Charlamagne Tha God (42:07)
So one, they didn't have the chance, the time to allocate the capital. And two, we're not a manufacturing country anymore. Not for heavy, you know, traditional goods. We're too expensive, the country's too expensive for that. That that party left us that, you know, in the late 70s and 80s. That is a game for developing nations where it's cheaper to do it. Here's the other problem. Even you're manufacturing something at home that's not technology based or There are some things we do do well, knowledge based stuff. But if you're manufacturing traditional stuff here, the parts of that thing, let's take an automobile as an example, are often imported. Even if you manufacture the thing here, you still need parts from other parts of the world, which means we're still interdependent. Okay? So this is not, this is, this is not designed well, in my opinion, to work. And that is why I think you're going to see tariffs create an increase in prices for you in the short term until they run the course of this experiment. And hopefully this will stop sometime soon because I think it's going to slow down the economy and cause more pain to the average consumer. Let me know if I explained that well. Number five. So I've done tariffs, number four. I'm going to run through the rest of them pretty quickly here. Tariffs, number four, number five, gdp, gross Domestic product. You hear this talked about all the time, but basically this is how you measure the economy's health. This is like you're saying, what's the income of your household? How much money do you make? Okay, that's gdp. It's not profit, it's not net worth, it's how much did you produce? How much did you make? What's the health of the country? The gdp. Number six, stimulus and relief packages. Where the COVID money went and why that matters now is what I explained a little while ago. But that was all Covid, that was all stimulus and relief packages. So when you hear these phrases now, you know what this means. Number seven, the Federal Reserve, the Fed. The Federal Reserve has a very important and unique position in the economy. The Federal Reserve is a central bank of the United States. This is gangster now. I mean, you think that rap is gangster? No, banking is gangster. I did a whole podcast last year breaking down how banks work. Go back and listen to that podcast. Think of the Federal Reserve is the bank for banks and the referee on the US Economy. The main responsibilities of the Fed controlling inflation. So price stability. The Fed's job is to keep prices stable so your money doesn't lose value too quickly. When inflation is too high, the Fed raises interest rates to slow spending and borrowing. It hurts you in the short term, but your money still has value. That's why the US currency is a flight quality all around the world. People in China talking mess about us and Russia talking mess about us. In Iran talking mess about us. In North Korea talking mess about us. But all these leaders, when their cameras are off, want their, their money to come to The United States, they want to own our real estate, they want to own our stock. They want their families in the U.S. they want their money in the U.S. they Want the U.S. currency which is not even backed by gold anymore. It's a free floating currency backed by the full faith and credit of the US Government. This is gangster. That is vibe. It's a feeling, it's sentiment. The US currency is the most valuable currency. It is the world currency. Still, I don't care what anybody's saying. Ain't nobody, and I say ain't on purpose. Ain't nobody trying to use no Chinese currency or Russian currency or even the euro as a global currency. It, you know, nobody's trying to use the British pound is, you know, we don't mind it, but it's the U.S. it's the U.S. currency is like globally valuable and that's what everybody wants. So number two's role maximizing employment. The Fed tries to help create, by the way, even in cryptocurrency, what's the ultimate goal of cryptocurrency practitioners. They want to cash it out for what? U.S. currency. Right. They're not trying to live with crypto forever. They're trying to make that money and cash it out and get paid with hello, US currency, even if it's digital US currency. So the Fed's the next second row for the Fed is to maximize employment. The Fed tries to create conditions for as many people as possible to have jobs. When the economy slows down, the Fed might lower interest rates to encourage businesses to invest and to hire. Number three, regulate banks and to keep financial systems safe. The Fed one of the regulators, you have the control of the currency. You have the fdic, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Then you have state bank, state bank regulators as well. But the Federal Reserve is the big baller because they have a multi function role and they're the banks. The banks, the bank's bank and the nation's bank. The Fed oversees major banks to ensure that they are playing by the rules and not taking excessive risk. This helps prevent another financial crisis like we saw in 2008, number four. And the Fed was created in response to the Great Depression. Just so you know, number four, as the FDIC was as well, number four, maintain stability in the financial system. In times of panic, like during COVID or a bank run, the Fed can step in as a backstop, as they did during COVID which I've explained during this podcast, providing emergency loans or liquidity to keep the systems from classing as they did in 2008, the recession that happened after the mortgage. The mortgage meltdown. Number five, manage the nation's money supply and interest rates. The Fed sets a key interest rate called the Federal Funds rate, which influences borrowing costs for credit cards, mortgages, student loans, et cetera. It also controls the supply of money circulating in the economy. You want to have a cool experience? Take your kids, take your loved ones to your local Federal reserve bank. There's 12 of them. In fact, the Federal Reserve bank here in Atlanta has a black president. I think it's the first time in US history that's ever had a black president. Rafael Bostick, Brilliant brother. Go take your loved ones and go take a tour of the Fed and then get them to give you some of these