What Does "Wealth" Mean to You? | Aisha Nyandoro | TED

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Shelley Tsang 曾雯海

Growing up in Mississippi,

在密西西比州成長的過程中，

my family never talked about money,

我的家人從未談論到錢，

but I could infer how much people had by pattern keeping at Christmas time.

但我可以觀察大家在聖誕節的 模式來推斷他們多有錢。

My uncle Chip was always good for money,

奇普叔叔在錢方面向來大方，

an absolute delight.

絕對讓人愉快。

JCPenney's, here I come.

傑西潘尼百貨，我來了。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Mama Adele would always give us apples, oranges,

阿黛爾媽媽總是用個棕色紙袋裝 蘋果、橘子、奶油糖果給我們。

butterscotch candy, in a brown paper bag.

It was a gift given with love and it meant a lot

那是充滿愛的禮物，

因為來自我們家族的 女長老，意義也很重大。

coming from the matriarch of our family.

Now my parents,

再來是我的父母，

my parents would make sure my twin and I were fresh in the latest fashions.

我的父母會確保我們雙胞胎 都穿著最時尚的衣服。

Girbaud jeans, Starter jackets.

Girbaud 的牛仔褲、Starter 的外套。

Looking good made us feel rich, even if we weren't.

即使我們不富裕， 外表好看感覺就好像很富裕。

So it was interesting

這很有趣，因為我記得我們常常在談

because I remember having a myriad of conversations

about prison reform, the education system,

監獄改革、教育制度、

voter rights,

投票權，

but a candid conversation about money,

但從來沒有好好談過金錢。

it never happened.

When I went to graduate school, my world expanded.

上了研究所之後，我的世界擴大了。

Hearing my friends talk about their overseas adventures

聽我朋友談論他們的 海外冒險，讓我很羨慕。

made me envious.

I didn't even have a passport at the time.

那時我連護照都沒有。

When I got my first job post graduate school,

畢業後我找到第一份工作， 賺進了七萬美金。

I was making 70,000 dollars.

I was rich.

我有錢了。

But that shopping spree at JCPenney's was no longer going to scratch that itch.

但在傑西潘尼瘋狂購物 已經搔不到那癢處了。

I needed to do whatever I could to be legit wealthy.

我需要盡我所能去達成真正的富裕。

I think that’s why one of the many Oprah Winfrey episodes that I watched

我認為這就是為什麼 我在 2000 年代初看了這麼多

[in] the early 2000s stood out to me.

歐普拉的節目，當中 有一集特別吸引我。

On this particular episode, Suze Orman was the guest.

這一集的來賓是蘇西‧歐曼。

And for those of you who don't know,

如果你不知道蘇西，她是美國作家

Suze is an American author and financial advisor,

及財務顧問，她還擁有 我見過的最完美的白牙。

and she has the most perfect white teeth I've ever seen.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Well, Suze was talking about 401(k)s,

蘇西上節目談退休儲蓄計畫，

and I got the basic gist of what she was saying.

我大致能理解她所說的基本重點，

Save a little money now, have a lot of money in the future.

現在存一點錢，

將來就會有很多錢。

Sounded great, amazing, sign me up.

聽起來很好，很棒，算我一份。

So I went to meet a wealth advisor, somebody I met off the internet.

於是我去見了一位我在網路上 認識的財富顧問。

I just knew that this random person was going to unlock some magical room

我就是知道，這個陌生人

將會打開一間神奇的房間，

and give me all the tricks I needed to be wealthy.

並把我要致富所需要的 所有技巧都教授給我。

I mean big house, fancy cars, luxurious vacation.

我指的是大房子、

很炫的車子、奢華的假期。

I was excited until I wasn't.

我很興奮，直到我不興奮了。

在沿路商業區中無趣的建築

The nondescript building in a strip mall

did not boost my confidence

並沒有讓我更相信有錢人 是這樣管理他們的事務。

that this was how the wealthy managed their affairs.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I was placed in a small white waiting room

我被安置在白色小型等候室裡， 感覺在那裡等到天荒地老。

and I stayed there for what felt like forever.

Finally, a man came in who could not even bother

終於，有個人進來了，他根本 懶得搞懂我的名字要如何發音，

to learn the correct pronunciation of my name

and asked me what my goals were for the future.

他問了我未來的目標為何。

OK, I'm excited again.

好，我又興奮起來了， 我知道答案是什麼。

I know the answer to this.

Number one, I would like to retire comfortably by the age of 60.

第一，

我希望在六十歲時能退休享福。

Number two, I would like to be able to take care of my mom.

第二，

我希望我要能夠照顧我媽媽。

His response,

他的回應是：

"I don't know why taking care of your mother is your responsibility."

