We are sinking sand and releasing carbon from its sink accelerating sea level rise.

Our planet is amazing. Life on earth is super unique and just as unique are the ecosystems and chemical cycles that nurtures it. The water cycle creates clouds, rain, snow and our local weather. The carbon and nitrogen cycles form the mainstay of the food chain. For most of human civilisation we were in tune with these natural cycles until the industrial age began about 200 years ago. Since then our appetite for natural resources has been growing tremendously to the point that we are competing with nature but we are starting to realise the futility of this exploitation and we are also learning of other natural cycles that we are over exploiting with detrimental consequences. 

I had never ever thought that sand could ever be an exhaustible commodity but it is. You can learn about it from this documentary posted on Youtube–Sand Wars. Sand is the base of modern construction. From roads to high-rises, glass to microchips and even solar panels the demand for sand is only growing as the resource diminishes faster than it can be produced. Nowadays all of our sand for construction comes from the sea and rivers since land based sand pit mines have been exhausted. Unfortunately our voracious appetite for concrete is causing problems for beaches. When sand is taken out from the sea and rivers beaches shrink. Coastlines creep inland is already threatening many beach front cities and villages all over the world with ocean inundation. Add in climate change's effects on sea level rise and the timeline for ocean front cities becoming threatened by sea inundation accelerates.

Sandy beaches like mangrove forests are barriers that keep the sea at bay. Losing beaches means more than losing fun recreational space because without these barriers waves from the sea can erode the land quite fast. Without ugly fortifications beach front cities like Miami can be eaten by the sea within a few years.

This is a well done and informative documentary. You will reconsider buying that dream beach house then again you might consider putting sand in your watch list for investment but what is more important is we need some good news on the environment. Sand trapped in concrete is lost to ecosystems while releasing ancient carbon trapped in Earth is transforming ecosystems we depend on badly for our sustenance. We need to leave nature alone.

When it comes to construction alternatives to sand is hard to find. Old concrete can be recycled but it is expensive. Our answer to sand should be to stop wasteful construction and there is a lot of these where entire cities and high-rises have been built all over the world but remain empty because they are just too expensive. These buildings have been built solely for investors to flip for profit but there is just not that many rich people to buy them all. Again greed is getting the better of us.

Trump, The King of Debt? The King of Bankruptcy more like.

The Philippines just elected their least unpopular candidate to become its President. Rodrigo Duterte became the President of the Philippines that has a population of almost a hundred million people with just 38% of votes. In other words 62% of voters rejected him but they lost. Mr. Duterte rode the wave of a populist agenda advocating strong arm tactics to stem corruption in the Philippines government and funnel the funds recovered to the impoverished in the nation where a quarter of its population live by meagre subsistence. Mr. Duterte is known for his infamous past, which he is proud of, of permitting extra judicial killings to clean up the city of Davao of criminals as its mayor. Many people fear that Mr. Duterte might become the next dictator of the Philippines especially if he gets back to forming death squads to quell crime.

Mr. Duterte's appeal is understandable. He is willing to spare no means to go after corrupt Filipino government officials, civil servants and criminals. But allowing a leader of a nation to get away with end results to justify the means is inherently dangerous because power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. So the risk the Philippines faces is if their President actually comes good on his promises. To strong arm the entire nation to clean it up he will need an independent posse  answerable to him only. He might create a new national security force headed by his most loyal lieutenants empowered to disregard due process to carry out his bidding unquestionably. If this doesn't happen and all Mr. Duterte was doing during his campaign was just pandering to the most disenfranchised Filipinos then all he was spewing from the stump was pure rhetoric and the Philippines will continue more or less as usual.

What's good for the Philippines is good for the Philippines, what's bad for it is bad for itself. For the rest of us who are not Filipinos or not doing business with the nation its no big deal that Mr. Duterte is the next President, just interesting news. However I hope a similar situation doesn't happen in the US, where Donald Trump becomes the next President of USA because what's good for the US is good for all of us and what's bad for  the US is bad for all of us. Like Mr. Duterte Trump stokes his base with negative expletives of their country and vows to fix it miraculously and quickly by banking on his business acumen which he always describes with the most positive expletives. But even as the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party he is already the bearer of bad news except for those who hate the USA and want to see it go down.

Recently Trump called himself the King of Debt. He is going to rid the US off its 19 trillion dollar national debt in no time. How? Simply don't pay it. Default on the national bonds and declare bankruptcy. Just like that the 19 trillion dollar debt disappears from US national accounts and he is done! What a fool! And fools are prone to falling in traps. The trap here is to think a country can be run like a business.

I am a citizen of a country. It doesn't matter to me if my government is profitable. All I ask is that my tax money is not wasted. That to me is the most important job of the head of government. If a government has to spend more money than it earns in taxes and fees to serve the people than by all means borrow money. It is very, very difficult for governments to be profitable because it is the job of the government to give security to its population, provide justice, care for its citizens even the ones who are old or unproductive, provide free basic education and much more. Most of these activities from a business standpoint are financial liabilities that cannot be profitable. The best you can hope for is to break even in the accounts. The worst thing a government can do is to foster a climate that creates lack of confidence in the productivity of a country. Nobody will want to lend money to such a government and that can be the worst thing for its citizens. By saying he is willing to default on federal bonds Trump has made a threat as dangerous to the USA as Mr. Duterte's vigilante squad to the Philippines.

Really there is no reason to allude to such a possibility because the US is renowned for its innovations. Even if the US National Debt hits 50 trillion people will still want to buy US bonds because of the technology and products its citizens create that the world wants. From segways to aeroplanes, medical tech to entertainment the world likes US stuff and can't get enough of it. It is to the benefit of US allies and friends around the world that the country thrives. It biggest failing would be to elect Trump as its President. That would erode confidence in the country like kryptonite sucking energy from Superman. Trump says stupid things, what he doesn't realise is that confidence is fostered by what is said as much as by what is done. Of all the foolish things he has said so far in this race, by far the most dangerous is his willingness to default on US debt. The damage of that statement will be felt on the very first day of a Trump Presidency and unfortunately not only in the US if such a day ever comes to pass.

Bamboo is the new timber–towards sustainable construction

What’s worse than our addiction to fossil fuels? Timber. Timber is an amazing product of nature. Making homes and furniture out of wood is a skill and art that is deeply embedded in human cultures. Carpenters and wood craftsmen usually have a profound even spiritual connection to their skill and they can come up with awe inspiring products that connects with nature. But ever since we went industrial with chopping trees we’ve been cutting them down like no tomorrow for decades. Even now with virgin forest cover all over the world at less than 50% we are still cutting them down to fulfil our insatiable appetite for gorgeous hardwood timber.

There is such at thing as ag-timber, timber plantations but they usually grow softwood trees mainly for pulp to make paper and fibreboards. Hardwoods which are the most prized timber are difficult to profit from in plantations. It usually takes more than a decade before the trees can be harvested and even then the diameter of the timber is small. Very few investors are eager to risk such long term returns, which is why a single tree from a virgin forest that is more than 1.5 meters in diameter can fetch close to a million bucks. It just takes minutes to fell the trees and with heavy equipment debarking the trees and trucking them to factories its money in the bank that is as difficult to resist as our appetite for pretty nature in our homes and offices.

