Mentatul

Tag: income inequality

  • How Tech Companies Ruin (Urban) Societies

    How Tech Companies Ruin (Urban) Societies

    In general, it’s good for a country to have large, powerful companies that employ a lot of people and pay them very well (more taxes). However, the resulting income inequality causes some serious trouble in communities hosting or close to high-pay hotspots.

    One of the saddest examples is San Francisco, where property prices have skyrocketed during the past decade, mostly due to an influx of well-payed employees from corporations such as Google, Apple and Facebook as well as a host of tech startups and highly profitable medium-sized companies.

    Certain individuals fed up with the trend have taken matters into their own hands. They proceeded to smash the windows of shuttle buses belonging to large corporations, while in transit transporting employees to work:

    http://fortune.com/2018/01/18/apple-google-bus-attacks/^

    It’s a pity that the employees of these companies are the ones enduring social stigma^ for something that is not (directly) of their own making. In war, one usually can’t blame the soldiers for what their commanding officer has ordered them to do, if certain conventions aren’t broken. So perhaps some of the affected communities need to establish some conventions?

    Fixing this situation is totally within the responsibility of the town administration, which can set certain rules for property prices. There are many other cities suffering from the Ridiculous Property Prices syndrome. I live in one of them. Despite having been able to afford a property here (thanks to being lucky enough to work in the “right” industry for these past couple of decades), I would vote for a “Convention for Fair Living”.

    What would such a convention consist of? Hard to say precisely, but I would definitely consider an obligation for a community to get a higher percentage of the taxes gathered by the government from certain wealthy entities. The community would then have funds to build additional housing and a fast transportation network to ensure quick access to the city center even for those living further off. The newly-rich in congested cities could also have to pay higher taxes. Perhaps this would make a community less attractive to certain companies, but maybe this is exactly the sort of self-balancing that would cause and ensure fair prices for properties.

    When it comes to areas where there are a lot of high-paying jobs, the employers could subsidize the construction of campuses or entire new towns. These would be located further away from large, already congested communities. This will keep the market prices fair and provide employees with good housing. As long as quick access to the nearest large cities is provided, this should keep things in balance. Furthermore, locals that have been living in an area for many years could be supported in purchasing a decent property through various means (lower prices, priority in a queue system). I’m sure smart solutions can be found if there is the will to do so. Until the manifestation of such will is obvious to the people, despair will continue to consume them and lead to more social conflict and tragic actions.

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/03076-HowTechCompaniesRuinSocieties-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’How Tech Companies Ruin (Urban) Societies’ desc=’Income inequality causes some serious trouble in communities hosting or close to high-pay hotspots.’]

  • Fairness in the World of Economic Inequality

    Fairness in the World of Economic Inequality

    We often gasp at the amount of wealth various entrepreneurs have amassed. News about economic inequality^ (sometimes known as income inequality) is quite common lately, and so it should be. Slowly but surely, society’s patience^ is reaching the breaking point^ and when that happens, chaos^ ensues.

    It is hard not to be shocked when confronted with the knowledge^ that the accumulated wealth of 42 individuals (no typo, it really is a two-digit number) is greater than that of the poorest half of the world’s population put together. And then there’s that already outdated statistic about the world’s top 1% owning more than the bottom X% (82% as of 2017 and growing).

    Is there a reason to rage when these statistics show up? To many, the answer is an obvious “yes”. Indeed, the disparity is staggering, but fury isn’t usually the right attitude to address a problem. There are many factors that contribute to the present state of affairs and we are directly responsible for some of them. Owning up to this is the first step towards improving things.

    As I’ll soon show, there are different kinds of “rich and powerful”. Some of these people are highly beneficial for the progress of our species, while others are destroying lives and wrecking our ecosystem, dragging down society by setting the wrong examples.

    The problem isn’t with the rich. If we can even call it a problem, it lies with a society that produces individuals who would do anything to accumulate more wealth, fame and power. When such people do not possess neither the skills nor the opportunity to advance, they start breaking the rules. Eventually, they lose touch with constructive social values while trying to satisfy their insatiable hunger. Empathy and ethics go down the drain so there’s no wonder some of these people act in a completely alien way^. The good news is that it is well within our power to modify the social constructs that are at the root of all this.

    Greed and recklessness

    Examples about the excesses of the rich are very easy to find. Most of these cases concern an increasingly staggering waste of resources: luxury goods of questionable origin, extravagant properties and a way of life that is severely out of balance with the rest of society. Unfortunately, there are even worse excesses than the material ones, such as the exploitation of other people and, to generalize, disrespecting the ecosystem.

    Some of these behaviors are not that difficult to understand because they are driven by instinct. Read this earlier article about the rules of the human game^, which describes how instinct drives a wedge between society’s noble goals and the often-greedy personal needs. Fortunately, we’re a highly adaptable species. It’s up to us to change the rules by which we play with.