「我不知道為什麼照顧 你媽媽會是你的責任。」

He then went on to speak in some financial jargon

接下來他開始用我無法 理解的金融術語說話。

I could not understand.

The entire interaction took me so aback

整個互動讓我相當吃驚，

以至於會面剩下來的時間 我都只分享最基本的資訊。

that I vowed to share the bare minimum the rest of the meeting.

I could not figure out what I was missing,

我想不透我缺少了什麼， 但這經歷讓我開始質疑一切。

but it made me question everything.

Maybe I did not know what wealth was.

也許我不知道財富是什麼。

Maybe wealth was not intended for people like me.

也許財富本來就不是 要讓我這種人擁有的。

Maybe I was reaching for too much.

也許我期望太多了。

So I find it funny, or maybe serendipitous

所以我覺得我現在 總在思考現金和財富，

that I think about cash and wealth all the time now.

是件很有趣的事，也許算是機緣吧。

For the last ten years,

過去十年，我在密西西比州的 傑克遜領導一個組織，

I've led an organization in Jackson, Mississippi,

that takes a radically community-driven approach to supporting families,

該組織採用一種徹底由社區 驅動的方式來支助家庭，

mainly Black women,

主要對象是住在聯邦政府 補助的平價住房中的黑人女性。

that live in federally subsidized affordable housing.

Our programs are strategic and holistic.

我們的方案都是策略性且全面性的。

A few years ago,

幾年前，我們開始擔心我們 在貧窮方面沒有實質的進展。

we became concerned that we were not moving the needle on poverty.

So we went to the women that we work with and we said, "What are we missing?"

於是我們去找與我們 合作的女性，問：

「我們漏了什麼？」

The answers were all different,

答案都不相同， 但背後的問題卻是一樣的。

but the underlying problem was the same.

The problem was the lack of cash.

問題就是缺現金。

No money for pizza on a Friday night was causing stress.

週五晚上沒有錢買比薩而造成壓力。

Unexpected car repairs were leading to unemployment

沒料到需要維修汽車，導致失業，

because people could not get to and from work.

因為沒有車就無法去工作。

So we began to research how do you give money,

於是我們開始研究

要如何提供金錢給貧困中的人， 而不只是給他們另一個方案？

not another program, to people experiencing poverty?

2018 年，我們推出了 「木蘭母親信託」計畫，

In 2018, we launched the Magnolia Mother's Trust,

this country's first modern guaranteed-income program,

是全國第一個保證收入計畫，

and the first in the world to center its efforts on Black women.

也是全球此類計畫中 第一個以黑人女性為主的。

(Cheers)

（歡呼）謝謝。

Thank you.

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Quickly, for the uninitiated,

為不清楚的人快速解釋一下： 保證收入是一筆特定金額的錢，

a guaranteed income is a specific amount of money

given to a specific population over a set amount of time.

在一段特定的期間內， 提供給特定的對象。

It's typically funded by private philanthropy

資金通常來自私人慈善捐助，

or in some instances, the public sector.

有些例子則是由公部門資助。

It's not a new idea.

這不是個新的想法。

Jenny Tillman, a mom and welfare activist,

身為人母及福利活動家珍妮‧ 帝爾曼就曾呼籲過保證收入，

called for a guaranteed income way back in 1972,

那時是 1972 年；

and even Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Nixon indicated

就連金恩博士和尼克森總統

都曾經指出保證收入 可以協助解決貧窮問題。

that a guaranteed income could help solve for poverty.

It's not a new idea,

這不是個新的想法，但如我 剛才所說的，我們是先鋒，

but like I said, we are pioneers and our efforts are working.

且我們的努力是有用的。

We provide 1,000 dollars a month for 12 months to Black mothers.

我們提供黑人母親每個月 一千美金，持續十二個月。

And our goal is simple:

我們的目標很簡單：

提供這些女性她們需要的喘息空間，

to provide these women with the breathing room they need

by giving them the financial resources they need

做法是給予她們 她們需要的財務資源，

to dream a little bigger.

讓她們做更大一點的夢。

We provide --

我們提供——謝謝。

Thank you.

（掌聲）

(Applause)

We provide 1,000 dollars a month for 12 months,

我們提供每月一千美金， 持續十二個月，

and we have proven that 12,000 dollars

且我們已經證明了一萬兩千美金 就是可以改變生活的金額。

is a life-altering amount of money.

Yes, it allows you to take care of the practical needs,

是的，它允許你可以 照顧好實際的需求，

比如把車修好，

like getting that car repaired,

它還讓你可以轉變你的現實。

but it also allows you to shift your reality.

Literally, shift your reality from scarcity to abundance,

真的轉變你的現實，

從匱乏轉變為豐足，

from tunneling to imagination,

從受限轉變為想像力，

from scraping by to genuine opportunity.

