Reserve. To create them out of nothing. The Federal Reserve is the central bank (the “Boss” bank) of all the banks in this country. It is owned by the big banks such as Chase, and the Bank of America. Anytime these banks need some of the Power words they get them from the Boss Bank. The Fed.

Now imagine that each one of you could create unlimited amounts of units of Expression of Power. At will. Out of nothing. You could pass them out and get whatever you wish in return. That’s about as close as to the power of a god that you can get to. A wet dream, ain't it?

So what is this power based on? Well, take out a dollar bill (if you have one) and look at it. Right up there to the upper left of slave master number one, George Washington, it says “This Note Is Legal Tender for All Debts, Public and Private”. Note the term “legal”. Legal means by law. Law is a rule of compulsion. The ability to compel is power, and that legal compulsion is based upon armed force.

That means that I can obtain a car from you. You might want payment in gold, oil, or paper mulch in exchange. And I might agree, but if I decide to give you banknotes instead, and you don’t accept them, because I tendered these notes to you and because they are legal tender for all debts, public and private, I still will have extinguished my debt to you and be able to keep the car.

Thus, the value of money, of these units of Expression of Power are based upon compulsion, and the ability to compel is based on the force of law, which in turn is based on the organized force of arms. That is, military power.

Again: The value of any particular brand of money is ultimately based on military power.

So what does this all have to do with the how and where of us black folk acquiring money?

Well, stay tuned.

Move On Out

Ok. Before we get into the meat of things, let’s talk about some basic truths.

First, it is vital to understand that we are involved in a war. If you believe that the white supremacists packed up their bags, relinquished power, and got out of Dodge in the late 1960s because MLK lead a movement of Negro supplication, I got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

King was assassinated when he moved from Negro supplication to the advocacy of black power, of naked force in resistance.


"These are revolutionary times. All over the globe men are revolting against old systems of exploitation and oppression and out of the wombs of a frail world new systems of justice and equality are being born. The shirtless and barefoot people of the land are rising up as never before. 'The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.' We in the West must support these revolutions." Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence, By Rev. Martin Luther King, 4 April 1967


Wars are only about military conflict as an after thought. Read Sun Tzu. The application of violence in war is always a last resort measure. The Japanese attacked the United States in 1941 because the United States was conducting economic warfare against the Japan Empire and sooner or later would have strangled the Japanese into submission.

The same with black folk.

There is a reason we are economically behind most everybody.

Which is…

You have to understand that white people in general and the white folks who run this system do not want to see us collectively succeed economically.

Let’s repeat that: They do not want to see us as a people collectively succeed economically.

You need proof? Well, open your eyes and look around you.

Since we are engaged in an economic war which has been thrust upon us, we need to function like economic soldiers. Disciplined, with clear plans and objectives. And since we are engaged in a war with the most awesome organized economic force in the history of humankind, we have to do what all disorganized weaker forces must do: Approach this economic war like an economic guerilla.

A guerilla carries only what fits on his/her back. A guerilla is above all flexible. A guerilla starts off with no weapons and needs to manufacture none. Why? Because a guerilla forces his/her enemy to be the source of his/her supplies.

Guerilla Economics.

Another thing. Warfare is about serious business. Particularly economic warfare. You can not win if you do not have a winning team. That means, if you have a spouse, partner, lover, whatever who are not as disciplined as you are and have to be and have no inclination to become such, who are spendthrifts and financial black holes, if you want to be a survivor or even successful in this arena of economic warfare, you have to ditch them. Now.

Remember, everything we do henceforth is for our children, grand-children, and great-grand children. They are supposed to reap the benefits of our efforts.

Lastly, if you came here 'cause you think I've got all the answers, I've got another bridge to sell you. I think I have some answers. However, we're going to have to figure this entire thing out together.

Ok. Let that sink in for now.

I got some homework for you to do.

I want each one of you who is a registered member to let us know what you think money is.

Make it two sentences or less. Certainly no more. Focus.

Use the comments section.

Do it by tomorrow evening.

Let's Focus...

I'm sure all that background info on energy is very useful, but this is what we need to know:

How can we get into the energy game as an individual black person who needs to generate a pretty much immediate benefit, has less than $1,000.-- in upfront investment ($100.-- would even be better), and enable that person to make a comfortable living.

Guerrilla economics.

