Welcome to the ninth short publication of the Kikulacho Cultures Series™ that discusses popular cultures that may be having a negative impact on your financial and personal well-being. The word “Kikulacho” comes from the Kiswahili (Swahili) language, and literally translated into English means “what is eating you”. However, in practice it is used in the Kiswahili language to mean “what is ailing you”. A popular Kiswahili saying “Kikulacho Ki nguoni mwako” is the inspiration behind the name of this short publications series. The practical English translation of this saying is “what ails you is within you”!
In 1992, Janet Jackson released the “hit” song titled, “the best things in life are free”. It was a soundtrack to the 1992 movie “Mo Money”. Today’s popular culture seems to disagree with the song title but agree with the movie title! The evidence of this is clearly displayed with the most popular kind of entertainment themes today. The most popular movies, songs and tabloid stories have the across the board theme of the best things in life being expensive and requiring lots of money (more in line with Colloway’s 1989 “hit” song “I wanna be rich”).
This culture of inflation, fueled by expensive expectations, is facing a “headwind” of decreased purchasing power around the world. According to World Bank statistics, the Labor Participation Rate around the world has been falling and is now at 62% compared to 67% in 1995. In the U.S., the overwhelming majority of the jobs created in the last several years have been close to minimum wage jobs, while the number of high paying jobs are shrinking fast. According to the U.S. census bureau, per capita income fell from $29,000 in 2006 to $27,000 in 2011.
ABRIDGED VERSION
(See Prof. Ngarua’s books on Amazon for more information on this topic. Click on the link below to view the books. Commissions earned if a purchase is made on Amazon)
Habari shujaa 