We have reached a point where we have to stop all harvesting of virgin forest hardwoods from the temperate and tropical forests. For one thing we need these trees which are also the lungs of our planet to produce oxygen and sink carbon dioxide. The cheapest and most efficient way to reverse our present global climate change crisis is to simply leave nature alone. Allow nature to prosper and we can breathe easy. A global ban on virgin forest timber can help protect forests and help forests grow in range.

However this doesn’t mean we cannot use wood for practical and aesthetic construction. There is a well tested viable replacement for timber–its bamboo. Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world. Growing a blistering meter a day the bamboo industry that is estimated at $60 billion a year is starting to gain more traction. There are species of bamboo in South America and Asia that have tensile strength stronger than steel. Laminate floors, plywood, paneling, curtains, paper–bamboo is the way to move forward in the wood industry. The return of investment from bamboo plantations should look very attractive to investors.

Construction bamboo, which are species of bamboo strong enough to use for construction purposes–from scaffolding to support pillar and paneling can be found in Asia and South America. China is the biggest producer of construction bamboo but the South American construction bamboo is the strongest. The interest in growing bamboo commercially is increasing with the awareness of the need to protect remaining virgin forests and in anticipation of greater demand for bamboo construction products Africa is being eyed as a major bamboo producer.

If I had to build a building I would definitely use bamboo all the way. There is a company in Chiang Mai, Thailand that specialises in sustainable construction using only compacted earth and bamboo. Click here to check out Chiang Mai Life Construction. If you are closer to South America google brought up this website: Guadua Bamboo Construction and Architecture.

SpaceX does it–landing its rocket safely onto a sea platform

Congratulations SpaceX and Elon Musk. It was simply a matter of time before a successful recovery of the Falcon 9 booster on a sea platform happened. Today it happened and it is something future generations will recognise as an important milestone in the dawning of the space age. January this year it almost happened, they almost recovered the rocket but it tipped over after touchdown and duly exploded to smithereens. So it was just a matter of tweaking the process. The implications of this success can potentially cut the cost of sending things to space by 30% according to the President of SpaceX.

Here is the math I lifted from The Verge website (click here to read their article on this breakthrough). It cost about $60 million to build the Falcon 9. The fuel cost is $200,000. A 30% savings would mean bringing the rocket back to the launch pad can be $20 million less, a considerable savings! This heralds a bright future for space entrepreneurship.

This is the second successful landing of the SpaceX rocket. The first one was in december, it was on a land platform. However landing on a grounded platform does not provide the cost savings as much as a sea landing does even if a sea landing is more tricky with its wobble. To find out why read The Verge article link above.

With this success SpaceX can notch up its credentials over public outer space enterprises. For decades space agencies were the domain of governments, meaning so long as the agencies could provide political mileage for government leaders money was not really an issue. So the drive to create technology to cut cost simply didn't matter. For a future in space we need the profit incentive, nothing drives innovation like profit. So congratulations SpaceX. Now I wonder when SpaceX is going to build its own space station, that would be the next breakthrough–a privately owned space platform. For young people who are interested in aerospace, go for it your future is bright.

The Environment of Low Oil Prices

2012 and 2013 were economically fabulous years for Malaysia. Since Malaysia imports most of its public consumption and industrial equipment the Malaysian ringgit's strength against the dollar that was oscillating between 2.9 to 3.2 MYR to USD was highly celebrated. However since 2014 Malaysia has been on a downward spiral economically. 2014 was the year our economy was set for a boost in tourist spending as a Visit Malaysia Year which unfortunately turned sour with the loss of two Malaysian Airline planes. 2015 dragged down the ringgit to new lows as the MYR sank to more than 4 ringgit to the USD as commodity prices tumbled. 2016 is going to be another dismal year for the economy as the price of petrol stays sunk as around 30 USD a barrel.

Despite this environment economically I am fairing quite well. The main reason for this is that I changed most of my ringgits to Singapore Dollars when the ringgit was flying high in 2012 and 2013. I even advised many of my friends and family to do the same, to diversify their cash holding into other currencies, even the USD which was weak then. A few followed the advise and are quite grateful, most however ignored it. In 2012 and 2013, it concerned me that the Malaysian economy was being artificially propped up by big bond sales that was mainly being used to fund new transportation infrastructure in the Klang Valley. I regard public spending on transportation infrastructure projects as national service which is indirectly profitable by making connectivity more efficient in the country. So when the Malaysian government took into account their bond sale to fund the massive 50 billion ringgit KL MRT and LRT projects as part of the countries GDP growth, I got apprehensive about the rising ringgit. It seemed that whomever was forecasting the strength of Malaysia's economy was being very generous with the countries actual growth. One of the Finance Minister deputies even went on to brag about Malaysia's sterling GDP growth by adding figures of government cash handout to lower income citizens as part of consumer spending strength. That's like a failing bank saying they are outperforming expectations after receiving a generous bailout.

The fact is the Malaysian government has been in the habit of spending tons of money without care for returns. Accountability is not a word that is important when it comes to the National Budget. Just spend and spend. The following year spend more without taking into account what worked and what did not. Unfortunately the Malaysian economy's resilience to an unfettered spending habit is being reined in by tumbling commodity prices. Crude oil and palm oil prices are causing much consternation among the nations politicians and economist. Their big question is when are the prices going to rise again? But I think the real question to be asked is when the government revenue going to be properly accounted for the result of spending. The ringgit is tanking because the country is leaking money and nobody cares to stop the habit. Overseas undergraduate scholarships, an education system that is deteriorating, transportation infrastructure that cause more problems than solving them, a social environment that rewards political ball-carrying than actual productive performance and a government that can't keep its hands out of business.

Malaysia's ringgit new normal is going to remain about 4 to the USD before it tumbles to 4.5 in a few years. That's because even if commodity prices rise again wasteful spending is not going to stop, so the national debt that has lost all its buffers is going to rise with population growth and drying resources such as crude oil. So if you are betting on the ringgit to rise sell it when the ringgit crosses 3.8 to the USD.

Malaysia's Education Conundrum

In 2016 Malaysia is going to spend over 41 billion ringgit on on education. With a national annual budget that hovers around 250 billion ringgit Malaysia's education spending is among the highest in the region. There is more higher educational institutions, both public and private in Malaysia than in the rest of Southeast Asia. Yet many Malaysians still desire to study abroad, choosing UK and the US to further higher education. If many Malaysian parents cannot afford UK or US, there is Australia, New Zealand, Singpore, Taiwan and India. There are good reasons many parents choose to educate their children outside Malaysia. Chief among them is Malaysia's lacklustre public universities. So instead of spending a lot of money in private universities in Malaysia that function more as schools instead of research and development institutions, parents choose to pay more so their children can get an education that is considered better than what is available in Malaysia. This is a strange conundrum for a country that has been open and exposed to science and technology since its inception six decades ago.