Rack y'alls brains on that one.

In the meantime, I'm gonna get some sleep and start on my contribution tomorrow.

See you all later on Tuesday.

Do you know what time it is?

The time is NOW.

A Review of Black Economics

When Michael first told me about this new blog, I was a bit skeptical about my ability/willingness to become a contributor. Didn't really know what I wanted to say, and wasn't really sure that anybody really wanted to hear it. But I spend most of my time everyday working on my own economic development or that of my clients. It is a subject near and dear to my heart, and one that I have studied extensively. I'm a law school graduate and I have been a business owner and/or self-employed for over 15 years. I currently offer services in business development, business management, and tax and financial consultation.



I make no claims to fame here of being any kind of expert, historian, guru, etc. I have done many things in my lifetime, had several successful endeavors, and several spectacular setbacks, and the entire process has contributed to who I am and how I think today. We've all got the same resume from that standpoint, and with that said I hope and future conversation will not devolve into a discussion about what qualifies any of us to express our ideas. I say this upfront because one of the things that I find most troubling in discussions about economic development is the predisposition of many people (especially Black people, who I tend to interact with most often), to discount any information that doesn't come from an exalted source. In other words, if I'm not a millionaire, how can I presume to tell you what you should be doing. One of the biggest fallacies with this line of thinking is that it presumes that a wealthy person could in fact teach you do do what they did, when in fact most wealthy people inherited their wealth or their avenue to achieve wealth, and inheritance can't be taught.



So rather than just throwing my personal ideas out there, I thought it might be more productive to begin with a critique of some other peoples ideas. I get the feeling that I will probably ask more questions than I will offer solutions on this blog. I realize the focus of this blog is solutions, but I am absolutely certain that if you are not sure about the question, then your solutions will not accurately solve the problem. Just like the math you learned in elementary school, you have to have an understanding of the problem before you can begin to craft a solution.

To that end I'd like to begin a discussion and review of "Black Economics -Solutions for Economic and Community Empowerment" by Jawanza Kunjufu. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. I was fortunate to pick up a used copy for $1 this weekend at a street festival. Funny how things work out like that. To keep the conversation manageable, I will review and comment on one or two chapters each post and see if and how the comments flow.Chapter One discusses our present state of affairs and Chapter Two reviews our history, beginning with the first agricultural civilization in the Nile river valley. The first thing in "Black Economics" that catches my eye is the question "if negroes were brought to this country for one reason and that reason was to work, and the reason no longer exists today, what will ultimately become of a people who are no longer needed?" Some estimates place African American unemployment at 30% and as high as 70% for teenagers. That number typically will not include those people who have become so disillusioned with their job prospects that they no longer even look for work. The majority of these unemployed are Black men, and there is a statistical correlation between the rise of unemployment and the decline of the nuclear family and Black fathers living in the home in the Black community.



Kunjufu states that "the African American community is more like a colony than a community". I personally have been trying to get someone to identify to me a functioning African American community currently existing in the U.S. and have yet to get a reasonable response. Perhaps such a thing exists, though I sincerely doubt it, but the typical characteristics of a colony certainly persists in those areas where Blacks make up the majority of the population. Low per capita income, high birth rates, small/weak middle class, economy dependent on external markets, major export is labor, most land and businesses owned by Foreigners, and Limited indigenous entrepreneurship are hallmarks of many if not all of America's chocolate cities.



The book cites current statistics that tend to show little or no progress for the overall community, and often show a decline in economic indicators as compared to the majority population or more recent voluntary immigrant populations. More than 1/3 of African Americans live below the poverty line, and that line is set so low that even families making twice the poverty level amount are in many cases little better off than those who are counted as poor. And yet the yearly income of the African American community is $550 - $600 BILLION each year. Of course Black people spend over 90% of that income outside of the Black businesses, so they give us the money and we give it right back to them.

And we are indeed consuming, as the majority of that income is spent rather than invested, and even worse, spent somewhere other than Black businesses. There is a graphic illustration of this if you just look at the advertisers of the two biggest Black magazines, Essence and Ebony. In any given Essence there may be about 50 full page ads, of which less than 10% will be Black owned businesses. Ebony has less than 5%. These numbers speak to the reality that we are not conduction businesses at the right level and until we do, we will be at the mercy of those who are conducting business the right way. Big Black businesses like Essence and Ebony are going to deal with whoever is doing enough business to be able to afford to advertise with them. These are two Black Enterprise 100 entities that can not or will not put racial solidarity over their bottom line, which is why you see few if any Black companies with major advertising in these magazines.

