Wealth and Poverty Theory

COLOMBO | 26 May 2024 (IDN) — Calls for divestment from BlackRock and other International Sovereign Bonds (ISB), have echoed across Columbia, Yale and many non-Ivy League universities in the United States recently. BlackRock is heavily invested in weapons companies fueling a genocidal war in Palestine. However, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF), debt restructuring operations in the Global South appear designed to ensure BlackRock’s enhanced profitability.

BlackRock, the world’s biggest investment fund manager and Sri Lanka’s largest private creditor, has over $10 trillion in investments around the world. An estimated 55 countries are in ISB Eurobond debt traps, in or near Default at this time.

From Argentina to Zambia, Global South countries have been subject to IMF ‘debt sustainability treatment’ after their currencies depreciated against the “exorbitantly privileged US dollar’ instantly impoverishing citizens. This, despite US government debt being $34 trillion and counting, with questions raised about America’s debt sustainability also given the Rise of the BRICS and ongoing de-dollarization in what has been termed ‘the Asian 21st Century. Estimates are that one billion is added every100 days to the US government debt.     READ MORE...

Ancient Civilizations Unequal

Inequality affected some ancient societies, but not all. Changes in farming – and the animals used in it – might have been a factor which caused it to spiral.

26 November 1922 marks what is arguably the most famous discovery in the history of archaeology. On that day, the British Egyptologist Howard Carter made a small hole through which he could insert a candle in the sealed doorway of Tutankhamun's burial chamber and thus lit the interior. As his eyes slowly adapted to the darkness, he was able to make out a chamber that had not been disturbed for over 3,000 years.

Tutankhamun was just an obscure pharaoh during his lifetime, and there is evidence that he was hastily buried – the second of the three nested coffins seems to have originally belonged to someone else. And yet the inner coffin, in which his mummy was discovered, is made of solid gold, weighing almost 250lbs (113kg). One can barely imagine how impressive the burials of such powerful leaders as Khufu, Thutmose III, or Rameses II must have been. Alas, they were all looted in antiquity.

But contrary to popular belief and cinematic glorification, most archaeologists would say that the search for spectacular treasures isn't their main research objective. They want to understand the daily life of past civilisations. Still, both extremes – the fabulous wealth of kings and the hardscrabble existence of common people – contribute to an understanding of what can be argued is one of the main goals of archaeology: to document and study the evolution of inequality in ancient societies. This also involves the question of how to recognise and quantify it.  READ MORE...

What Do Ya Need?

Many of us Americans as well as those immigrants who have entered this country
illegally want the SAME THING....   MORE...  MORE...  MORE... of everything, such as:

• more money
• more food
• more alcohol
• more drugs
• more sex
• more clothes
• more fun

I was going to add more education but that thought got me to thinking about my previous students who only wanted to memorize what they needed to know for the test and not what they needed to know to retain knowledge...  some would argue that those two statements are not mutually exclusive.

I remember a very wealthy man telling once that all he wanted to do was just earn one more dollar...

What is this obsession with MONEY?

I had a conversation yesterday with a legal immigrant who has become a US citizen and he lives two doors down from me and when we are out mowing our yard at the same time, we always stop and talk...

He is 61/62 years of age and I am 73 years of age, and we both at at that point where we are no longer interested in having the desire to acquire more money...  but instead, have acquired the desire to enjoy the live around us...  that is to say:

• enjoy the sunrises
• enjoy the sunsets
• enjoy the warm weather
• enjoy the birds singing
• enjoy watching the rabbit in the yard
• enjoy the beauty of trees

My fellow American was a builder of homes and rented out my other homes and/or apartments and owns all sorts of equipment that he during his lifetime purchased for cash because of his wealth...  and, while he enjoy being able to do that, his life was not rewarding or satisfying as he expected it to be.

SOUND FAMILIAR???

Not Wanting to be Political

I am neither Democrat nor Republican, but I am a liberal as well as a conservative and I think, overall POLITICS SUCKS and ever since JFK we have not had the RIGHT PERSON as our President.  Trump was a flaming asshole of a person and probably as a leader as well, but he put into place some good policies that economically helped this country before the pandemic hit.

Biden on the other hand, is the first cousin of being an IDIOT in the first degree...  and, not because he is intellectually stupid (although that might be true as well) but I classify him as an IDIOT because he is not his own man...  someone is pulling his strings...

I say this because Joe Biden has served the public as a Politician for over two decades and you don't survive Washington DC politics unless you know how to kiss the ass of people on both sides of the aisle and he no longer seems interested in doing that.

Perhaps, it is his age...  perhaps not...

But, one thing is for sure and that is OUR ECONOMY and QUALITY OF LIFE have deteriorated in the 4 months since Biden took the Presidential Oath of Office.

1. Inflation is on the rise - due to government spending
2. Increase in Taxes
3. Loss of trust in government
4. Unemployment is not going down
5. Government spending is going up
6. Cost of living is going up - due to increase in prices
7. Immigration is out of control
8. Racism in USA is getting worse
9. Division in the USA is getting worse
10. We are again experiencing gasoline shortages
11. The wealthy are getting wealthier
12. High Tech is controlling our lives

Side Issues

• Defund police
• Anti-second Amendment
• Censoring the conservative voice
• 1619 Movement
• Move toward Socialism/Marxism
• Devaluing of the US dollar
• Credit status of USA - determined by IMF
• Anti-Trump blaming
• Black Lives Matter
• Closed States/cities
• Closed Public Education
• White Privilege/Supremacy
• Violence in our cities
• Law Enforcement bias
• Critical Race Theory
• Cancel Culture
• Becoming WOKE

Global Issues

• Rise in Chinese Military
• Rise in Chinese Naval Forces
• Rise in Chinese Economy
• China declaring desire to control the world
• Russia Hacking/Cyber Crime
• Russia invasion of Ukraine
• Russia/Chinese/Iran coalition
• Russia/Chinese North Korea Coalition
• Iran Nuclear Deal
• North Korea becoming nuclear
• Growth of Terrorist Groups Again
• Palestine/Israel Conflict
• Middle East Hatred of USA
• Global UFO sightings
• Gigantic amount of UFO sighting in Chile

What is Life?