從艱苦度日轉變為真正的機會。

There are over 100 guaranteed income programs

全國目前在實施的 保證收入計畫有至少一百個，

currently being implemented in this country,

and many were inspired by what we started

當中許多是受到我們在密西西比州 傑克森創始的計畫所啟發。

in Jackson, Mississippi, of all places.

Black women have ushered in a movement and it has been beautiful,

黑人女性引領了一項很美好的運動，

but it is just the start.

但這只是開端。

Over the last few years,

在過去的幾年，我看著 越來越多母親收入逐漸穩定，

as I have watched more and more moms move towards income stability,

I have listened as they have began to dream

我聽著他們開始夢想

about a life free of economic stress.

沒有經濟壓力的生活。

I have watched as they began to dream about wealth.

我看著他們開始夢想財富。

Now, I understand that the most basic definition of wealth

現在，我明白財富最基本的定義

is what you own, minus what you owe.

就是你擁有的，減去你虧欠的。

And I also know we typically define it as having big cars,

我也知道我們通常將財富定義成 擁有豪華汽車、奢華的假期，

luxurious vacations,

one-upping our neighbor on this never-ending ladder of economic success.

在這個永無止境的經濟成功 階梯上超越我們的鄰居。

但對許多女性而言， 尤其是有色人種女性，

But for many women, particularly women of color,

who do not have access or the ability to earn a living wage

她們沒有機會或能力 賺取足夠生活的工資，

because of pay inequity,

因為新酬不平等，

對她們而言，那個定義 是無意義或不妥當的。

that definition is meaningless or inadequate.

老天知道，我們必須 解決種族財富差距問題，

Lord knows that we must solve for the racial wealth gap,

而這會需要激進的想像力

and it is going to take radical imagination

and a reinvention of big systems.

以及重新塑造重大的制度。

But until then,

但在那之前，大家不能受到操弄

people cannot be gaslit into believing

而誤信他們對於財富的定義

that their definition of wealth is invalid or less important.

是無效的或不重要的。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Bell Hooks once wrote,

貝爾‧胡克斯曾經寫過：

"Definitions are a vital starting point to the imagination.

「定義是激發想像力的重要起點。

無法想像的就無法成真。」

What one cannot imagine cannot come into being."

One day I was having a conversation with Coco,

有一天我在和可可交談，

她是參與木蘭母親信託 計畫的一位母親，我問她：

a mom within the Magnolia Mother's Trust, and I asked her, "What is wealth to you?"

「對你而言財富是什麼？」

Without skipping a beat, she said,

她毫不猶豫地說：

"If anything were to happen to me,

「如果我出了什麼事，

my family would have the money to cover my burial expenses."

我的家人會有錢 支付我的喪葬費用。」

Asking more and more women the same question,

拿同樣的問題問了更多 女性之後，我漸漸了解，

I have come to learn that wealth is dignified funerals,

財富就是有尊嚴的葬禮、

the privilege of privacy,

能擁有隱私的特權、

the ability to complete school, own a business,

能夠完成學業或創業的能力， 或者扮演奢華阿姨的快感。

or the thrill of being the extravagant auntie.

All of these are definitions of wealth to them.

上述這些都是財富 對她們而言的定義。

Wealth is about a sense of agency, a sense of freedom,

財富在於擁有主動性、 擁有自由的感覺，

整體的集體福祉。

the collective well-being of the whole.

It is not an individual pathological pursuit.

它不是個人病態的追求。

For too long, we have allowed financial institutions

有太長的一段時間， 我們一直都讓金融機構

to define wealth and the process by which we build it.

來定義財富以及建立財富的流程。

I have never had a mother say to me,

我從來沒有遇過一位母親對我說

wealth is having stocks and bonds,

財富就是擁有股票和債券、

equity in her home, or even a retirement account.

房子的權益，

或甚至是退休帳戶。

Instead, they dream about what a life of ease and care would look like.

她們反而是夢想著有閒逸 有照顧的生活是什麼樣子。

Another case in point.

另一個例子。

I was having a conversation with a mom I work with,

我和一位與我們合作的母親交談時，

and I asked if she had six months’ worth of savings

我問她是否有六個月的儲蓄 可以應付緊急狀況。

to cover an emergency.

She started laughing.

她卻開始笑。

She could not even see herself in the equation that I was offering.

她甚至不知道要怎麼把她自己 放入我提供的方程式中。

She said that "Before the Magnolia Mothers Trust,

她說：「我在參與木蘭母親信託 計畫之前連儲蓄帳戶都沒有，

I didn’t even have a savings account, let alone one month’s worth of savings.”

更不會有等同一個月儲蓄的錢了。」

I said, "OK, let me ask the question differently.

我說：「好吧，讓我換個方式來問。

What is wealth to you?"

財富對你來說是什麼？」

She said, "Oh, that's easy.