Kunjufu also goes into a discussion about land ownership, although later he will decry capitalism and land ownership as one of the major problems with the construct of monopolistic capitalism. It is a simple basic fact that there is not enough land to go around, and it follows logically that if land ownership is a prerequisite of economic success, there will be more people standing on the outside looking in, because there isn't enough land to even consider an equitable distribution of ownership. There needs to be an alternative thought process applied to how we approach land use. We'll get to that later.

The discussion of the history of Black economics is a history lesson that we should all be aware of, so I'll not rehash it. Suffice it to say that we did things differently in the "good old days". But we must understand that we are living in a different world than that of the pre-pyramid Nile Valley civilizations. We can learn some things from that history, but we would be foolish to think we can regress back to an agrarian society at this late stage of the game. The history of Black economics contains numerous examples of individual Black people and even a few Black collectives that managed to learn the capitalist game and survive the System of Racism/White Supremacy to achieve economic success. Unfortunately many of those successes don't translate to the generational wealth and nation building that other groups manage to accomplish. There are structural issues that have an effect on this, but it is essential that in our current day planning we understand that achieving economic success that last only one or two generations is not really that much of an achievement. Economic success that only creates an icon, a shining example of what we should aspire to, is also an exercise in futility. Yes we have a Black woman billionaire (or is it two of them now), but how is that furthering the nation building and economic progress of the Black collective? It isn't really because that was never a fundamental part of those individuals' plans. If we don't plan for it, then it will not happen that way.

Are we really so naive to think that we can show an individual with $1,000 to burn how he/she can become an energy magnate, or a communications giant, or make inroads in any of the monopolistic industries in which we currently have little or no ownership interests? Is our goal here to simply throw out suggestions in isolation? To me that's just treading the same water that we have been up to our necks in since Africans first came to America. Are our solutions really going to address our situation, or will they be phyrric victories that ultimately keep us from solving the true problems? If we create 100 Black millionaires in the same mold as the majority of our current crop of Black millionaires, have we truly done anything to be proud of? Are we simply looking for better ways to get a bigger piece of the sinking ship of imperialism and monopolistic capitalism that has been the scourge of R/WS and will ultimately be it's downfall?

Welcome

Welcome to the Assault On Black Powerlessness.

This site is about walking the walk of our talk over at the Assault On Black Folk's Sanity.

Liberation means we got to use every resource that is available to us. The primary one being our brains.

Don't believe for a minute that economic advancement is the be all and end all. Everything that you have worked for, and everything that you will work for henceforth can be taken from us at a minute's notice. It ain't gonna take but five minutes either.

Nonetheless, we got to do it. We have to move forward and do as Booker T. Washington, the Hon. Marcus Garvey, and so many others told us to do.

Do for self.

Remember that every advance you make in life is anathema, a set back, to white supremacists.

Never sleep.

To those of you who think that there is no such thing as the System of Racism/White Supremacy: that's ok, too. We want to see African people thrive whatever they believe. As long as they don't believe in selling us down the river.

The economic strategies to be developed here are akin to guerrilla war tactics.

They have to be flexible, implementable by individuals or small teams, require little or no start-up capital, be able to sustain a comfortable life-style, and enable each of us to pull another African up behind us.

Remember, as long as even one of us is mistreated and denied opportunity, all of us are mistreated and denied opportunity. For if we let it happed to one of us, where will it stop? What makes you, and you, and you, and me, immune to this system of mistreatment?

I hope all of you will not only come to learn, but that you will come to teach. Help develop ideas and strategies.

My personal initial focus will be on the trading and creation of money.

I have no idea what Craig Nulan will talk about. He is, as am I, and as more folks come on line as contributors, others, free to develop whatever ideas they have.

As on the Assault On Black Folk's Sanity, I expect that there will be a lot of creative tension and dissension.

There will be no comment moderation here. This is the real world. The real world is not censored.

As to commenting. We'll use the Halscan commenting system for a while.

If it turns out to be unwieldy, we'll switch back to Blogger.

See you all on Monday or Tuesday with my first post.