As early as the 60's the government of Malaysia has spent a lot of money on education, including sending students overseas for higher education. Yet after all this time and probably trillions of ringgit spent none of Malaysia's the public universities are know as world class research institutions. Malaysia has a lot of resources–biological and geological that have potential to be developed into new materials, technology and pharmaceutics by curious professors. Yet Malaysia's economy still depends on selling commodities and manufacturing with foreign technology. Research and development is weak if not almost non-existent in Malaysia despite much political weight behind making Malaysia a world class education hub.

So what is going to happen to 41 billion ringgit on education this year? Spending to keep the same old machinery going, with more spending on research by foreigners for recommendations on how to boost Malaysia's world education standing–a worthless annual effort. In the foreseeable future Malaysia's public education system will continue to deteriorate, probably setting new benchmarks for how much money can be spent on making the countries education standards worse instead of better. Cheers to Malaysia's 2016 budget revision!

The Renewable Energy Revolution

Solar cells and small wind turbines can be installed conveniently for households nowadays. Until a few years ago installing home solar systems was usually the domain of DIY hobbyist and was quite cost and material prohibitive. But with companies like Solar System Malaysia and many others sprouting everywhere that can sustain a business model because the population is becoming sensitive to the needs of the environment the tide towards residential energy generation is turning. In Malaysia the mainstream grid that is mainly powered with coal is comparatively cheaper that other parts in the world because of government subsidies. Yet because of the urgent concern to stem the causes of global warming concerned citizens are moving on to harness their own clean energy.

Renewable energy systems are not only clean, they are empowering. No doubt electricity is the most convenient form of energy for households. Imagine having to go back to burning oil and wood for light and heat like the old days. Until a few years ago the idea of generating our own electricity used to be an inconvenient one. If not for the progress of renewable energy technology like solar and wind power maintaining a diesel or gas electric generator at home to supply home electric needs would be a messy daily chore we would rather not be bothered with; hence the national power grid.

Renewable energy systems–solar heaters, PV cells and wind turbines require less maintenance than diesel generators and can be a quiet part of any household while freeing the monthly budget off energy costs. Solar PV cells have come down in cost considerably now that national grids are moving big time into solar electric generation. As production ramps up costs are coming down further which is very good news. Eventually the sight of solar panels on rooftops is going to be ubiquitous and if poor households and villages have access to cheap or free energy their living standard is going to improve tremendously. The renewable energy revolution that is starting now as a quiet industry that will become an economic juggernaut that is going to free billions, perhaps even trillions of dollars of energy spending into the consumer market. This is going to be a global phenomenon that will be interesting to keep an eye out for.

Becoming the lords of our own power has serious implications especially for energy companies who are at the source of all economy. If we embrace the option of generating our own clean energy obviously we will have more money for other things and it will also bring down the cost of living immensely. Imagine if you power your home and personal transport with your own energy–using electric cars and electric stoves, that would translate to considerable savings. With a good maintenance routine the ability to live off the grid would open up cheaper real estate where land prices do not need to include grid connections. Renewable energy is going to cause the next economic and political revolution. We are at the cusp of this revolution.

Earth’s Lungs In Flames

The haze is choking South East Asia. Its been weeks since I’ve enjoyed blue skies with clouds. About 10 days ago there was just a few days when it seemed that the haze season was finally over for 2015 but it came back to all our consternation in the Klang Valley worse than ever! Its bad enough that this man made problem in South East Asia has become so ubiquitous that we’ve had to become somewhat impervious to its nuisance begrudgingly accepting it as a season as if it was a natural quirk of nature, this year we have to endure a longer and more hazardous period. This situation however has been predicted for this year. We are feeling the adverse effects of El Nino. For all the efforts of daring fire fighters and no matter how much money governments can throw at the problem with expensive water bombing and cloud seeding operations only Mother Nature can douse her own fiery tempest with seasonal monsoon rains that are failing due to El Nino.

The South East Asian haze is probably one of the most ignored ecological disaster that is being perpetrated by man. Forest fires are not at all the norm for equatorial rain forests which are so important to mankind and all life on earth as its function as the lungs of the planet. The intensity of photosynthesis that occurs year round in equatorial rain forests not only recycles carbon dioxide into oxygen, it also sinks tons of carbon into plant tissue. Much of the carbon becomes trapped in the food chain and a big portion of it gets sunk in the ground as forest peat. The peat is supposed to be constantly damp or water logged which keeps it from ever burning even in the driest of years. Unlike temperate forests in the northern hemisphere which require periodic fires as part of the ecology to sustain those forest, burning peat kills rain forest trees by burning out their roots. Equatorial rain forest trees and animals also depens largely on the peat for nutrition, without the peat in these rain forests its soil is just too bare to support trees and seedlings.

The haze this year is terrible because of El Nino. More forests are getting killed by the fires this year than on the average year. However as a haze season suggest this unnatural 'natural disaster' has been happening every year for the past 3 decades. So apart from the pressures that Equatorial rain forest face from agricultural land clearing, mining concessions and timber extractations we have this burning to further reduce the size of virgin rain forests. These are forests that have taken many millennia to form and mature. A single giant equatorial rain forest tree can take a century to grow to its majestic proportions–when we lose them we cannot expect to regrow them for a few generations.

To compound this bad news the burning peat adds billions of tons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. It has been estimated that every haze season adds greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere equivalent to Germany's production in a year. This year we can expect even more than that. While some argue that the greenhouse gasses from the burning forests will be reabsorbed by the new growth its important to remember that peat is a type of fossil fuel. It takes decades, even centuries to form so most of the greenhouse gases emitted from burning peat will add directly to global warming. Add to that we are losing more of Earth's lungs every year in all the continental equatorial rain forests which makes the burning peat in South East Asia a serious global problem.

The equatorial rain forests across the globe are very important to all of us. If we take the South East Asian haze problem as a regional issue and not a global one we are ignoring the fact that Earth's lungs are on fire–this cannot be good for any of us no matter where we live. Less oxygen and less unpolluted fresh water is not a problem we should take for granted. Its time the world takes note of the volume of equatorial rain forest we still have and pressure countries and industries to protect them for the sake of mankind. Its also time we completely halt the economy around virgin timber from any forest and its time the world regulated the oil palm industry which is the main culprit behind the haze.

No doubt the following year is going to be a tough one for South East Asia. One one side South China, Japan and the Philippines have been battered by ferocious winds and floods. On this side of the region, its getting bone dry. This is going to effect rice production in the world's rice basket so rice is going to be more expensive and we cannot tabulate yet the effect of all the greenhouse gasses being released into the atmosphere. We are probably going to feel its effects as the era of global warming rolls on. 

How To Read Bar Codes–Useful Info

Especially if you want to find out if Donald Trumps merchandise is made in China or Mexico.

Many products no longer show where they were made, only give where the distributor is located.
It is important to read the bar code to track its origin.

How to read Bar Codes
This may be useful to know when grocery shopping, if it's a concern to you.

If the first 3 digits of the barcode are 690 to 695, the product is Made in China.
471 is Made in Taiwan. 740-745 made in Central America.

This is our right to know, but the government and related departments never educate the
public.

Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know that many consumers do not prefer products "MADE IN CHINA ", so they don't show from which country it is made.

