I shouldn’t let it get personal, but this time it’s different.
I’m tired and angry at all the financial pain out there. So many people are doing it tough.
The gap between ‘haves’, and the ‘have nots’, is the widest I’ve ever seen, and it’s gobbling up vast chunks of ‘the middle’, too. There’s never enough to solve the problem, because money itself is the problem.
It’s just a theory, but I suspect inequality grows at the same pace as the gap between left and right ideologies.
Solving inequality needs both perspectives, and a willingness to think critically about solutions. No one wants to lose the respect of half their friends and family in the process, though. Extremism feels like the natural outcome then, of the masses choosing a side – this is the easiest path to follow.
‘Occupy Wall Street’ was a protest movement that started in 2011 in Zuccotti Park, New York City. In my humble, and admittedly only partially informed opinion, these weren’t just ‘left-wing’ protestors. These were middle-class normies we could all still relate to, who were tired of what seemed like a rigged game.
From the 2007-2008 financial crisis and the subsequent ‘Great Recession’, the speed at which all types of change accelerated. From then on, those who decided to invest in making their labour more valuable, lost out to those who invested in assets.
What triggered the protest? People started noticing the inequality. Those closest to the source of new money would benefit by putting it to use before larger groups behind them were brought on board. Each and every asset class became a type of pyramid scheme from here on in.
Some found the answer in Austrian economics, and others would go on to blame [or find hope in] more and more extreme versions of right and left ideologies.
Around this time a new type of technology was released into the wild in the form of Bitcoin. In a British newspaper there was a headline that appeared in January 3rd, 2009: “Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” This was inscribed in the very first block, in a chain of data, which would carry tokens, that would one day be purchased for over $100k USD. Most involved in the Occupy Wall Street hadn’t a clue as to the true source of the issue, but the solution was already in their midst.
Meanwhile, the everyday investors and homeowners, especially since the GFC, became wealthy by owning property and paying for mortgages that cost less and less over time. Those not able to invest, or own their own home, or those who were forced to sell up, struggled to live anything other than ordinary lives, just paying the bills to get through. This is the system, the source of the inflation problem and like it or not, the part of the reason why there’s reward for the risk we take when investing.
The house doubling in price every 7-10 years will work for many, but can it go on forever?
No. At some point, and not because of greed, the current system will concentrate wealth into fewer and fewer hands.
Because money is the problem, we have to consider both sides if a new type of coin. Diversification is a great way to spread your best, but with investing it also applies in what you believe in, too.
So, when I hear of people spending more than 50% of their income on rent, or on mortgage payments, it becomes personal, because I know this pain, and I hate that others are going through it.
So who’s to blame, this guy?
Sadly, it’s you, me, and the muppets we put in charge.
Every time we borrow to enjoy today what we’d normally have to wait for, we give banks the excuse to conjure up new credit from nothing. Inflation results from an excess of money chasing too few goods and services. But it’s not just us; governments and central banks are also at play, engaging in complicated shell games most of us don’t understand, to generate more money to spend where tax revenues would otherwise tie their hands.
Will there be another ‘Occupy Wall Street’?
When young couples are forced to move away just to start a family, and when immigration is the only tool used to build growth, how does this change things long term? How as a nation are we going to support most of the population after work, who never had enough money left over to invest for retirement?
How do we deal with the mis-informed masses increasingly angry at those of us just doing our best to prepare? At some stage, everyday people will have enough. It won’t be the extremes that fight back, it’ll be you and me. I shouldn’t let it get personal, but this time it’s different. Some are finding wealth but the majority in the middle, are not. They’re falling into the growing chasm of ‘haves’, ‘have nots’ and all I can do is a be a Catcher in the Rye.
Extreme left and right politics can’t save us when the root cause is a broken money-system.
So, what’s your solution? If you want to make sure you, and your kids, have the best chance to thrive in the world ahead, you need build as much wealth as you can, to offset a rate of inflation much higher than we’re told. Use this link to book a free discovery call to learn how I can help you craft your own, future-proofed portfolio.
