Dave Ramsey Would Like to Help Get You Out of Debt (But Does Not Believe in Income Inequality)

Our pal Helaine Olen has a profile of America’s biggest financial guru Dave Ramsey in the new issue of Pacific Standard. If you’ve read Olen’s book Pound Foolish, some of this will be familiar to you: Ramsey has offered hope to the struggling masses that they can get out of debt and find their financial footing (this I can agree with to an extent; one of our writers, A.C. Elliott, wrote a nice piece about signing up for Ramsey’s class to see if some of his tips could help her get out of debt), but he also believes that rising income inequality in the U.S. is “not really true” despite the data that says otherwise, and that if you make the right financial decisions, you can choose to not take part in financial recessions and the economic problems plaguing America (this I do not agree with; everyone — both poor and rich — was affected by the financial crisis, though some more than others).

Nobody has all the answers and we are fooling ourselves if we believe that any one person does. Instead, we take what speaks to us and apply it to our lives to make it work. I have some problems with Suze Orman, but I can also agree with her on some things, for example, that the people in our lives come first before money does. Ramsay certainly doesn’t have all the answers, but if you can find something that he says to help make a positive impact in your life, then more power to you.

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