However, you may now refer to the barcode - remember if the first 3 digits are:

690-692 ... then it is MADE IN CHINA
00 - 09 ... USA & CANADA
30 - 37 FRANCE
40 - 44 GERMANY
471 ... TAIWAN
49 ... JAPAN
50 ... UK

Way to go comix–How to Master the Art of Selling

I was really pleased after buying Economix, which reveals the  complex relations between history, politics and the cost of the stuff we buy. If the book was not in comic form I don't think I would have been very interested. Maybe I would have gone thorough the first few chapters before I dropped the book. But representing intricate ideas and terms with comic illustrations done just right makes a dull subject fun. The best learning is always done amidst entertainment. Likewise this book How To Master The Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins, illustrated by Bob Byrne.

I usually get bored by marketing and self-help books after the first few pages. They usually parrot the same simple principles over and over again and spice it up the odd story of how Joe or Jane made it big using some magic mind technique. All well and good if you need a pickup but if you are looking for a concrete DIY guide to help with core problem of modern life–getting rich EFFICIENTLY, I don't want magic, I want science.

Tom Hopkin's book grips you from the very first comic, "I learnt a long time ago that selling is the highest paid hard work–and the lowest paid easy work–there is. And I found out another exciting thing about selling–The choice was mine. All mine." The premise of these few sentence was fresh perspective to me and it kept me to the end of the book. It also starts straight off without a table of content or numbered pages, so when you start this 83 page book it is better to finish it in one sitting. Its inspiring and fun and when you are done you will have enough information to know whether sales is your cup of tea. Whether you are doing internet marketing (virtual marketing) or real world marketing, I believe the principles are the same–the key is self-representation. It is the art of gaining trust any which way you look at it.

Have you watched How China Fooled The World?

That was a BBC TWO documentary presented by Robert Peston that highlighted how much of China's economic might during the 2008 global financial crisis was fuelled by domestic construction projects. With immense infrastructure projects like building more bridges, lots of high-speed rail, airports, military expansion, even brand new cities China mobilised the money it had to spur growth to unprecedented levels in global economy. It plan was nothing new, America did the same thing to get itself out of the great depression in the 1930s. They build roads, the Hoover dam and then World War 2 came along and really helped pull the US out of the depression by giving its citizens jobs fighting the war or making arms.

To a large extent China's growth spree in their country has slowed, but elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Africa and Sri Lanka, Chinese companies are making huge construction investments with borrowing from their government. In Malaysia the Chinese Railroad Company, Country Garden Holdings and Guangzhou R&F Properties caused a building spree and real estate speculation that continues to raise home prices beyond affordable reach of the middle-class.

China is now on the brink of a stock market crash. It seems it is because small investors are pulling their money out because of the big bear in its markets. So the governments is opening up its purses again to shore up its exchanges.

Just how much money does China actually have? Unlimited perhaps that it can continually shore up economic growth, take wild risks like creating ghost cities, building islands in the Spratlys or pumping money into unaccountable Third World nations. Economist have been predicting a crash to correct Chinese economy for a while now. If that happens it could possibly be a good thing for the environment. The price of oil will plummet further, there will be oversupply of construction material causing a drop in construction cost and real estate and there will be less incentive to destroy the environment for cash. It may be the respite we need to shift our consciousness towards environmental concerns. The Chinese government is rich and authoritarian, they literally believe they can do whatever they want, lets see if they still have a rabbit in their magic hat. The weeks and months to come will be crucial for the global economy. What China will not be able to hide right now is whether their economic growth since 2008 was spurred by real wealth surplus or simply by printing money like the rest of us could do with our printers, but cannot...if only we had a big stick!

One of the best articles I have read on the Chinese stock market crash, click here.

Expand your economic knowledge of our amazing world, comic style like the pix above check out this book–well worth your time!

What to do with a billion bucks?–This is not a game show application!

A page excerpt from Economix–If you are want to understand the global economy in a nutshell, this is the book.

If I had a billion dollars I wouldn’t have a clue what to do with all of it for myself. Buy a big house with a swimming pool and amazing gardens, like those rich and famous houses? That doesn’t make sense to me, perhaps buy big pieces of land in different parts of the world and grow endangered plants. If an inventor is out there who has a device or process where we can conveniently create our own electricity for household use, that would be great promote with the weight of a few hundred millions. I would love to invest with Elon Musk and have his company make more affordable Teslas even if sold at a loss initially, bet on volume you see. Then reinvest in better performance and tech, like using less rare-earth material for the electrical components.

The institute would be run by teachers and artisans not by a profit hungry board. Hire a few huge ships to sweep the oceans off of plastic, these ships would have to use sail and solar power, bio-diesel (from like modified used cooking oil) only when really necessary. Recycle the plastics of course spend some money to speed up research on biodegradable plant based plastics and promote the heck out of that. If I could give giant fossil fuel companies a run for their money–Yes! It would be great use of a billion dollars. Set up technical institutes that teach students actual work place or entrepreneurial skills.

Wishful thinking–I guess. Then again a billionaire out there with a conscience might read these two paragraphs and who knows–get inspired to do something really good for the planet after say like keeping aside like 200 million for himself/herself; with a billion, I think about 25 mil for me and my underlings is more than enough.

1 billion bucks–ain’t got’em. There is no way I can earn that much in a year, even 10 years. Hypothetically to make 100 mil a year after taxes per year, even if I worked really hard for those 10 years, no leave, no vacations to burn the doe, 25 days a month, 10 hours a day; 3000 hours a year (crazy hours!), to keep it simple lets forget taxes, I would have to ask boss to pay me at least $33,330 PER HOUR! Who in their right mind would pay that much and what in the world would I HAVE TO DO to command so much money per hour?

Earning the money in a business would require a huge startup capital and lots of trust from creditors or I have to stumble upon some invention or product that everyone simply must have. Luck and timing play for business to rake in profits, leave alone making 1billion bucks. Certainly no business is a sure thing and the bigger the business goal the greater the risk, not my forte. Lottery?I don’t know of any single lottery that has a billion dollar payout and to hope for striking a hundred 10 mil payouts is more nuts then wishful thinking. Inheriting the wealth would be by far the easiest but I missed that boat long ago! Even if I wished it for my next life so much inherited wealth will probably turn me into a selfish brat.

Anyway wealth is just like food. Just because there are starving people doesn’t mean there isn’t enough food, likewise poor people don’t indicate there is not enough wealth to go around. Just because I don’t have that kind of money to spend doesn’t mean someone else doesn’t have that opportunity. Malnourished masses and paralysing poverty are simply the world vision that the rich without a heart accept as facts of life (just not theirs).

I am not jealous of rich people nor do I think that all rich are greedy–people like Bill and Melinda Gates with their Gates Foundation, Elon Musk with his visionary greener and grander world future are a few people who are worth their wealth. I am sure there are more of them out there who understand that with great wealth comes a great opportunity– even if it is to make a name for oneself–to leave a mark that I tried to make this beautiful world l live in more beautiful.

Expand your economic knowledge of our amazing world, comic style like the pix above check out this book–well worth your time!