recently cut currency. You may have to pay for it. They'll give you some shredded currency for free, which is the old currency they actually destroy. I know this seems sacrilegious. They actually destroy old currency, take it out of circulation, go check it out. It's really gangster what they do. I mean, it's pretty fascinating. You won't be bored. Go get a Federal Reserve tour and ask them about the Freedmen's bank when you're at it, which is something that I helped to. I'm proud to say I'm the only American citizen ever to trigger the renaming of a building on the White House campus. It was a Treasury Annex building. Now it's called the Freedmen's Bank Building, which was a bank chartered by Abraham Lincoln after the Civil War to teach free slaves about money. The Freedmen's Bank. Another podcast for another day. Why is this all this matters? When the Fed raises interest rates, your mortgage and credit card rates go up. But inflation may cool down when it lowers rates. Borrowing is cheaper, but prices can rise. The Fed's actions affect your job security, your savings, your debt, and your future. In short, the Federal Reserve is as important as the President of the United States of America. That's why the Fed chairman, Powell, the current Fed chairman, is always cited in the news. All right, so we're at number eight now. Wage growth versus cost of living. Why your paycheck doesn't go as far as you'd love it. You'd like it to. Well, I explained part of that in talking about the pandemic, and I'm trying to get through this, through this podcast within 45 minutes. I'll paper over that unless you tell me in comments you want me to drill down. I think you can figure out wage growth versus cost of living pretty easily. Supply Chain. I've talked about this when I explained the pandemic. It's literally the supply of the chain of supply of goods and services. And what happens when the supply of that and the demand of that are in balance? You get inflation, unemployment rate. All right, well, so again, once again, it's obvious, right, the rate of those not working, even though it's fascinating that certain people are actually not even counted in the unemployment rate. But I won't get into that. But if you, if you just want to. If you just want to. If you want to be a geek, do some research on who is actually counted and not counted in the unemployment rate. All right, so we've covered a lot of ground here. Here's some tips to survive and thrive in tough economic times. Number one, know your numbers. Track your income, your expenses and debt. Clarity brings control. Know your numbers. I like math because it doesn't have an opinion. That's a Melody Hobson quote. I give her credit, but I use it all the time because it really is illuminating. And I think I love making smart sexy. That is making smart sexy. I like math. It just doesn't have an opinion. Know your numbers. Number two, build a budget that breathes. Build a budget that breathes. Not about restrictions. It's about prioritizing what matters most. So you want an expansive budget, a flexible budget, but you want to prioritize your mortgage, your rent, your car notes, your food, your shelter, utilities, you know, and. But you need to have a budget. I mean, I used to. I used to poo poo. The other budgets were boring. I think budgets are sexy now. Everybody needs a budget. Wealthy people need a budget. Poor people need a budget. Everybody needs a budget. Number three, cut hidden costs. So this is a real big one. Subscriptions, fees, auto renewals, clean them all up, go into your phone, go into subscriptions in settings, and you'll be stunned, most of you, at how many things you're paying for every month, every year that you forgot about. You may. You may pick up thousands of dollars a year simply by going and canceling. Useless. Not. These companies rely on you forgetting. They rely on you having add, like short attention span, moving on to the next. You subscribe to something and you don't even think about it anymore. And they're charging you a buck 99amonth or a buck 99 a year. Well, buck 99 a year times millions of people or even hundreds of thousands of people is a crapload of money for them. So they're counting on you not missing a dollar or five Bucks. And once they once you get into thing it auto renews. So you got to opt out of it, right? You got to ask them to take you out of that. So that's probably the big drop the mic of the whole podcast. I've just saved you some money. Go cut your subscriptions from from your phone. Subscription from your phone in the settings at least in an iPhone it's under settings and Android. You let me know whether it's different. Number four. Build or rebuild an emergency fund. About 40% of Americans don't have $400 for an unplanned event. At Delta Airlines we did a whole program with combining financial coaching for with an emergency savings account funded by my friend Ed Bashn, the CEO of Delta were funded by Delta with his leadership. It's a hit. I mean it's really been an extraordinary success at Delta and it's helping them become a healthier company. The employees are happier. But it's not about poor people. Most Americans don't have $400 for an unplanned event. I'm not talking about your credit card money. Even though that 40% number includes people who have access to a credit card. The credit card is not cash. That's borrowing. I'm talking about $400 for your own money. So just start small. Start with a small fund, a few hundred bucks. Try to get to the 500 to a thousand dollars. You have a thousand dollars for an emergency oh crap fund, then that you're a winner. I don't want you going to a payday loan lender when Johnny gets sick and you have to pay. You got to pay for Johnny's medical bills and you miss rent, right? Number five, don't chase lifestyle, chase legacy. Invest in your future, not your appearances. Your assets cannot be on your ass. Number six, watch your credit. Good credit equals access opportunity, lower cost. Aim for a 700 credit score. You've heard me talk about this a million times, so I will not belabor this right now. But I'll just say this. If you go to the club tonight and you see somebody you like and she's beautiful, she's fine, or he's handsome, you say oh damn. What's your name? Oh yeah, that's cool. Nice to meet