Why Yvette Carnell is Wrong About Being Locked Out of the Economy

Why Yvette Carnell is Wrong About Being Locked Out of the Economy

Well, I guess you are reading this article to discover why Yvette Carnell is wrong, at least from my perspective, about being locked out of the economy.

Several people have come to me and asked that I watch Yvette Carnell’s video (You can find her follow up to this video here.) where she discusses why LaVar Ball’s business strategy and brand will not be feasible, beyond its ability to exploit other Blacks. After watching the video, I immediately understood why my subscribers wanted me to see this video. One thing that stood out immediately was the general assessment that Blacks are locked out of the economy in the United States, and that the only way that we will ever become a part of it is if the government creates the opportunity. Allow me to explain why Yvette Cornell is wrong about being locked out of the economy. I will deal with the LaVar Ball issue separately.

First of all, one of the first things that I teach my clients at The Visionetics Institute, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, is that the word “can’t,” no longer exists. It is easy for a person, or a group of people to convince themselves that they cannot do something, but it is their limiting beliefs that are actually the most powerful force in determining what they can and cannot do. I would love to get into that at a deeper level, but the seven universal laws that underwrite the law of attraction govern every aspect of life. We limit our success by limiting our beliefs.

Moving on To Those Things That More Easily Measured

This all started as a response to a video that I did about LaVar Ball entitled, LaVar Ball, Lonzo Ball ~ A New Model for Black Success, where viewers told me that I should check out Yvette’s take on the issue. The result was me recording a video entitled, My Response to Yvette Cornell’s take on LaVar Ball, and I subsequently followed it all up with a video entitled, Are Blacks Really Locked Out? ~ Addressing Yvette Cornell’s Assessment of the Black Dollar!

I am not one for creating division, and with that being said, I am not a person who believes that people have to agree philosophically on every point. That type of standard makes it literally impossible to unite. I believe that philosophical differences are necessary to challenge our thinkers to look beyond their personal biases to see truths that they may be overlooking.

So, let’s take a look at why, from my perspective, Yvette Carnell is wrong.

I have a great deal of respect for the effort that Yvette Cornell invests in understanding the topics that she discusses on her channel and during the time she shares on Dr. Boyce Watkins’ channel. I am simply challenging the idea of being conformed to a rigid idea of financial concepts, as well as relegated to operating within the confines of traditional thought concerning economic strategy and systematic development.

At the core of traditional economic thought, what Yvette Carnell says about Blacks being locked out of the existing economy would be true; however, the economy does not exist within its own vacuum. It is a part of a much larger spectrum of reality in which realities are consistently being created by those who are willing to step outside of the parameters and constraints of consistent thought in order to create something different and better. This is how the world has evolved and improved over history. I am certain that the Wright brothers were consistently derided about their idea to create a machine that could fly, but well…

No man has been able to create an infrastructure that could not be infiltrated, manipulated, restructured and exploited to the benefit of the infiltrator. Of course, attempting to infiltrate the current economy using rules and ideologies that are set up by those in positions of power would be futile; however, creating new concepts and platforms within the confines of the law, but outside the confines and limitations of conventional economic thought is the key.

This is one of the reasons that most people who look at LaVar Ball’s economic paradigm, immediately find fault with it, assuming that it will not work. They are attempting to evaluate his ideologies using an outdated model. The first fallible postulation is that his high price point will only exploit Blacks at a higher rate than existing marketing mechanisms. The fallibility here lies in the postulation that he is actually marketing to Blacks solely and specifically.

There is currently a niche market in which the people are spending $500 and up on all types of shoes, and they have the discretionary funds to do so. While I personally believe that this is money ill spent past a certain point, I have been that person who has over 500 pairs of shoes, with the majority being athletic footwear. That was a lifetime ago, it seems, and I would never do that at this point in my life, but there is a niche market out there to tap into.

We must expand our understanding of Black group economics, practiced vertically. Just because you own a business, and you are taking an afro-centric or pro-Black approach to life, does not mean that your business will service a Black demographic. In fact, for the Black collective to continue to grow economically, we must be willing to provide high-quality products and services outside of the Black community.

We must be ready to raid their economies in the same way they have raided ours. What I can tell you is that when you create something that is in demand, solves and existing problem or meets a consistent need, and you do it better than anyone else, people will pay you to produce the result they need — regardless of color. However, the standard has to be one of excellence.

Keep in mind that many groups are building their enclaves and economies with outside money, much of which is originating in the Black community. We cannot only rely on the Black dollar, but that is where we start. Some businesses, like most of the ones I own, are built to thrive in non-Black markets, and that is fine, as long as a significant amount of the profits finds its way into the Black economy.

There must also be a highly specified spending agenda that is designed to create a circulatory flow — allowing our dollars to bounce multitudinous times before exiting our economy. For example, several years ago, when we created the Society of Black Professionals and Entrepreneurs Investment Group, one of the requirements was that each Black owned business would be required to invest a certain portion of their profits directly into the Black community. But it didn’t stop there. We also stipulated that the group would determine where each business would invest that money, in order to ensure that all areas of need were being met at the level of need for each area (some areas include the development of educational systems, residential development, business development, the development of media platforms, developing political systems and more).