Towards a Generous Future: Two steps forward, one step back is progress none the less.

Our modern life took a lot of effort to get to where we are. We are not done yet in creating an equitable and fair world. An excerpt from the book Economix that inspired a series of post on Future of Futures.

By the turn of the 20th century, the clamour of an exponentially growing population in nations increased to such decibels that generations-old monarchies the world over had to give way to commoner centric governments. If not divesting their monarchs and royalty completely a few countries chose to become constitutional monarchies; essentially maintaining their royalty as national legacy with their political and governing powers transferred to the man on the street. This global shift in style of governance sprung as the ideals of equality and equitability filled the hearts and minds of people striving for a more just world.

For many centuries the working contract between the ruler and his subjects was that the ruler provided protection and community belonging (citizenship) while the ruled produced sustenance and wealth for the Kingdom. The king, his warriors, land owners and the clergy formed the aristocrats; the merchants and peasants formed the productive commoner population of the Kingdom. Of course this ‘mutually beneficial’ contract was feudal and wealth flowed from the hands of the work and toil of merchants and peasants to the aristocrats. Aristocrats had their work in maintaining order and security which is as important but they had the opportunity to exploit and they took it and how they gloated in flaunting their opulence and distinguishing themselves as a privileged class–thus the inevitable consequence of too much wealth, a decadent society living off exploitation of labour. How long could such a Kingdom last? History has proven only as long as the most disenfranchised allow it. Consequently a critical mass of discontent is reached and governments have to reform or fall–often brutally; thus the checks and balances of economy follow a natural ecology.

Some Kingdoms transitioned quite smoothly because of savvy and considerate Kings like the Japanese, Thai and West European Kingdoms; while others like in Russia, the Eastern Europeans and China very violently. The geography of the world during the early 1900's was also filled with Western colonial powers in Asia, Africa and South America. The Western colonisers generally exploited the Kingdoms and aboriginals they conquered unfairly and behaved as arrogant monarchies. By the 1950's reeling from the expenses of World War 2 in cost and lives the global movement to break the hegemony of power and governance from monarchies trained their efforts on relenting Western colonisers. Eventually the colonised nations gained independence and set up governments by the people. Every new nation born at this time had a choice of democratic-capitalist, democratic-socialist or socialist-communist governments. In less than two centuries the era of feudal monarchies faded into the halls of history; likely never to return to replace progressive societies that cherished equality and meritocracy–well.. at least that’s how they started.

With the monopoly of power now securely in the hands of common folk the next daunting task was to reform feudal mindedness to the new consciousness of meritocracy where the productive effort of individuals meant more to their nation than lineage. Anyone could partake off the economic activity of their nation in which protection and citizenship are their right instead of a privilege provided by governments established by their peers. Governments were set up as the servants of the people and strived with the moral initiative to create equitable, just and contented societies. Thus a heady new world order was born in the midst of many new hopeful nations of the mid 20th Century; one where governments sought not to dominate but to work for the betterment of their own citizens while maintaining their unique identity.

50 plus years from the beckoning birth of a bright future of equitability and equality, we can certainly celebrate the success thus far of maintaining commoner centric governments save a handful of ugly dictatorships and pseudo democracies the likes of North Korea and Zimbabwe. Decade after decade the man on the street has flexed his muscle and changed his government when he was unhappy with it; and with the huge leaps technology has made in ease and speed of global communications his grip on his government has become a stranglehold. The last round of revolutions in the Middle East (the Arab Spring) conclusively proved the potency of the freedom of information and communication by shuddering the very foundation of the few remaining absolute monarchies and dictators.

But the people's work is far from over. While the march for equality has been making strides in the past century, better distribution of resources and wealth hasn’t worked as we had wished. Open exploitation of people based on race, creed and gender is very much in the wane; even if you were to disagree with this statement at least we can come to a compromise that it is further along the path of extermination compared to economic disparity. Economic exploitation is still rife and it is hard to make any confident claim of progress in tackling poverty in the last century. India for instance is the largest democracy in the world and it is exemplary in maintaining a democratic society by protecting the sanctity of a free and independent judiciary and press; the ruling political parties are also at the mercy of the people who have not allowed hegemony of power to settle with any particular political party; yet India despite being a relatively resource rich country is still struggling to lift its many from abject poverty. The Indian government claims it has been making progress in the last couple of decades by opening up its economy but the economic parity progress is imperceptible as one travels the streets of India; not that there are no super wealthy Indians here and there.

India is an obvious example of the economic frustrations that exists in communities the world over; basically as purchasing power plummets year on year the worker who pulls $25,000 a year has way more subsistence headaches than someone who rakes in $1,000,000. Certainly the prevalence of governments by the governed has created greater distribution of wealth among its peoples. There are good examples of governments where arguably equitable distribution of wealth has been accomplished like in Norway, Denmark and Finland. I would also wager that most citizens are very proud of their respective countries; however it is also obvious that exploitation has not waned in the global economy. Instead a new form of aristocracy has emerged who are neither Presidents nor Dictators, they are the heads of giant multinational corporations. I am not jealous of the super wealthy or think that the people should steal the wealth from the rich and give it to the poor, but we should clamour for change if someone becomes wealthy by knowingly exploiting labour under them for themselves, where the rich are rich because they steal from the hard workers and poor. I don’t think everyone has to be living in mansions and driving Lambos, or that everyone should be living in prefab homes and driving stock cars, variety is wonderful in the world, wealth is also nice. Just earn your keep fairly– common sense. Looking at the world around there is still plenty of room for improvement.

I would say that I have benefitted greatly from the struggles of my commoner forefathers. If not for the the hard fought liberties that they gained for us I would not have the level of education that I have or the opportunities open to me as they are. The hard fought revolutions of the past 300 years has made a difference that I deeply appreciate. Certainly if a person from the 19th century was able to see our modern cities and technology; the way people of different races and religions interact in relative harmony; the equal level of education available to boys and girls, she should be wonderstruck by the progress even if there are still places in just about any country where we can send her to prompt her to say 'same-old, same-old'. She might also offer us this wisdom–we have come thus far, it is not that far away before every single human being born can be guaranteed social and wealth equitability so continue on with the revolutions. The same fuel for change of the past still exists–exponential growth of discontent.

I stumbled upon this simple but informative and entertaining website while looking for a historical timeline based on social change–couldn't find anything worth a second look until this website The Great Idea Finder organizes important innovations in technology chronologically; goes all the way back to ancient times. Did you know that the ancestor of the fax machine existed as far back as 1843?!

Click Here to Go To The Great Idea Finder's Innovation Timeline

Expand your economic knowledge of our amazing world, comic style like the pix above check out this book–well worth your time!

Towards a Generous Future: Play-pretend generosity isn't going to cut it.

According to Adam Smith (Author of Wealth of Nations) my thoughts are common sense. A page excerpt from Economix.