她說：「哦，這很容易回答， 就是每個月的帳單都能繳清，

All of my bills paid every month

with a little left over for anything extra."

然後還能剩一點錢 支付其他額外的支出。」

She knew exactly what she needed.

她很清楚知道自己需要什麼。

Our narrow definition simply did not address her needs.

我們狹窄的定義就是 沒有辦法處理她的需求。

Hearing these responses, time and time again,

一次又一次聽到像這樣的回應，

I began to realize that we have to redefine wealth,

我開始明白，我們 必須重新定義財富，

and we actually can redefine wealth.

我們其實也真的可以重新定義財富。

And a way we do that is by listening to others

其中一個做法是去聆聽他人，

and then by being brave enough to listen to ourselves.

接著要有足夠的勇氣聆聽自己。

So of course, y'all,

所以，當然，各位，

I had to ask myself, what is wealth?

我也得問我自己，財富是什麼？

And I will admit to each of you all because we're best friends now --

我會向在座各位承認，因為 我們現在是最好的朋友了——

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

That when I first asked myself this question, I started crying.

當我第一次問自己 這個問題時，我開始哭泣。

I realized that for over 20 years,

我發現，二十多年來， 我一直抱持的定義

I had been holding on to a definition that was not written for me,

根本就不是為我寫的，

nor did it mirror my desires.

也沒有反映出我的渴望。

I never wanted that big house backed up against the lake.

我從來就沒有想要湖邊的大房子，

I simply wanted what it represented in my mind:

我想要的只是它在 我心中代表的意義：

My ability to gather my people, to nourish them, to spoil them,

我要有能力可以聚集我的族人、 滋養他們、寵愛他們，

to make sure that we were protected and cared for

確保我們受到保護和照顧，

before we go out into the world doing the hard work of caring for others.

然後再走出去這些世界， 扛起照顧他人的苦工。

Please hear my words.

請聆聽我說的話。

I am not saying that women experiencing poverty simply need space to dream.

我並不是說，在貧困中的女性

就只需要夢想的空間。

If you all walk out of this theater with that,

如果你帶著這樣的想法 走出講廳，我會非常不爽。

I am going to be very unhappy.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

What I am saying

我真正要說的

is that the space to dream mixed with cash

是將夢想的空間和現金混合在一起

can lead to transformation that can lead to true wealth.

可以帶來轉變，

而後帶來真正的財富。

It is my belief that we, all of us in this room,

我相信，我們，

在座的各位，都因為要容忍

are made less [wealthy]

by virtue of tolerating a country where anyone has to prove their worth.

這個讓每個人必須要證明自己 價值的國家而變得沒那麼富有。

We may have 500 different definitions of wealth,

對財富，我們可能有 五百種不同的定義，

but we can all agree that we are all degraded by normalizing immoral inequity.

但大家應該都認同，

將不道德的不平等視為 常態，只會貶損我們。

After all these years, I have finally --

經過這麼多年，我終於……

(Applause)

（掌聲）

經過這麼多年，我終於達成了 我自己當初設下的目標，

After all of these years,

I have finally accomplished what I set out to achieve

all those years ago with that random wealth advisor.

多年前和那位陌生的財富顧問 見面時設下的目標。

I am emboldened and empowered to manage my wealth

我更有信心也更有能力 可以管理我的財富，

不，我指的不是錢。

and no, I don't mean money.

I mean, I am a loving daughter,

我指的是：我是個滿是愛的女兒，

I am a mom who takes their boys on vacation

我是個會帶兒子去度假的母親，

and you best believe I am an extravagant auntie.

且各位最好相信， 我是個奢華的阿姨。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

We have a poverty of imagination about what makes you wealthy.

我們很貧窮，因為缺乏對於 「是什麼讓你富有」的想像力。

I mean the things that people say about you at your funeral.

我指的是別人在你的 葬禮上怎麼說你，

I mean legacy.

我指的是你留下了什麼。

But here's the thing.

但，重點是：

From where I sit, we can offer that kind of wealth to everyone.

依我所見，我們可以 將這種財富提供給所有人，

And yes, I am going to play on the word here,

是，我在此要玩賣一下這個詞， 我可以保證這一點，

I can guarantee it,

if we are simply willing to understand

只要我們能夠願意去了解

that a small financial investment can change someone's life,

一點點財務投資 就能改變某人的人生，

giving them the flexibility,

給他們彈性和喘息的空間，

breathing room and space

to define and build wealth on their own terms.

讓他們照自己的意思去定義 和建立他們自己的財富。

And that may be wealth defined by equity, love, honor and delight.

有可能是用平等、愛、榮譽， 和樂趣來定義的財富。

謝謝。

Thank you.

(Applause and cheers)

（掌聲和歡呼）