I was fortunate to be able to tap into the knowledge bank of Dr. Claud Anderson and his wife JoAnn during the creation of the SOBPE, and both are individuals who have probably forgotten more about finance than I currently know. They reviewed my Blueprint 1.0, and gave it their approval, which was a crowning moment in my life, because of the immense respect I have for Dr. Anderson. What I can share is that while I literally ate up everything they shared with me, I did not automatically accept it as gospel.

Below you will find a short excerpt from Dr. Joann Anderson, Dr. Anderson’s wife. She is the truth.

“A few quick notes. The time is very short for us. Dr. A said we would become a permanent underclass by 2013 if we did not take some of the actions he prescribed in PN. We did not…. and we are now, a permanent underclass. It will be very hard to change our status because we allowed integration to destroy our communities and of our institutions, the Black Church was the strongest, but is crumbling fast. Immigration is burying us in our own country.

I reviewed your blueprint and have a few comments. You have done a lot of good work. You might find the checklist in the Appendix (I think it is Appendix A) of PowerNomics: The National Plan to Empower Black America (title listed in your blueprint was incorrect) useful in assessing and modifying your blueprint, if your purpose is for each activity to lead to Black America becoming self-sufficient and competitive as a group (the vision of PN).”

I shared this for a reason. The suppositions that are made in this part of the conversation are based on rigid economic rules, and they have an immensely strong basis. Because we gave up so much in the way of ownership (the foundation of wealth building) and community (the center of axiological perpetuation — the creation and perpetuation of value systems that are beneficial to us) in order to facilitate integration, we placed ourselves in a position in which our footing and foundation has been slowly eroding over the last 50 years, through machinations and mechanisms such as serial forced displacement (primarily through gentrification), deindustrialization, mis-education, workforce discrimination and more). So, on the surface, the supposition that we are permanently locked in as an underclass has merit.

Here is where I challenged the idea then, and now. The rigidity through which economics and finance exists, is only a mental reality, it operates much like a law, because everyone has excepted it as a law, and no one challenges it. However, it is not a law, it is a system that can be shaken up through creative intervention. What Dr. Anderson (wife) says in this short excerpt about the impact of the Church is true. The Black church is the one Black institution that currently has an infrastructure that can facilitate every component and element of Black empowerment. Unfortunately, much of its leadership is content with playing footsies with the system and those who maintain the power within it. Very few are willing to risk their position for the sake of the collective.

With that being said, we are currently pushing to work with those pastors and spiritual leaders who are willing to create a paradigmatic shift — first within their congregations and then within the communities within their peripheries. It is a grassroots effort that is built on the concept of infecting people with an ideology, passion and purpose, rather than simply affecting them. When you infect a person, you leverage your passion and knowledge, because an infection is a contagion, and when a person is contagious, they infect others.

Because of many of the psychopathological issues we are currently dealing with as a collective, unity on a massive scale is not a current feasible goal, but organically growing to a place of unity is. This current system can be infiltrated, manipulated, restructured and exploited to our benefit — one small increment at a time. The problem is that we have dragged our feet in creating goal specific think tanks that can take on the mastodonic task.

Additionally, this will call for spiritual leaders, financial minds, social leaders and others to be willing to invest in something by planting seeds they may not live long enough to see come to fruition. Yes, we have been in this position so long that to think that we can apply a quick-fix and simply walk out of it is foolish, but to apply systematic and authentic change over time is more than possible.

I will not go into the intricate details of what has to be done, but anyone who has taken a position that they cannot change their situation has already given up on life, as individuals and as a collective. Developing and understanding about how things work will help to fix the first and most prevalent problem — the money that is already being hemorrhaged out of Black hands. If we don’t stop the hemorrhaging, getting more will not matter. Plus, what I can tell you is when you change your view of money, you will automatically give yourself your first raise — regardless to whether someone else pays you more or not.

I have shared the real-life stories on one man who made no more than $14,000 per year his entire life, but retired with a net worth of more than $72 million (all generated from that $14,000 per year salary), and the man who has never made more than $12.00 per hour, but will be retiring in a couple of years as a millionaire (with all of worth originating out of his $12.00 per hour salary). What we don’t know about money is destroying us. The failure to use our exceptional creativity to our advantage has constrained us. It is time to elevate in our thinking, raise our standards and expectations and stop complaining. Life is not about what someone gives you, it is about what you demand of yourself, what you demand of life and what you go out and make happen. Put the quick fixes down and let’s get to work. Zig Ziglar used to say, “Life will pay whatever price you demand of it.” For those who get this, the possibilities are endless.

I could break this down in at least five other ways that the average person would fail to view it, in order to arrive at the idea that we are not locked out, but petitioned away from the economy. It is our job to create ways to get in, and none of these ways require us to beg anyone on the inside to allow us to get in. ~ Rick Wallace, Ph.D., Psy.D.

But for now, just check out the videos and tell me what you think.