A content heart is a generous heart. It beams in peacefulness, richness in the enjoyment of living, harmony in relationships and basks in dignified self-respect for oneself and others. Generosity is giving for a greater a good that encompasses universal ideals. People who are addicted to charity enjoy giving itself as a reward. Rich, poor, junior, senior, sick or healthy; anyone is capable of generosity of some kind. If businesses adopted generosity they will flourish from employee loyalty, trusted and respected branding, respect and protection from society. They will have to sacrifice some of the bottom-line and plough it back to their stake holders, but what goes around, comes around. Indirectly generosity is about optimising business by investing in goodwill as a means to flourish and prosper. Generosity is not about depriving oneself of luxuries if that is what one desires, it is about caring for the society one is in; about not ignoring their needs and interests. It is about working out real win-win situations. This is what generosity in commerce and business can potentially create. It may mean not becoming super-wealthy, but wealthy enough.

Anyone who starts a business has a choice; either they maintain the principle of generosity or the principle of greed. In todays business environment, unfortunately, experts scoff at win-win situations. They say it is impractical. They say the business world is a brutal one, one of fierce competition and cold-hearted uncompromising profit taking and profit keeping–where the more profit the better. The big greedy multinational corporations have even taken greed to a new level. They too acknowledge the benefits of being generous and they don't want to lose out on these benefits. However with greed firmly planted in their organizations the idea of giving up profits is a super taboo. A solution for the greedy appeared when they realized that to get the reciprocal benefits of generosity they don't have to be really generous, they just have to make a show of generosity–enter CSR. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the big buzzword along with Environmental Responsibility.

CSR as an extra-business venture is not required for businesses and commerce with a heart. Community welfare concerns are as important to them as their business, in fact they go hand in hand as part and parcel of business. There is no need to make a big show of doing charity to the community because businesses, commerce and community form important supporting chains within social ecologies that are curcial for balanced and prosperous living as a whole. Giving generously off profits as social responsibility and for goodwill in the form of government taxes, employee benefits and donations are accepted responsibilities of persons or groups getting rich off their community. Compare this to the big corporations that earn profits in the hundreds of millions, even billions but give out paltry sums back to the community. Greedy corporations insist that their sole fiduciary responsibility is to their share holders who are only happy when profits are on the up and up. The stake holder's (read the larger community) welfare from whom they depend on for business is the concern of the governments, not theirs. When they have to make contributions to their stake holders, usually out of compulsion rather than generosity they like to make a big deal out of their contributions and command recognition for their feigned magnanimity by insisting that their CSR is a selfless favour to their community. They also milk as much publicity as they can out of their CSR by paying for media coverage (that is if they can't get if for free!) to turn it to a brand marketing exercise on top of the tax breaks that they can claim from governments. How can CSR be goodwill if companies are simply fulfilling a need begrudgingly. To add icing to the cake of greed, in an effort to safeguard the bottom-line even very rich corporations will insist that their lowly paid employees contribute their personal funds, time and effort for 'the good cause' to reduce company funding. Thus in adapting with times greed has become more sophisticated as feigned generosity.

The very fact that there is such a thing called CSR shows just how removed commerce and business are from societal welfare. It used to be natural for the rich business community to be magnanimous in charity without need for recognition because they understood that the if the giving stops the getting will eventually grind to a halt and bad blood will result between the business people and community at large. Today large corporations can get away with lots more greed through their multinational operations where the can hide their greed by exploiting corrupt governments in other countries where human rights are negligible. When you live in a Third World or Developing Country you can see this very clearly. Since there is no such thing as minimum wage, apart from super-well-paid top administrative executives, other white and blue collar employees are squeezed for effort with as little pay as the corporations can get away with.

Greed of course is not a sustainable mechanism in any ecology. Collection and hoarding of resources concentrated in a small elite group who disassociate themselves from the greater community will eventually become detrimental to the elites themselves. When a tipping point is reached in exploitation, uprisings occur in communities that are unfortunately brutal and anarchist against the elites. This scenario plays out now and then–the Arab Spring Revolts is an example.

It is without a doubt that greed will eventually strangle itself, especially now with the cry of the exploited becoming deafeningly loud as populations increase and resources become more and more limited. In the end the greedy will have to ask themselves, how else and where else can they hide all their excesses. To date we still haven't discovered another habitable planet that one can escape to, instead our world is getting smaller with larger populations and connectivity created by technology. Eventually even the greedy will have to acknowledge that they are part of a social ecology that can only thrive if equitable balance is achieved. No matter how much wealth the greedy have at their disposable they cannot, try as they may, stay apart very long from this ecology.

The bigger question is what to replace the current systems that encourages greed with? Current economic models in place are easily exploited by greed. It is useless to have painful revolutions only to replace one set of greedy elites with another who can get corrupted by money and power under the same system. Granted that the current economic models available to us, when used according to their ideals can be the solutions, so instead of 'reinventing the wheel' we simply use the current models with some modifications so elements that represent generosity are factored in place with their ideals better guarded and implemented. The solution must also be global and not given to choice by National governments. A global solution will require some sacrifices in the convenience of business and commerce. However if we are committed to a utopian future we will realize that sacrificing for the greater good of community which is a cornerstone of generosity, are sacrifices worth the effort and price. If we can accept this, then the battle is already half won and a brighter and more equitable future is on the horizon for our kind.

For an entertaining study of Economy, comic style like the pix above check out this book–well worth your time!

Should we just go back to living in the jungles?

Our global economic history is as interesting and revealing as political history. Both in fact go hand in hand. A page excerpt from Economix.

In a previous posting of Wealth of Nature vs. Wealth of Nations–A choice of paradigms I described the two paradigms of living. The aboriginal lifestyle where money is not an essential, the other, communities living in cities and nations where money is an essential. My conclusion in that article which is reinforced by current global economic climate and Malaysia's pro-big-business climate skews positively towards the paradigm of the aboriginals. However despite this conclusion I know that it is impractical to draw a solution to give up life in the cities for the simplicity of life in nature. In fact with human population now in excess of seven billion it may be impossible for nature to sustain 100's of millions of little colonies. It is obviously much more practical and efficient to bring resources to people in concentrated locations then to have so many little colonies compete for ever shrinking natural resources. Thus living in modern communities as we are today is not a choice and whatever solution that is discovered to create a more just and equitable society must be found in the context of nations and lifestyle choices.

As a side thought, it is interesting to ponder that for the most part of human history which is estimated to have began 200,000 years ago, we lived as nomads and in small communities living off the land. It was not until between 6,000 to 5,000 years ago that the first human townships formed in Sumeria (Iraq) and the Indus Valley. The advent of agriculture brought about the development of these first townships in the world. Invariably where the ruins of the first towns were uncovered (in Sumeria and Mohenjodaro-Harappa), currency in the form of metal seals and coins were discovered. These early currencies made barter more efficient. At that time there would have been more aboriginal societies then towns. I can conceive that these first towns may have been experimental and obviously the experiment was a success with more and more people living in towns that became cities and ultimately Nations. In line with the innovation of cities and nations money evolved to its status as a measure of wealth.

Money would have started as a more efficient form of barter and perhaps without intending so money created the idea of wealth. Money can be accumulated whereas in barter trade, accumulation made no much sense. Accumulation of wealth by saving and storing money made quantifying an individual's wealth easy. Therefore the evolution of the classes rich and poor. Entire industries that have nothing to do with necessity but everything to do with luxury have spawned to further define the broad spectrum within these two classes.

