The Money Economy

Years ago - much before the trend of getting a college education solely for how much money it would get you - I decided to get a degree that improved my ability to live well, enjoy the world and people, and - well - grant me an education. I wanted a liberal arts degree, and took one in history at my nearby state university. I got a good education. I had good professors and learned a great deal from living in the dorms with my fellow students, and worked in the library, and had a long time girlfriend (much to my own surprise, frankly) - who is still a friend, and joined a fraternity, and drank lots of beer, and ate pizza with friends, suffered over exams. I liked it and it has stood me in good stead.

But today, after reading Judith Warner's piece in the New York Times about suddenly finding ourselves outstripped financially by the business jocks who have made millions bankrupting the country, I wonder how many people still believe that all a college education is supposed to do is train you to make money somewhere?

I did not know what I wanted to do, but I wanted to know what I was doing and what it meant in the world when I did it. I am an idealist who has taken over 30 years to get to a PhD, and still am not sure what it is suppose to do for me. I know what I have had to do for it. I have had to study. I have had to engage my teaching profession and the world with different eyes every time a shift of perspective took hold. I have had to explore and reflect and make connections and comprehend, and remain baffled, and argue my points, and take criticism, and evaluate new situations, and accept premises from others I could not deny. I haven't made a boat load of money, although I am pleased with my current salary. I enjoy the company of my students (all adults) and revel in helping them find new ways of living and earning a better living, and discovering the benefits of reading and math. All that stuff. Good stuff.

And contrary to many and my daughter's advice, I haven't been diligent about saving for the future, or investing in the stock market to make my money work for me. Ms. Warner states it, and I understand what happened in the 1970's. Homelessness began to appear, and the idea that one income could support a family began to be a joke, not the reality of American economic life. Wall Street began upping the cost of living, and international markets drove companies out of the US, and unions out of companies. But, I am not that competitive about money. I believe that if you do what you love, the money will follow, but searching for money as an end in itself is really an empty victory. The financial institutions have tanked in the past few weeks, and those who placed their faith in their brokers have lost what they invested including the trust they placed in financial markets and the men who run them. I'll forgive myself for not getting in on the Market, because I take heed in what a person told me a few years ago. She had worked for 20+ years for a major corporation that had guaranteed her a good retirement. Not so. Everything she earned, saved, and expected was lost in a take over, or bankruptcy or merger or something. Over the years I have heard lots of stories like this. They serve as cautionary tales.

I prefer to work on being able to work each day the rest of my life because I know that I cannot expect anyone else to place as much value on what I do as I do myself. I'll start saving some money, yes, but I will also look and work at exploring what else I can do to enjoy my life and what I do without having to keep one eye on my portfolio.

It is true that money will get you a lot of things, but it isn't everything. It helps, but I prefer to be flexible and intellectually alert and use my ideas to enhance my life. Money's ok, but you can't eat it, and it won't keep you warm at night. It is a means. Not an end.