    Take the worst example of a human being you can think of and realize that the way they acted is, for the most part, a consequence of their education and life experience. We were all born innocent. Genetics plays a role too, of course, but especially when it comes to character and life choices, it is mostly society that shapes individuals.

    Philanthropy and inspiration

    What many people seem to ignore is the fact that most of the wealthy tycoons are talented administrators and gifted visionaries. They are alchemists of skill and opportunity. Many of them have blasted their way through the hard rock of ages to carve a path through which our civilization can advance.

    It is not only scientists and philosophers who deserve credit for our progress. More often than not, having the courage to invest in the dreams of another (even if doing so for the purpose of taking over said dreams when they mature) and having the will power to pour one’s entire life to reach a certain goal are qualities that can produce tremendous benefit for society.

    So how exactly do the super-rich help us? There are countless examples of charitable acts that have helped our society, going back to the dawn of recorded history. As our philosophy and social ethics developed, charity evolved into philanthropy^ (read the first paragraphs of the linked article to learn about the difference between the two). The number and influence of philanthropists^ make this into a very powerful social force.

    One of the best examples is the Nobel Prize^. It shows how one wealthy man’s donation can ripple through time to create one of the most distinguished and inspiring recognitions of achievement a human can receive. Warren Buffet’s Giving Pledge^ is also worth mentioning as a catalyst for such acts. A less clear-cut example is Bill Gates’ wealth, which led to the creation of a foundation whose modus operandi and purposes are slightly questionable^.

    We need people like Elon Musk (as controversial^ as he is) and all the other up-and-coming entrepreneurs. Such individuals always had the potential to find new ways through which we can progress. This does not mean that the abuse and unfairness of some magnates should be tolerated and accepted as the status quo.

    This is why we have free press (in most of the world), so that we may find out about and openly condemn people demonstrating an unethical, unconstructive behavior. Hopefully, one day they will realize that they’ve strode away from the honorable path. Yes, these things do exist: honor, ethics and wisdom. You won’t see these words too often in the mainstream media because a sort of hopeless pragmatism has infected many writers. They have either given up on their inner idealist, or are on the payroll of the wrong camp.

    The social impact of the rich and famous is very important. They can inspire in both directions: towards the betterment of society or towards the obsessive interest with one’s ego. Again, let’s not forget that we are responsible for growing the powerful people of tomorrow.

    A new method is required. And here is where the Internet and social media come into play. Today, we can unite in our thoughts regarding the worldwide changes that we desire. Through direct communication and public appeal, our words will slowly make it to the ears of the people at the top of the pyramid. And instead of beheading them or, worse, scaring them into beheading us, we will pass along a message of friendship and understanding. A message that we can start…

    Building together

    Many activists are so hooked on this idea of “revolution”. They are strung up on violent upheaval and showing their frustration using the fist and the gun. Some people^ knew this was wrong decades ago^. Have we completely forgotten them? Revolution is not what we need. A revolution implies a return to the status quo, but history must stop repeating itself. This can only be accomplished through evolution.

    It’s time to decriminalize “utopia”. We need to cut some slack to the few dreamers who believe we can transform our society into something greater. We need to forgive ourselves for our history and understand, once and for all, that our future is our own choice. Our history is not a song stuck on repeat. Only then, will we see the light at the end of the tunnel and can begin pushing ourselves towards it.

    And tell me, what wise leader wouldn’t enjoy knowing that he or she has empowered this species to change its course? It’s true that there are not many wise leaders today. They mirror our society, which in turns mirrors an obsolete industrialized educational system.

    The wealthy who abuse power only do so because that’s the only way they know how to cope with their inner struggles or how to derive pleasure from their existence. A significant percentage of the world’s population suffers from a disastrous lack of understanding of what happiness really is (among others: it’s not a destination, but a way of traveling through life).

    It is up to us to show what life and this world can be. But we won’t ever succeed if all we do is complain until it gets too much and then violence becomes the last resort. Nothing short of a work of art will suffice. And this work of art is the web of knowledge that is right now being spun by thoughts such as these, or these^ or these^. Countless writers in countless ways^ echo the same verdict: the time for change is near.

    The way forward is to spread this knowledge. Because those of us that understand what working together truly means are still in the minority, we must be patient, we must wait for our peers to be interested in the alternatives we come up with. The struggles ahead must be overcome together. This is the next test that evolution has laid in front of us.

    Discouraging violent response and encouraging calm and rational discussion (this is not incompatible with going out in the streets and voicing our arguments) is the only way we can write a new chapter in this species’ history, without the stains of blood and xeroxed cemeteries that come with the ravaging tides of war.

