UNCOMMON CENTS 81

WILLIAM JAMES BLENDED PSYCHOLOGY, PHILOSOPHY AND ECONOMICS AT A TIME WHEN ACADEMIC SPECIALTIES WERE RELATIVELY UNKNOWN. YET WILLIAM GOT IT RIGHT. HE WOULD HAVE ADMITTED THAT MANY WOMEN NEVER GET BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE THEY NEVER GROW IN VIRTUE OR KNOWLEDGE. HE WOULD HAVE NOTED THAT IN THE MIDDLE-EAST WHEN A KILLING BY A GUNMAN OCCURS, IT STILL REPRESENTS A CEASE FIRE ON HOLD. WHAT AN OXYMORON. HE WOULD HAVE MARVELED AT THE DILEMMA A RESPONSIBLE PERSON FACES WHOSE CREDIT IS TOO GOOD MAKING HIM A PROBLEM BECAUSE HIS CREDIT REPORT IS UNSCOREABLE. WILLIAM SAW THAT IMPERFECTIONS AND CONTRADICTIONS WERE UNAVOIDABLE WHEN LINKED TO HUMAN NATURE. FOR WILLIAM, HOWEVER, HUMAN NATURE'S POTENTIAL WAS A WELL SPRING VIRTUALLY UNTAPPED. HE REEKED OPTIMISM. HE THOUGHT WE SHOULD PURSUE OUR POSSIBILITIES, ATTEND TO THEM WITH A SUSPENSE AND WATCHFULLNESS BEYOND REASON WHICH DELVES INTO THE HEART. ONLY THEN CAN WE BE TRULY FREE. WILLIAM JAMES POSITED A PRAGMATIC APPROACH TO PSYCHOLOGY, PHILOSOPHY AND ECONOMICS CALLED THE "WILL TO BELIEVE."

MILTON FRIEDMAN THE GREAT ECONOMIST ALSO CHAMPIONED THE CAUSE OF FREE CHOICE. WHAT ELSE MAKES US FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT IF NOT THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE TO BE SO? ELITES WHO RESTRICT FREE MARKET COMPETITION JUST THROTTLE CAPITALISM AND EXACERBATE THE PROBLEMS OF THE POOR. THE POOR DO NOT NEED TO BE A PROBLEM. ALLOWED TO MAKE FREE CHOICES, THEY CAN FIND THEIR OWN SOLUTIONS TO FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS.

HINT: IF YOU ARE BOMBARDED WITH MESSAGES ABOUT CREDIT, BORROWING, SPENDING AND CONSUMPTION - YOU HAVE WITHIN YOU THE WILL TO BELIEVE THAT YOUR ARE FREE TO CHOOSE. JUST FOREGO! CHOOSE TO SAVE. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN FLOUR IS ONLY $.99 FOR A FIVE POUND BAG, COULDN'T YOU SAVE MONEY BY COOKING OR BAKING FOR YOURSELF ONCE IN A WHILE?