Coming back to the thought of creating a more just and equitable society which is still the inherent goal of human societies, only to be held back by the addiction called greed, I don't think money is of itself evil. Money happens to be a very efficient way to satiate greed, self-interest and to plain show off. Resource exploitation, exploitation of labour, crime, degradation of the environment, inflation–all these can be traced to us in the upper echelons of power and wealth, and even the lower rungs of society. In general the trend of contemporary society pays only passing tribute to the humble, virtuous and generous whereas we are totally enamored by the glitzy high life of the wealthy and powerful. Case in point; most people admire Mahatma Gandhi–his thoughts and philosophy are often quoted–but how many of us aspire or are encouraged to live like Gandhi? Compare this with the desire to be the next Justin Bieber or Richard Branson and it becomes clear that the idea of reaching for the stars and success has been arbitrated to monetary gain.

No, I am not a communist, I never liked the idea of not being able to travel freely in the world. Communism is a failed social experiment that took the adage–power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely–and proved it absolutely. Many of the countries in the world that turned to communism in the early and mid 20th century espousing its ideal of equal distribution of wealth among the population ended up creating some of the most corrupt tyrant leaders in modern history. They scoffed at human rights, ruled with iron fists, enjoyed unaccountability and murdered dissidents. When greed infects communism its effects are far more disastrous compared to what it going on now in the name of capitalism. Though I am a socialist I am not averse to capitalism in its ideals of allowing people to accumulate as much money as they wish honestly as long as there are safeguards against exploitation capitalism.

Exploitation capitalism is greed for as much profit as possible with no regard for social responsibility. In modern corporations this exploitation is about getting away with paying as little wage as possible for employees, using the cheapest possible processes for making products even if it is dangerous and proven detrimental to the long term health of employees and the environment; and dumping polluting wastes from industry indiscriminately to eliminate the cost of treating pollutants to make them safe before dumping. Basically greedy capitalism cares only for bottom line profit margins no matter the cost is to the social and environmental fabric. In fact the problems caused by exploitation creates further capitalistic opportunities to fix these problems; unhealthy fast food–healthcare opportunities; over logging–very expensive flood mitigation solutions; too much fossil fuels–expensive carbon trapping solutions and carbon taxation or expensive electric cars. Business without social responsibility and allowing them to profit without social accountability is a big burden to the less wealthy society that supports for them. It is true the social responsibility cuts into the bottom line of profit, but the long term take away is sustainability and stability–the draw back nobody gets insanely wealthy.

Utopia is born of the notion that we are civilised and intelligent beings who are considerate and caring. It is the inspiration behind the formation of governments. Governments of Nations are usually formed on a base of positive ideals, and invariably one of these ideals is the eradication of poverty. Poverty is the universal devil that most all politicians whack to drum up support. However eradicating poverty is a much harder dream (some politicians will secretly say impossible) to accomplish compared to building a multibillion dollar defense system. This makes sense if we understand that in a society infected by greed, the fear of loss is a major concern, thus spending on defense, even excessively, makes good sense. Governments with military are strong on many fronts but seem hapless in implementing policies to make profiteers of society to have a heart. So while politicians continue to make poverty the heart of their stand their hearts seem more steadfast with the green of greed.

My thoughts on economy are inspired by economix–well worth your time and money!

Wealth of Nature vs. Wealth of Nations–A choice of paradigms

A page excerpt from the book Economix that inspired this post

Even today there are people who still live in jungles, deserts, by mangroves and marshes, on high mountain plateaus and on frozen lands. While Providence does not put a price tag on the resources they need they may have to walk some distance to fetch water daily whereas we have the convenience of piped water that we pay for. For energy, they have to collect wood, while all we have to do is to turn on a switch. Aboriginal people have to be very careful with their food so they do not waste it since it takes quite a bit effort to collect, hunt or grow it before processing it to something edible; but for us in towns and cities food is all around even out of season or foreign foods. All we need is money to buy it and we usually buy more than we need. We can surmise that money plays an efficient role as a conveyor of convenience, that it is a fruit of progress in the evolution of human civilization. If this is indeed progress we should expect that the quality of civilized city life be much better than living as aboriginal people. We certainly may be better off than aborigines, but does that make us happier or more content then them?

Aboriginal folk and we national people live in two different paradigms. They live in a paradigm where money is not essential and we, where money is essential. The effect that money has on time in one paradigm and the lack of it in the other has created two modes of living. The former has created the rat-race for more and more wealth, and the other oblivious (but not carefree) living. Pondering these two paradigms makes me wonder if the development of money is actually progress or otherwise.

Two striking differences appear when aboriginal communites are compared with cities. The most obvious is their size. Aboriginal villages are naturally smaller than towns or cities. Their constraints in population is simply ecology. So much land can only provide so much resources for so many people. If their community grows beyond the capacity of their environment, then a natural split in the community occurs and groups diverge for the sake of equitable distribution of resources. Modern cities emerge by efficient provision of resources to its community by means of commerce. Thus the more efficient a city, the bigger its community. It is the advent of money that makes commerce efficient since people and businesses can get paid for their effort and that wealth allows citizens to procure whatever they need or want. Aboriginal societies have to directly collect the resources they need, so their wealth comes from cooperation of the entire population working as a team to collect all the necessary resources for everyone.

The second difference between these two types of community is the dearth or complete lack of stratification in the aboriginal communities compared to the communities in the cities. Stratification in a community are its hierarchies or classes. The rat-race of modern living driven by time-is-money creates classes and castes, rich and poor and the phenomenon of poverty. One could be forgiven to think the money being progress would create better and more equitable societies than living in the jungle. Unfortunately the gap between rich and poor has become burdensome in modern life.

Aboriginal societies are based on cooperative living. All able members of the society work together to gather resources. This kind of living for them is not a choice but an imperative. By working together and sharing their effort everybody benefits from efficient gathering of resources. Whether it is defending the community or collecting water, all chores are considered equally important therefore its members have no need to stand out higher than others since they depend on each other for shared resources. Even the leaders of these societies fulfill a role out of necessity instead of status and their lifestyle is more or less the same as the other members. Thus apart from age and gender there are generally no other significant stratification in aboriginal societies. Everybody is cared for by others, nobody needs to be richer or poorer than anyone and poverty is a consequence of natural disasters, not the lack of personal wealth.

Modern cities however are a wealth of class and diversity. Glorious opulence and abject poverty can exist side-by-side in a city. Poverty in cities have nothing to do with the lack of resources, instead it is the lack of wealth to purchase resources. By my observed evaluation class stratification in modern cities is caused by the distribution of money based on the worth of an individual's time. In most national economies every individual's time is valued differently without taking into account the value of the work that they do–can any economist out there explain this phenomenon? For instance nobody will deny the important work that janitors do. Their work is as crucial to the functioning of a city as that of the policemen, harbour masters or the mayor, yet janitors are among the least paid workers. In many cities they earn so little that they cannot afford the most basic standard of living. I believe the concept that time-is-money skews the quality of living in communities. It has created a pursuit for wealth that has turned money from a convenient form of barter to something very different–exploitation capitalism– or capitalism on steroids. In practice capitalism condones this disparity in wealth distribution, though in its ideal capitalism is often touted as the panacea for poverty and breaking class stratification.