    [ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02761-FairnessInTheWorldOfEconomicInequality-Share.jpg’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02761-FairnessInTheWorldOfEconomicInequality-Thumb.jpg’ fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Fairness in the World of Economic Inequality’ desc=’People often rage at the amount of wealth various entrepreneurs have amassed. But let's give them some credit and see if we can work together.’]

  • Printing Money Is Sexy

    Printing Money Is Sexy

    I love the Internet at times like this. Here’s a beautiful answer to a series of pictures that the elite has shamelessly published online. I never really expect empathy from the likes of those that control financial systems, but this way of launching a “money product” is particularly disgusting. Financial honchos have staged a nonchalant photoshoot as if they were fundraising for orphanages. The online response has been hilarious (while in the same time highlighting the sadness of the situation we’re in):

    https://www.buzzfeed.com/matthewzeitlin/youll-never-be-as-happy-as-treasury-secretary-steven?utm_term=.gowjv7XXn#.hgopq3aaw^

    One of the best comments: “Mnunchin’s wife looks like these bills are part of her master plan to take over Gotham City”

    What more there is to comment really? Those that understand will understand. Those that do not, will understand later (hopefully before it is too late). The people happily putting their signatures on those bills are the people that casually wear clothes worth the yearly food budget of countless people crushed over in disadvantaged countries by the industries and mining companies that provide child-labor goodies to the “developed” world. I put “developed” in quotes there because having the biggest guns does not have anything to do with having the wisdom and kindness necessary to advance a species to the next evolutionary step^.

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/02568-PrintingMoneyIsSexy-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Printing Money Is Sexy’ desc=’Financial honchos have staged a nonchalant photoshoot as if they were fundraising for orphanages.’]

  • Social Contribution Inequality

    Social Contribution Inequality

    There has been a lot of talk in the past decades about income inequality and for good reason. Various factors contribute to income inequality, such as the political orientation of a country or its economic status. But at the root of unfair reward systems lies a way of thinking that associates people with the immediate economic benefit that they bring to a group. In other words: no long-term strategy.

    Such reasoning made more sense in a past when a famine could threaten the survival of an entire culture. Even though we live in quite different times (many countries are approaching post-scarcity economy^), our instinct hasn’t quite caught up yet. This is not entirely surprising given how fast we’ve evolved in the past centuries. Our “firmware” hasn’t had enough time to adapt. So, we’re still prone to terribly pragmatic and survivalist decision-making. Social contribution inequality is the result of this style of thinking. It is the poor rewarding of some members of society because others do not immediately see them as being profitable.

    Valuing the unexpected

    As history shows, the leading figures that have shone the light upon our evolution have come from the most unexpected of backgrounds. It is not only the producers (the “immediately profitable people”), but also the inventors and artists who have contributed into bringing us here, alive and prosperous. Therefore, we have a lot to gain by updating our social platforms to favor and nurture everybody. Otherwise, the next Leonardo Da Vinci, Nicola Tesla or Albert Einstein may never get the opportunity to change the course of history.

    On the other side, we have those that we consider parasites, or those that, due to a lack of education or opportunity, have turned to crime. How many of them could have found something useful to do, had society given them the means to? And how many people actually turn to crime precisely because the educational system hasn’t found an economically-viable label to slap onto their foreheads?

    There are many people who, despite not having a job, are heavily engaged in ensuring the well-being of a community. These are people who care, who help, who volunteer for all sorts of projects. Often, incredible and unexpected ideas spring from such individuals. Today, I think we are wise enough to understand that the smartest investment that we can do is in our society.

    Getting rid of the stigma

    The hardest but most important step that we, as a society, might have to take in order to usher a new age in cooperation, is to release humans from the social stigma of not having met certain social obligations. This is not to say that we should do away with education or jobs. But, respecting people and their potential without obligation or strings attached is a fantastic motivator. Humans have an inherent desire to improve themselves. Make room for this to happen and watch in awe.

    However, this will require extensive social changes. Some countries in Europe are in an advantageous situation when it comes to their ability to implement the next-generation social infrastructure. Other countries will need a long time to twist their outdated mentalities into groundbreaking new directions. It might be, however, the only way any nation can remain competitive in the digital age.

    As a bit of a side-note here: smaller entities and organizations will outrun sprawling bureaucratic nation-states. The sooner governments realize this, the better for all of us. The race for supremacy in the 22nd century has already begun.

    Appreciating art

    Artists improve our quality of life. The importance and reach of this sort of contribution is beyond imagination. Beside the revenue generated by artistic events and tourism, art has inspired people to do things that have furthered our civilization. Just think of how many inventions originated from the ideas of artists. Let’s take Star Trek for example. It is a highly profitable franchise, but has also served as an inspiration for several revolutionary technologies.

    Yet, artists are among the worst compensated members of society. In some countries, even in Europe, children are warned against trying to become writers or painters because “you can’t make a decent living off of that”. This is a revolting state of affairs. We’re surrounded by the creations of countless generations before us, which should stand testament to the everlasting power of art.

