2005年NPR美国国家公共电台十二月-Priceless Gifts Don't Cost a Thing

Anchor: As if you needed a reminder 1, there is less than a week left for you to finish your Christmas shopping. This year, many people are consciously trying to cut back on consumerism. For those looking for less materialistic 2 ways of expressing their affection, commentator 3 Yolanda Young reminds us that the most meaningful gifts don't cost a thing.

Yolanda Young: We all got a wish list for the holidays. I'd like a 64-inch strand 4 of Mikimoto pearls to sling 5 down my back. A pair of Manolo Blahniks that I'm perfectly 6 comfortable standing 7 in so long as I don't have to take a step, and a little black dress with which to show them off. Neither I nor my friends and family can afford to buy me these things, of course, this has never stopped us in the past. We've merely pulled out the plastic and noted 8 that Christmas comes only once a year. Unfortunately, we often end up paying for it over a lifetime. Data collected and analyzed 9 by Black Enterprise magazine found that African-Americans squander 10 a large percentage of our income, shelling out payments for credit cards and other high interest-rate liabilities. Over time this increases the likelihood of eventual 11 bankruptcy 12.

Yolanda Young: A study of consumer finances by the Federal Reserve found that the debt of blacks was nearly twice that of whites. Our credit card debt is nearly 9% of our income, while it is only about 6% of the income of whites. Total debt for blacks at 42%, far exceeds the 16.5% that whites carry.

Yolanda Young: Adding insult to injury, much of our debt is tied up in depreciating 13 assets, such as cars, furniture, clothes and electronics. You know, the items we like to splurge on during the gift-giving season. This is not to suggest our giving is limited to the superficial. Indeed, a 2003 study by the Chronicle of Philanthropy found that blacks who give to charities donate 25% more of their discretionary income than do white donors 15. The things to keep in mind this time of year is that money is not the only, or dare I say, even the best way to give.

Yolanda Young: This year, why not do yourself and your loved ones a favor? Give gifts that are priceless and at the same time, don't put a debt in your bottom line. Contribute your time, help build a house with habitat for humanity, train a seeing eye dog or answer phones during an NPR membership drive, send a thoughtful handwritten notes to someone who does so much but asks for so little. Donate a pint 16 of blood, let someone off the hook. Bequeath something to future generations, teach a child to read, or recycle old newspapers, bottles and grocery bags. Be 100% agreeable for an entire day. Run errands for an elderly neighbor. Become an organ donor 14 or allow your remains 17 to be used to educate doctors at an historically black medical school, or volunteer to be the designated driver on New Year's Eve. After all, what we really want for Christmas is not another sweater or scarf. We yearn 18 to be wrapped in a spirit of peace and forgiveness and surrounded by those we love.

Anchor: Yolanda Young is an attorney and author of the memoir 19 On Our Way to Beautiful.