Discussion

Since the subject is dumbing down, here one classic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nkZ3eHeXlc

and a YouTuber's old comment of this video:

"common the guy is a great comic
and a teacher too, very educational
he teach anyone how healthful are don't follow nobody butyrself in finance or how to make money doing exactly the opposite what he advise
Hilarious..."

The economy is crazy, but you have to do something in order to help yourself as you help others. Here is what our compnay is doing www.HowMoneyReallyWorks.com. Richdad by far is one of the best out there. Thanks for your agenda Robert, you have made a diffrence in my life.

The public is dumbed down by the notion that money, or what is viewed as money is real; however, in reality Federal Reserve Notes are simply IOUs issued by a nongovernmental agency—the Federal Reserve is a private company. According to Federal Reserve Board under FAQ, ¶3 (http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/faq/faqcur.htm), the public has been issued Federal Reserve notes since the Federal Reserve Act of 1913; what’s more, U.S. notes which were backed and issued by the Department of the Treasury and therefore were under the U.S. government’s obligation are no longer produced. The Department of Treasury ceased issuing and circulating U.S. notes ($300 million outstanding and in circulation) on January 21, 1971. Federal Reserve notes are actually IOUs backed by only the word of the Federal Reserve.
With that being said, I cannot think of any one specific instance of media deceiving or dumbing down the public because there are several; for instance, I can point to the one prevailing mantra we all seem to hear from the media: Your money is insured and backed by the Federal Reserve in an effort to make the public think that the Federal Reserve notes in circulation are actually U.S. notes. Nothing is further from the truth; this is deception, or again the dumbing down of the public. To paraphrase the Federal Reserve Act, §19. Bank Reserves, ¶2 A-B (http://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/section19.htm), Each depository institution shall maintain reserves against its transaction accounts as the Board may describe by regulation solely for the purpose of implementing monetary policy in the ratio of 3 per centum for total transaction accounts of $25,000,000 or less, subject to subparagraph (c) and for depositary institutions holding transaction accounts of more than $25,000,000 are also subject to subparagraph (c). Subparagraph (c) authorizes depositories beginning in 1981 and each succeeding calendar year to increase the dollar amount it contained in subparagraph (A). Simply stated, since 1981 depositories have been incrementally reducing reserve requirements; in addition, the act is riddled with exemptions and wavers at its own discretion on the per centum reserve requirements. The Federal Reserve is and has been stealing the public’s so called money since 1971 while the media is saying we’re insured—your money is safe.

I see examples of dumbing down everyday. The media is telling us every single day "oh the market went up., oh the market went down" as if this is a real indication of how the economy is doing. It has everyone paranoid. Instead of people sitting down and thinking of what they really need to focus on and change in their financial knowledge, they are focusing on how to get a coupon for something or watching the news on what politicians are argueing about this time. If they spent half the time the do reading material like this and figuring out how to get the number 1 thing "assets" the new economy would make alot more entreprenuers rather than unemployed workers on benefits.

We see this so many times a day now that I'm not sure we're really aware of it anymore. The news is not neutral but depicts the opinions of the people in power. All news is done is 1-2 sentence sound bites as we as a nation have been groomed to have extremely short attention spans. Also, with our lifestyles being so hectic, we have all learned to multi-task and find it difficult to do just one thing or concentrate for a long period of time. We are hit with media for news, advertising is everywhere. We are constantly on the phone either talking/texting or viewing something rather than using down time while in line or driving to think about things. If we are busy, busy, busy, we don't have time to pay attention to our leaders or the path of this nation. When was the last time you stopped and smelled a rose and really looked at it? Or watched a sunset change colors? How are future generations going to be able to do an occupation when we can't pay attention more that few minutes and lose interest? Who will be doing 12 hour operations on people or creating a cancer breakthrough? Probably foreign nations who still value education and are trying to make their people smarter, not dumber.

When I was studying journalism near Sydney, I worked for the local country paper. I was told to 'dumb down' my writing, specificially I was told to "write for a twelve year old."

How many times have you been asked to initial here, here and here without really looking at the details of what you were initialing or just had the person asking you to initial explain it to you briefly? This practice is often said to make things more simple for the client however most of the time it just makes the clients more simple. Stop and pay attention to the details at least every now and then and you'll be better off......you don't have to be average.

If 60 Minutes said it on CBS during Prime Time television, it must be true. Right?

In his very eye-opening and intriguing report, Ira Rosen talks to 401(k) and Wall Street insiders, whom I call “behind the sceners.” Although “sceners” is not a word, you get the picture, and you know what I mean.

When Ira poses the question, “What type of a retirement plan allows millions of people to loose 30 - 50 percent of their life savings, just as they near retirement?” - The answers from the “behind the sceners” and “insiders” are frightening. As hidden fees, and and the 401(k) broker mindset is exposed, “insiders” refer to the typical 401(k) investors as “a financial novice, who doesn’t know the difference between a stock and a bond.”

Also, the irony in the statements made by a 401(k) lobbyist, who claims the let down of the 401(k) is not a 401(k) problem, but “an entire investment system problem,” is even more frightening.

I am aware that Trillions of dollars have evaporated from 401(k) accounts and IRAs, and tens of millions of people, at this point, cannot afford to retire. Even worse, in this unstable employment market, they cannot even find a job.

Up until yesterday, this type of information has been only distant news to me. On yesterday, a very dear and close friend was laid off from Sprint where he’s worked since 1996.

In the middle of this mixed up mess, I can assure you this - THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL! However, you must have the right map, and you must be willing to dig your own way out.

Why have so many real estate investors chosen real estate as their retirement and investment vehicle? Take a look with your own eyes, and have a listen with your own ears, to this jaw-dropping CBS report…then you be the judge.

When I started my path to what I thought was a career, I took the traditional route. I earned good grades in high school. I went to college and earned my Bachelors of Science degree in Business. Since earning my degree, I’ve often wondered if they call it a BS because it’s a bunch of BS.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4955194n
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAHgr9dY9BU

I am in the healthcare field. Due to rising healthcare and insurance costs, many companies are discontinuing health insurance or worse, laying off their employees, leaving them without coverage. Doctor's offices are feeling the pinch and a medical newsletter I received today entitled, "Doctors' Recession-Buster Guide: Ten Effective Ways to Lower Your Overhead" gives this advice:

"To stay ahead of the deteriorating financial curve, doctors need to cut costs. Financial advisers say you are more likely to remain solvent in a down economy if you follow the two-thirds rule: put two thirds of your energy into reducing costs and one third into increasing income. The reason: expenditure cuts yield immediate results, whereas efforts to boost income often involve additional outlays and offer no guarantee of success."

I find it interesting that even they are advising against cash flow and encouraging expenditure cuts, which included "No. 9) Lay off 1 employee. When it comes to cuts, downsizing gives you the biggest bang for the buck..."

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/702186?src=mp&spon=17&uac=98909MK

I agree with the idea of dumbing down our financial IQ. I think a bigger part of the problem is that the government, schools, media, etc. withhold the truth or more appropriately: they are lying to us. This book is a prime example. The concepts in this book are not being taught in our schools or on TV. In fact, many things that are being taught in school, especially history, are flat out lies. The facts are wrong and the conflicts are trivialized. I've been reading a book by James Loewen called Lies My Teacher Told Me. It's all about history but the interesting thing is that the author is a sociologist. Not only does he correct the lies but he also presents the material in a far more interesting way, kind of like Robert does. Unfortunately, only people who seek out this information are learning the truth. The poor and lower class people are only learning what the government, schools, and media offered to them. Therefore, it is not hard to dumb down people who are already being lied to.