Money or Ideas

Which comes first, Money or Ideas? This common question has always justified hopelessness – a poor person is someone without education therefore with limited access to income (jobs and opportunities) and is trapped in a cycle of poverty.

Here is some money – buy your way out of poverty. This approach has be tried and tested numerous times by well meaning institutions seeking goodwill and publicity, and claiming to be helping, with highly educated and experienced people talking down to and disrespecting the very people they are supposed to be helping up. Micro loans have been seen as a success but this system is widely misunderstood. Gifts and Loans do not help without the guiding support of education.

Stupid Voters

It is very clear that politicians would like to keep its electorate as uninformed as possible, actively employing strategies that bar serious policy discussions and informed decision making; engaging in gutter politics instead of voter education, vigorously blocking moves to monitor or limit campaign financing, dragging on debate on constitutional reform, all in a desperate attempt to hold on to power.

Marketing

An economist focusing on a particular company, not on a country or a sector, is practicing marketing. Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. And very much like the public misuses of the terms ‘Management’ and ‘Business’, ‘Marketing’ is generally misunderstood and mistakenly used for ‘Public Relations’, ‘Promotions’ and ‘Sales’. The practice of marketing focuses on information processing, strategic planning, communications and distribution.

Forging Consensus

A diverse set of skills are needed on the road to successfully accomplish any ongoing business or schedule project mission. Molding an idea into an actionable strategic plan, involves bringing together suitable professional individuals and forming them into a focused team, organizing efficient working meetings that take various point of views and forge consensus. Outlining the plan, starts with a clear, attainable and measureable mission statement whether self-serving or altruistic (serving many), divided into several goals and objectives and further scheduled into tasks with assignees sorted by dependency.

Free Thinkers

It is societal issues, identifying problems and choosing solutions, that drives free thinkers not personalities, political parties, financial rewards or any other allegiances. This is the demographic politicians do not like and labeled swing voters. Independents; whose only thought is on securing a better future and vote on the issues. Security, education and healthcare, which are funded by taxpayers, whose jobs and business are dependent on growth in the economy.

Security, including well monitored social assistance and make work programs to help reduce poverty and petty crime combined with training in the discipline of choice, adequately funded with highly trained staff and well maintained and supplied police stations, court houses and prisons, driven by crime prevention techniques, strong laws and penalties, speedy detection and justice, a reconciliation philosophy and parole back into society. A well funded strategic plan to reduce crime, calls for policy decisions that strengthen on numerous fronts while reducing waste and corruption, is needed.

Trust

It is Not trust that binds a relationship but mutual benefits. Hope that goals and objectives will be realized and shared. Fear that bad things may happen. Rules that restrict or guide actions enforced under penalty of law. Kindness that leads to improved social development.

Hope is comfort for a fool. Many organizations, religious, political, business and criminal, use hope to bind members and members in turn find solace in that belief. This common belief system has its roots in basic survival, shared risks and rewards, tribal thinking that if one member of the group is successful, the success will be shared. Hence the fool, for this goes against basic human nature. Analogies, such as, greed is good and power corrupts, teaches that those that attain leadership, do so on the backs of the vulnerable, must cut off the preceding leader’s head and constantly guard their own head. This message of hope must from time to time result in some benefit trickling down, if simply, to attract new members and sustain the organization.

Money Migration

As many developed nations grapple with immigration issues, trying to protect their own social security and healthcare programs, underdeveloped nations are being targeted as financial engines of growth. From the sale of infrastructural works by specialty engineering firms to support services involving high technical equipment, development is good business offering high returns. Funded by inter and multi-national agencies, pooling money from donor countries under the premise that by developing a poorer country it will reduce illegal immigration from, and increase trade with, that particular country, to lay the necessary foundation for economic stability.

Cash Rich, Income Poor

So you saved, inherited, profited from the sale of assets or won money, what’s next? Firstly, you need to understand that having a large cash position can be as bad as having no cash. Secondly, finding a home for your cash is not as simple as just buying things, things you purchase must give you a return that you personally need or want. Finally, your fortune must be shared to further develop your family, your community, your country, a relevant sector and the world.

Invest Long-term

It is very difficult to sell life insurance (long-term savings) to someone in their early twenties, now in their first job. Increasing reports of natural disasters killing thousands and destroying cities, crime and violence on the increase, the growing lack of a family unit in society for security and support, the uncertainty of jobs and the ever increasing cost of living; which would lead to questions about access to funds to deal with the effects of these situations. Savings must be proportion into different investments; an amount you can afford to lose, an amount set aside for emergencies, and of course, the main portion to grow your savings faster than inflation. This allocations changes as you get older and as the size of your total portfolio (savings amount) grows.

A Few Good Men

Not speaking up makes you complicit. Do you agree or disagree; silence is generally accepted as consent, so you must have and express an opinion. Strong opinions for or against must be sold to influential persons and communicated to a wider audience. Documenting your ideas or criticisms with supporting facts, offers a professional legitimacy and builds a record of respect, which is important to access policy and law makers. How do your suggestions affect the many as opposed to the few? That is all it really takes, a few good people of independent thought to prioritize and implement, with clear benefits for the majority.