A question from the 1960's that lead to the purpose of life...  our reason for existence...  and, many people from the sixties and from today really don't give a shit about the purpose of life as long as they continue to have opportunities to make money or take advantage of positive situations that have been presented to them...  for example, a friend of mine recently told me that his neighbor "back in the day," convinced him to purchase Walmart Stock at the time that Walmart was just opening its first couple of stores and needed cash.

He purchased that stock for about $1.25/share.  And, over the years, the dividends from that stock paid for college tuition for all of his children.

He was in the right place at the right time and for some reason LISTENED to the advice that he was given by a neighbor...  he could have just as easily ignored that same neighbor...  but, he did not...

SO...  what caused him to take that action?

No one can actually say...

BUT...  some people simply have GOOD FORTUNE on their side while others do not.  so...  is this what life is?

OR...  does life tilt to a religious side of awareness?   There is no doubt in my mind that there is a CREATOR but there are many questions in my mind regarding our global myths of gods and goddesses and the fact that it could be nothing more than visits from extraterrestrials.

OR...  does life focus on SURVIVAL?  The key word for life regarding humans, animals, fish, and fowl revolves around this concept of SURVIVAL...  Our sole purpose on earth is simply do what we can to continue to live.

Life does not have to be just for the wealthy or the well off.  In fact, if we look at those two categories, only about 20% of our population reside in those two categories...  and that 80%  of our population live life for the most part, paycheck to paycheck or perhaps just a little bit better than that.  

And yet, their lives for the most part are just as fulfilling as the wealthy and well off...

Money does not always make you happy...  it just allows you to do what others cannot do...

BUT LIFE IS LIFE...  and DEATH IS DEATH...  and what happens in between is LIFE.

The Calculation of Wealth

We all know that WEALTH is the accumulation of money and the more money one has acquired over one's lifetime, the more wealthy one will be when one FINALLY DIES...  which is the ENDGAME that all of us must face...  and we see this final solution more vividly the older we become...  resulting in finding ways to hold onto our wealth or having buildings named after us so that our lives will NO BE FORGOTTEN...  as the Scottish might have said once upon a time.

But, wealth can also be calculated in other ways as well:

• the wealth of being healthy
• the wealth of having what you can never purchase
• the wealth of being physically fit, skilled in many areas
• the wealth of never lying to yourself or others
• the wealth of being mindful through meditation
• the wealth of connecting to a cosmic consciousness
• the wealth of being artistically skillful
• the wealth of saving many "souls"
• the wealth of knowing you were "admired" and "respected" by many
• the wealth of one's religious belief and faith in God
• the wealth of having many "real" friends
• the wealth of children and grand children
• the wealth of having a love for mankind and animals
• the wealth of love and marrying one's "soul mate"

As AMERICANS in the TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY have a tendency to measure wealth through money and nothing else which is an unfortunate place to be, especially when one find oneself on one's deathbed knowing that shortly one will not exist and that one's money cannot be taken with one once that final breath of air is taken...

Can you imagine how empty and alone a person like that is going to be?

POWER... WEALTH... INFLUENCE

IN MOST COUNTRIES...  the freedoms that Americans take-for-granted do not exist in other countries...  and for that, we should consider ourselves lucky...  but, therein lies the problem because most Americans make no considerations at all in this regard; instead, they are controlled and ultimately influenced by those who have POWER and/or WEALTH.

• 20% of Americans are wealthy
• 60% of Americans are average
• 20% of Americans are poor

Then we have,
1% of the whole are extremely wealthy
while
1% of the whole are extremely poor

STATISTICALLY, we have a perfect bell-shaped curve...

On the far left-hand side of our diagram are the 1% wealthy whereas the 1% poor are on the far right-hand side.  On either side of the middle "-2 to +2" we will find the 60%.  From the center to the right, wealth gradually increases and to the right, wealth gradually decreases.

From the model, we can also conclude that WEALTH, POWER, INFLUENCE gradually increase from the center out to the left and gradually decrease from the center out to the right.

ALL AMERICANS BELIEVE VERY STRONGLY...  that they have free will and make their own choices...  but, that is simply not true...  If you don't have wealth and power, then your free will and choices are influenced and controlled by those who do have wealth and power.

However...  and, this is your right, you may not believe this to be true, especially since everyone makes choices all the time some of which influence one's life and one's life direction substantially; but, those choices are still influenced indirectly by wealth and power whether you realize it or not.

You drive the speed limit when there is a cop in sight...  that is power
You pay your taxes each year...  that is power
You receive a salary from your employer...  that is wealth and power
You are regulated by medicine...  that is wealth and power
You do what your supervisor tells you to do...  that is power
You obey the lifeguard at the beach...  that is power
You are quiet in Church...  that is power
You make monthly debt payments...  that is wealth and power
You control the choices your children make...  that is power