Speaking in a Men's Correctional Facility

It was an honor for me to be called to speak to over 100 men in a correctional facility in southern California on the subject of debt and money.

Now, I’m sure some of you would think, “what would men – or women for that matter – in jail need to know about money since they probably don’t have any”, right? Well, what about when they were not in jail or when they re-enter society? What then? Most of them will go back to exactly who they were before they were caught and sentenced for whatever their crime may have been.

What we must know is that jail or prison as we currently know it DOES NOT work as far as “rehabilitating” anyone. It seems to be a breeding ground for learning more about “how to do crime well”. The thinking must be changed to, “how can the inmates be revitalized or taught they can be vital members of society. If they aren’t taught self-respect or self-love all of the money spent every year on and in the correctional system is for naught.

It was very empowering to see the men engaged and interested in, not only talking about money on a surface level but at a deeper, how can I rearrange my relationship with money way. I know many of you will say this is a ridiculous way of thinking but let’s think about it in terms of asking the question, “how well is it working the current way we’re doing it?”

It’s really not. I’m not sure what the rate of recidivism is but I would imagine it’s pretty high just going by the statistics of how much more money we spend building prisons vs creating better educational systems.

What I really hit heavy on was the vagueness and not-enoughness that permeates society and has for years. It was enlightening and encouraging to see the spark in their eyes and their demeanor when I talked about this. What’s really the difference between someone like Bernie Madoff who was a very wealthy “above it all” kind of guy, the white collar variety and the petty that robs someone at the ATM machine of $20?

Bottom line, the Universe doesn’t know the difference between the millions stolen by Madoff and his greed or the $20 taken for drugs or food. Stealing is stealing What we might want to consider is “how did we get so upside down in this country that we’re willing to bail out a large corporation (and then put it on my tab and yours’) but not supply the main-streeters with an education or a hand up so we can put an end to the $20 ATM robberies and stop the madness the continues to invade our society like the dis-ease that it is?”

Reva Kussmaul
CVO – MoneyVisions
http://www.moneyvisions.net