    Solutions

    No country has yet implemented Unconditional Basic Income^, but it would be a step in the right direction. However, this will still not remove the stigma placed on people who do not seem to contribute to society in any way. But are they really not contributing? Many heroes have risen from anonymity. Countless artists were inspired by people who we might never know.

    The discussion surrounding Universal Basic Income is still too heated. Perhaps we should take the middle path and create an array of new “jobs”. This might appease those people that are not yet ready to understand that the concept of a “job” is eventually going to be outdated^.

    There should be no need to enroll in a political party or in a corporation. These jobs should be done in the service of the community one belongs to. In this way, we may find fine organizers, inspiring leaders, enterprising spirits and who knows what other synergies of talents?

    Once we’ve taken this step, we can continue by offering education in all sorts of such jobs. People could be trained to become better volunteers or leaders or whatever activity they can find for themselves in the context of the current technological revolution. It is not outrageous to think we can trust most people to find a purpose for themselves.

    Somebody wants to play games all day? Fine, there’s a huge market for that. Here’s some education on how it can be done better. The only reason for restricting education is because an educated, independent population is a huge threat for those that wish to manipulate it.

    This isn’t going to erase criminality or provide an instant fix for all of our society’s problems, but it will probably improve the quality of life. With the proper education, humanity is ready for the next step. Luckily, the digital age is the perfect ramp to launch us in the right direction. Now the question is: will we use this ramp wisely?

    [ax_meta fbimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/00700-SocialContributionInequality-Share.jpg’ lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/00700-SocialContributionInequality-Thumb.jpg’ fbimgw=’1170′ fbimgh=’350′ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Social Contribution Inequality’ desc=’Social contribution inequality is the poor rewarding of some members of society because others do not immediately see them as being valuable.’]

  • Why the Panama Papers Are a Big Deal

    Why the Panama Papers Are a Big Deal

    Last week, the first results of a masterpiece in investigative journalism, civic attitude and international collaboration started to show up. Lots of people owning great fortunes ran into the misfortune of having not only their hidden wealth, but also their tax-avoiding ways exposed to the world at large, thanks to a massive document leak.

    The Panama Papers consist of 11.5 million confidential documents that provide detailed information about more than 214,000 offshore companies listed by the Panamanian corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca, including the identities of shareholders and directors of the companies. The documents were made available to the Süddeutsche Zeitung beginning in early 2015 by an anonymous source, an unremunerated whistle-blower using the pseudonym “John Doe”. We will probably hear about the Panama Papers^ quite often in the weeks to come.

    Heads already started to roll. The highest profile resignation so far is that of Iceland’s prime minister:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/06/world/europe/panama-papers-iceland.html^

    And of course, it is just lovely when the leader of a superpower declares that this is a plot by another superpower. Nothing says “I’m guilty” louder than this:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/world/europe/vladimir-putin-panama-papers-american-plot.html^

    It’s not the first time we’ve seen such leaks, but this is one of the largest yet. Stashing money in tax havens is an ancient practice of the super-rich. It’s known how and why it is done. However, the Panama Papers go a long way towards illuminating the details of these affairs – we have numbers, names of people, dates and connections.

    Of course, it’s all legal, but it’s the wrong kind of legal; the cowardly kind – the kind that says “my fortune has too many zeros to afford paying taxes in my country” or “I don’t want you to know how filthy rich I am, because then you’ll start suspecting that I’m a politician on the payroll of corporations, a puppet that will do their bidding and sell my people’s country to them”.

    Indeed, the Panama Papers are a big deal and I think it would be great if you start reading more about this subject. Find people from your country that are involved in the scandal and raise awareness about this. I believe that these discoveries will help us on our way towards economic and political reform.

    I wanted to say that “perhaps some of these wealthy tax-dodgers will learn from this scandal and change their ways”. Then, I observed the sad joke hidden in that phrase. Of course they’ll change their ways: they’ll find other ways to hide their wealth instead of using it to improve our world and to ensure a better future for our followers.

    Still, I’m ever the optimist, so I harbor the hope that the truths we uncover go towards advancing our society’s self-knowledge and therefore lead towards evolutionary steps forwards. In time, these people will realize that it is far more satisfying to invest in our future rather than stressing out to hide their insubstantial wealth, numbers in a computer.

    Updated on May 9, 2016: the Panama Papers are now searchable online. Here’s how to navigate them^. And this is where you can find them^.

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/00451-WhyPanamaPapersAreBigDeal-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Why the Panama Papers Are a Big Deal’ desc=’Last week, the first results of a masterpiece in investigative journalism, civic attitude and international collaboration started to show up. Lots of people owning great fortunes had the misfortune of having not only their hidden wealth, but also their tax-avoiding ways exposed to the world at large, thanks to a massive document leak.’]