you. What's your credit score? If you get serious about somebody, don't just be fascinated with their looks. The looks will go away in time. That's your business partner for life. This is the only where the math should be multiplication, not addition. Two plus two should equal more than four. If it doesn't. What are you doing if you're not better together? If it doesn't equal 6, 8 or 10, what are you doing? You can do bad all by yourself. That Quincy Jones once told me. God rest his soul, John. He said, the only thing worse than being alone is wishing that you were. Can I get an amen? Number seven, Side hustle smart. Be side hustle smart. Turn your skills or passions into a second income stream. The easy ones are Uber Lyft. You can rent out a room through Airbnb. You can rent out that RV sitting in your driveway. You rent out a spare car. There's a lot of ways to be to become a notary, a notary public, and do that as a side hustle. There's a whole bunch of side hustles that you can get into quickly to earn you some additional income. Number eight, buy smart. Not big. Think value over luxury, especially with cars and big ticket items. You don't want no 1000, 2000, $3000 car note. I mean, that is crazy. And people do this on the regular. I just don't understand it. But I mean, a car is also a diminishing value asset. It's bad debt because it decreases in value. You want to have debt tied to things that increase in value, which I call good debt. Mortgage, a car note, a mortgage and a home, so on and so forth. Even student loan, I consider good debt because that's making you smarter, which will allow you to produce more income for yourself, earn better income. Number nine, Learn before you leap. Financial literacy is power. Financial literacy is a civil rights issue of this generation. When you know better, you do better. So read, listen and grow. Read my book, Financial Literacy for All, which is a national bestseller in business finance. Number one in the country since last April. So coming up on a year of it being number one, buy it at Amazon, buy it at Walmart, buy it at a black or minority owned bookstore. But get that book and sign up to financial Coaching at Operation Hope. Tell them I sent you, they'll give you a thousand dollar emergency Savings account. Sorry, $1,000 scholarship for coaching and counseling. It is an emergency savings account, by the way, because it's going to save you money. Two ways to make money, make more, spend less. This will help you spend less, thus make more. If you're making $36,000 a year and you, and you're smoking three packs of cigarettes a week, two or three packs of cigarettes a week, and going to Starbucks for coffee, you're, you know, that's $6,000 a year. That's 10% of your income. So go get a Keurig machine and stop smoking. You'll live longer, be happier, and you can repurpose that 6 grand, 20% of your income to do something meaningful in your life. And tell your friends to follow this podcast number 10 invest in yourself. Mentorship, training, health. It all pays dividends so the economy can feel like a foreign language. But it doesn't have to. When we understand the rules of the game, we can win. Encourage all of your friends to share this episode Listen to this episode subscribe to Money and Wealth. Go to Operation Hope. Get my book Financial Literacy for all. Become a civil rights leader. And I want you to understand that there's a difference between being broke and being poor. Being broke is economic, but being poor is a disabling frame of mind, a depressed condition of your spirit. And you must vow never, ever, ever to be poor again. I also want you to know that there is a business plan for Black America coming on April 4th. We will be meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, 57th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I am co chairing. I was asked to co chair with the Memphis mayor, Paul, Dr. Bernice A. King, the daughter of Dr. King and the CEO of the King Center, Ambassador Andrew J. Young, who built modern Atlanta to the 10th largest economy in the country and the biggest economy for black brown folks in the world. That's a city that's successful at this scale. $580 billion I believe is the last number for GDP for the city of Atlanta. He was on that balcony when Dr. King was assassinated. All of them will be co hosting with me the Unfinished Dream event in Memphis, Tennessee. It's going to be online and I encourage you to dream forward. Which is the official name for the event. Go to operation.org or just search Dream Forward, Operation Hope and register for this global town hall. It's virtual. April 4, 1 to 3pm Eastern Standard Time, 12 to noon Central Time. A lot of ballers, heroes, sheroes that you love and respect will be speaking that day. Killer Mike, Sam Altman, Bernice King. Just the I mean Nicole Pullen Ross, Ray Maguire, Stride Masaiiwa, the sixth richest man in Africa. Van Jones, Bishop T.D. jakes, the CEO of Walmart, Doug McMillan, Dasanda Brown Duckett, who's running a $2 trillion company as a black woman. Charlemagne, thy God. The CEO of the President of Shopify, Harley Finkelstein. Just an unbelievable group of leaders. And it'll be Republicans and Democrats, blacks and whites, rich and poor billionaire next to a millionaire next to somebody trying to buy some air. Right. With a business plan for America, the business plan for black America, which is a signal for the other business plans we're going to create for Latino Americans, for Native American Indians, for rural America, so that we all can come up from nothing. So make sure you register for that. It's free. It is our service for you. This is a silver rights blueprint for all of us. It is a business plan built on hope and it, and it includes you. And we're going to tell you how to come up. I'm telling you how to come up individually, we're going to tell you how we're going to come up as a group. And yeah, I'm very excited. So see you there. John O'Brien this is Money and wealth. Let's go change the world. Let's be this change we want to see in the world. Money and wealth with John O'Brien is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network Network. For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast network, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. SA.
