Your Brand and Your Life Are Not the Same Thing

Poverty is spending more money than you make, spending on things that decrease in value and borrowing to cover the difference, paying interest to others, thereby increasing your liabilities and decreasing your net worth. The poverty experienced by previous generations of African Americans was based on lack–lack of assets, legal protections, political power, educational opportunity, career options, you name it. With the possible exception of the roughly 25% of African Americans living below the poverty line, the poverty experienced by the rest of us is increasingly a result of poor stewardship–doing stupid things, including things we know from experience and observation that we should NEVER do with our money–not lack. [...]Republican House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) had to dramatically modify his deficit-reduction plan so he could gain enough votes in the GOP-controlled House. [...]Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid‘s proposal will face a similar fate in the House.