Teach children to entrepreneurs
The things we hear on TV, we absorb without even knowing it. We are programmed, like a computer.
The media has a great impact on our society. The recession was created by the media and, in my opinion, the very wealthy who control the media and tell them what to tell us.
I thought everything was alright until I turned on the news. Things were flowing in our economy, people working and paying their bills. Overnight, our system took a 180-degree turn. The media told us things were bad and going to get worse. We, the people, got scared and held on to our money. Our system that was productive changed overnight. We quit building homes, buying cars and trucks — basically changed our spending habits, which stopped the economic flow we were used to. Factories closed, builders were out of work, supply was not needed so suppliers were going out of business. The cost of fuel went up, as did groceries and everyday merchandise. Our whole society was affected; people started losing their homes, vehicles, jobs.
Who profited from this? In my opinion, the very wealthy, who control the media and told them what to tell us made another fortune off foreclosures alone. Our whole economy was affected and still is. Prices remain high on our everyday needs — and don’t think they will go back down. So more profit for the very wealthy, yet the pay scale has not improved and people are still trying to go back to work to make ends meet. The government is also involved and has been greatly influenced by the very wealthy, I suppose since our nation came to be.
We live in a capitalistic society and most people do not understand this or even what it means. The wealthy know and teach their children what to do with their knowledge. Most of us are brought up to work for them. My dad did not understand me wanting to go into business for myself. What was I going to do? How was I going to get started? It takes money; I didn’t have money to get started. I was 17 and had just graduated from high school when we had that conversation. In his mind, due to his own upbringing, I should have learned a trade like he did and gotten a job working for somebody else. My dad was very smart, a jet mechanic, cars and trucks, and there was not anything he couldn’t build or fix in his trade. He retired from the Air Force after 26 years of service and got a modest retirement and medical coverage. He served in Vietnam, which was hard on him; I can’t imagine.
I went to school after high school and at the age of 21 was self-employed. After my dad and my brothers saw I was doing well — after they thought I would starve to death — they gave me respect.
In my opinion, we should teach children to be productive, do quality work and retire at a young age. Be supportive, guide them with wisdom and teach them to be wise, not to believe everything they hear on the news. Don’t let it get the best of them. As parents and grandparents, that is our responsibility.
Carlos Cody,
Kenai