Capitalism evaluates worth of time based mainly on intellectual, academic, social and even political acumen. Capitalism fervently the rights and freedom for any member of a community to accumulate as much wealth (through innovation, business or inheritance) as they can muster based on their effort and ingenuity. Unfortunately it also come to cater to exploitation as a means of generating wealth. With exploitation the gap between have and have-nots become wide enough for class consciousness to persist and develop. Thus the birth of disharmonious cities and nations where money is controlled by the elite and powerful; where time and effort is exploited from the middle and lower class.

Poverty and class stratification of society has been the stuff of communities for ages. The effort to create an utopian and equitable society is an age old striving. It has been and continues to be the cause for the rise and fall of Empires, Kingdoms and Nations. Exploitation capitalism is simply the modern purveyor of greed which used to infect the Kings and Dictators of yore and governments and mega-businesses of present. Yet the struggle continues for fairness and equitability. Whether this can be achieved through capitalism is still an experimental notion. If utopian communal living is to be accomplished through capitalism then someone has to find a way to exorcize greed from it. Otherwise if we wish to enjoy utopian life on Earth the answer may lie with the ways of the aboriginals instead of the academic and financial experts whom the world depend on for solutions, thus the choice of paradigms.

For an entertaining study of Economy, comic style like the pix above check out this book–it is a revealing history book about why we are paying for what we are paying

Time is Money and Us–How much money is our time worth?

Benjamin Franklin (one of the Founding Fathers of USA) told a young trader way back in 1748 "remember time is money". Today parroting time is money is such a cliche since we have to fork out money to pay for just about everything on a timely basis–daily food, weekly groceries, monthly bills, mortgage, annual taxes, etc. We scarcely need this reminder, but is there more that we can reveal to ourselves if we looked deeper into time-is-money? Right off the top of my head, what about the value of my time, how much is it?

A simple formula would go something like this–take monthly mortgage payment divide 30.5 and that is the minimum wealth to make per day to live rights and undisturbed in a house until the mortgage is paid off. For a more complete math take the total average monthly expenses and divide it by the same and that is how much to make per day, even on Saturdays and Sundays. Refining this calculation to be more effective means one would take the actual money producing hours, i.e. average monthly work hours or industry hours and divide it with the total basic monthly expense and your minimum per hour dollar amount is revealed. Here is a simple formula I created to determine this.

$/h(V for value of time) = Monthly Expense including tax (M) / effective hours of work (not including commute time)(W) multiply with 22 (Average workdays in a month)

V = M / 22W

This simple formula can be useful especially if you are deciding to start your own business or to justify expenses in time and money in the pursuit of business leads or marketing. Of course if from your monthly salary does not exceed expense than you are on an even keel and this formula is simply for kicks. If effective money making time is your bosses money, if you are comfortable with the work you are doing and the company is financially bullish the fact that time is money is usually an ignorable fact. However if expenses (this should also include those pesky bank charges and credit card interest and tax) exceeds income then time is stress! Especially when those monthly bills or phone calls start coming in. It also means it is time to ask for a raise, find another job, get into business yourself or the quickest solution, axe spending.

If you are interested in finding what your time is actually worth there is this article on 'Running a Business' in about.com. Here is a quote from the article.

"How much is your time worth?
Have you figured it out? If not, you should. To figure the minimum, figure out how much money you're making per year and divide it by 2,000. To figure the maximum, consider how much you make for your most productive time -- closing a deal, a speaking engagement, billable client time, etc. Somewhere in between there is the real value of your time.
There's a saying which I recall reading somewhere (I thought it was Harvey Mackay, but I haven't been able to track down the quote):
Don't pay someone $25 an hour to do $7 an hour work.
Plug your own numbers in there. Maybe it needs to be, "Don't pay someone $50 an hour to do $20 an hour work." You're the first number. Whatever your time is worth, think about each and every activity that you're spending time on on a regular basis. Could you outsource it to a bookkeeper, a virtual assistant, a web designer, a copywriter, a part-time employee, your spouse or even one of your kids? It's very difficult for most entrepreneurs to relinquish that control and delegate, but it's one of the best ways that you can ultimately increase your income while decreasing the number of hours you work."

Here is the link to the article: Time is Money, How much is your time worth? on About.com. About.com also has plenty of resources on time management and advice on starting businesses. I find about.com more relevant than wikipedia most of the time.

In 2002 a British university professor created a mathematical equation which concluded that the average British minute is worth 10 pence for men and 8 pence for women. With inflation since 2002 and the current economic doldrums of the West these figures are probably higher. If you want to calculate that figure the formula is available in an article that appeared in CNN Tech. This is the formula V=(W((100-t)/100))/C, click here to find out how to use it.

While these formulas may all be useful academics, the bottom line is how does the statement that Time is Money effect you. Are you comfortable with it? Do you loathe it? Do you enjoy it? There is of course The Time is Money Test. True or false test put together by inc.com that can help you uncover your standing. Its designed for business owners but can be useful to anyone nonetheless. Click here to go the test.

It is interesting that Benjamin Franklin's advice was "remember time is money."  I think these days, especially if you own your own business, the reminder is not so necessary. How to make time work for our money instead of money work for our time is more cut-to-the-chase relevant. There are plenty of advise and courses out there and if you want to share a link that you found useful on this subject or good time management practices you are welcome share it in the comments (even if you are promoting your own business website!).

For an entertaining study of Economy, comic style like the pix above check out this book–well worth your time!

Learning Economy is Fun??!!

Cash, our lives revolve around it. What we do for it, day in and day out can be quite amazing. Of course some of us love the jobs we have and we are thankful for it, especially when we hear stories of  friends who may not have it so great; having to slog just to get the pay check every month. As much as we like what we do for a living or have to trudge to work daily we are compelled by that force called economy. No matter what our opinion may be of economy or economist we are tied into its force as soon as we decide that we want something for ourselves.

We start small as innocent children wanting our own toys, later we are taught as students to measure success by what we own from everyone–our parents, advertisements to politicians to movies; in no time we are rearing to get a job as soon as we out of school or college smitten by the allure of what a wad of cash can do for us. We have become part of that force arising from human effort we call the economy.

Living as citizens of nations weaves its economy into our lives, it would make sense that its study can provide us with insight that is beneficial to us. If only it was fun to study economy. Certainly a thick university text book is out of the question, but what about a comic book on economy? Yes, I enjoyed this book enormously. Economix by Micheal Goodwin (if you are into the Asterix comic series the name itself will touch your funny bone) is a book to sit and ENJOY the study of economy especially as the modern world's history. The book is an entertaining history book about how we got to where we are at today. Splashed here and there in this illustrated history book are economic principles and how they worked and didn't work. So if you are looking for some education in economy this book is a great start, even recommended by a professor of law at the University of British Columbia. This is not a small book, its 300 pages and is a keeper. The images on this post are from the book which is available on Amazon.com.