Column: No revelation, but timely reminder

MOULTRIE, Ga. — 

Did you know that children who grow up in poverty are twice as likely to struggle with financial challenges later in life? Of course you did.

This is not rocket science, as the proverbial cliché would declare.

But the federally funded study officially noting this tendency made headlines this week. The Fed Chair Janet Yellen announced it.

I’m often amused at what expensive federal research presents to us. 

I’m not saying that this knowledge doesn’t have value in the course of human events and in our aspirations to improve upon our society. I just thought almost everyone already knew this — that the conclusion would be self evident.

But if it did require some study and a pronouncement,  I would think three or four guys with common sense could meet at the corner coffee shop and within an hour or two declare this without being out more than ten dollars. It’s just information that’s out there to be absorbed through casual observation.

 Let me draw an analogy, if I may. We don’t need a study to tell us that the sun is hot, the shade is cool and alcohol can make people bump their heads. 

The survey showed that more than half of young people age 25 to 39 who reported that as children they worried over things like having enough food were currently facing financial challenges. And yes, that’s sad. But anyone who can think more than one layer deep should be aware of this. I certainly don’t think it’s data that could be parlayed into a dissertation, ultimately resulting in a Ph.D.

Certainly there are some kids who grow up in abject poverty but yet find their way to the top of economic venues. They call them “rags to riches” stories.

I think what would be a much more interesting piece of research would be to show how many kids born with silver spoons in their mouths find a sure way to blow the family fortune in their early adult life. I’ve seen it happen, but I don’t know how often it happens. As well, I’ve seen the silver spoon turn into a 12-place setting.

With reference to Yellen, I don’t perceive this as a “looky here what we discovered” kind of thing. I think it’s more of stating the obvious as a timely reminder that there are those less fortunate around us, and that we should resolve to seek improvements in those tendencies.

Of course stating the obvious in the national spotlight is not a new thing. It happens routinely. In fact, within hours of the Yellen “revelation” there came a Princeton University finding that middle-age white Americans with limited education are increasingly dying younger, on average, than other middle-age U.S. adults. This, too, links to dwindling economic opportunities.

I think it stands to reason that people with lower intellect often make poorer life choices, and those choices sometimes impact their longevity. 

For instance, I had a fellow tell me that he was going to keep smoking no matter what cigarettes costs or how much he was told that it was harmful to his health. He appeared to be in his 50s. He also said he hadn’t read a book since he got out of high school. I could tell.

And I’m not saying that a higher education is a guarantee that you will outlive a moron in an airboat jumping alligators in the Everglades. But we’re talking about averages and probabilities here.

Again, while it’s not a revelation, it is yet another timely reminder that we should promote enlightenment in broad spectrum at every turn.

(Email: dwain.walden@gaflnews.com)