投资 · 创业者自述
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯:节俭·摘录 322
塞缪尔·斯迈尔斯《节俭》· Thrift · 投资
Many discussions with working men, in his homeward evening walks, convinced Mr. Sikes that there were social problems with which legislation would be almost powerless to grapple, and of these the thriftlessness of the masses of the people was one. An employer of five hundred handloom weavers had told Mr. Sikes that in a previous period of prosperity, when work was abundant and wages were very high, he could not, had he begged on bended knee, have induced his men to save a single penny, or to lay by anything for a rainy day. The fancy waistcoating trade had uniformly had its cycles of alternate briskness and depression; but experience, however stern its teachings, could not teach unwilling learners. It was at this period that Mr. Sikes was reading the late Archbishop Sumner's "Records of Creation," and met with the following passage: "The only true secret of assisting the poor, is to make them agents in bettering their own condition."
出处:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14418
定位:Excerpt 322 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录
白话
赛克斯先生在晚上回家路上与工人们多次讨论,这使他确信有些社会问题立法几乎无力解决,其中大众缺乏节俭就是其一。一位雇了五百名手织工的雇主告诉赛克斯,在先前繁荣时期,工作充足、工资很高,可他就算跪下来求,也无法让工人存下一分钱,或为雨天留点积蓄。花式西装面料贸易一直有兴衰交替的周期;但经验再严厉,也教不会不愿学习的人。正是在这一时期,赛克斯先生读到已故大主教萨姆纳的《创造记录》,看到这样一段话:“帮助穷人的唯一真正秘诀,是让他们成为改善自身状况的行动者。”
上下文
赛克斯通过亲身接触发现,工人即使在高工资时也不储蓄,这让他反思立法与个人责任的关系。
今日一问
你是否曾因收入增加而提高消费,而不是增加储蓄?如何改变?
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