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MUST READ!! KNOWLEDGE IS POWER...
The last time I read this article, we only spent about 438 Billion annually. Black folks have come a long way.
Please read and pass on to everyone you know.
Subject: USA Today article on Black Spending
USA Today article on Black Spending
Next time you see that 'player of the year 'flawsin' in that 2006 Chrysler
300 sittin' on 23's while he's pulling it into a parking stall of a rented
apartment hand him this article. USA Today article on Black Spending Habits:
These are tough economic times, especially for African-Americans, for whom
the unemployment rate is more than 10%. Alarmingly, rather than
belt-tightening, the response has been to spend more. In many poor
neighborhoods, one is likely to notice satellite dishes and expensive new
cars.
According to Target Market, a company that tracks black consumer spending,
blacks spends a significant amount of their income on depreciable products.
In 2002, the year the economy nose-dived ; we spent $22.9 billion
($22,900,000,000.00) on clothes, $3.2 billion ($3,000,000,000.00) on
electronics and $11.6 billion($11,000,000,000.00) on furniture to put into
homes that, in many cases, were rented.
Among our favorite purchases are cars and liquor. Blacks make up only 12% of
the US population, yet account for 30% of the country's Scotch consumption.
Detroit, which is 80% black, is the world's No.1 market for
Cognac (Pass The Co---------). So impressed was Lincoln with the $46.7
billion ($46,000,000,000) that blacks spent on cars that the automaker
commissioned Sean "P.Diddy" Combs, the entertainment and fashion mogul, to
design a limited-edition Navigator replete with six plasma screens, three
DVD players and a Sony Play Station 2.
The only area where blacks seem to be cutting back on spending is books;
total purchases have gone from a high of $356 million in 2000 to $303
million in 2002. This shortsighted behavior, motivated by a desire for
instant gratification and social acceptance, comes at the expense of our
future.
The National Urban League's "State of Black America 2004" report found that
fewer than 50% of black families owned their homes compared with more than
70% of whites. According to published reports, the Ariel Mutual
Funds/Charles Schwab 2003 Black Investor Survey found that when comparing
households where blacks and whites had roughly the same household incomes,
whites saved nearly 20% more each month for retirement, and 30% of
African-Americans earning $100,000 a
year had less than $5,000 in retirement savings. While 79% of whites invest
in the stock market, only 61% of African-Americans do.
Certainly, higher rates of unemployment,income disparity and credit
discrimination are financial impediments to the economic vitality of blacks,
but so are our consumer tastes.
By finding the courage to change our spending habits, we might be surprised
at how far the $631 billion ($631,000,000,000.00) we now earn take us.
We all send thousands of jokes through e-mail without a second thought, but
when it comes to sending messages regarding life affirming choices, people
think twice about sharing.
So please pass this on. Knowledge is power.!!
Sincerely,
Andre Kellum
Independent Associates
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. and Cognigen Communications
Family, Small Business and Employee Benefits Specialists
888-770-0520
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