The Transformational Power of Wealth
Did anyone stop to wonder how COVID-19 created more extreme poverty?
Photo credit: Yannis H
Hello friends!
This week, I went out to a meal with a few people I rarely ever see… now I know why.
I mentioned “did you guys see the inflation numbers?! It’s so high (7%)!” They shrugged it off, replying “meh, my real estate value went up. It’s already starting to pay off quicker than I thought.”
The nerve. I wanted to throw a punch across the table. (I was white belt in Taekwondo so that could’ve hurt a tiny bit!).
Absolutely not a care in the world about the fact our salaries aren’t being adjusted for inflation or the fact that this screws over billions of people worldwide.
When did we become so desensitized to people’s circumstances? To what do we owe our allegiance to? Is it to personal profits or to the dignity of humankind?
Surely, one must not always come at the expense of the other. But I suppose that’s how brainwashed most people are.
I Want Wealth Too
Listen, I want wealth too. I want financial freedom. I want to be a time billionaire.
But I don’t want these things because I want to buy a Ferrari or display my status in front of the world. I don’t care about material things. In fact, seeing things stresses me out.
I am happiest when I am surrounded by less “stuff.” Stuff clutters my mind. It makes me jittery for no reason other than “there’s shit everywhere.”
If you were to leave it up to me, my house would have cushions on the floor (Moroccan style), a hammock in the living room, a TON of plants, water nearby with a farm as my garden. I would aim to live as if I’m surrounded by nature or at least integrated with it in some way.
Aside from peace of mind, I want wealth because I want to pay for my cousin’s school tuition. Her father - my uncle - won’t acknowledge her as his daughter because he had a one-night stand with her mother.
So, my cousin (who by the way I just found out about despite her being 16 years old!!) might not be able to attend school this year. Her mother can’t save up the $2,000 USD for tuition even though she works three jobs. And her father’s an ass. I want wealth so I don’t have to think twice about giving away $2k to pay for her tuition… but I will pay it because I could never turn a blind eye.
I want wealth because the majority of my family are still very, VERY poor. I have defied all the odds so I have a responsibility to help.
I also want wealth because I remember what it was like to be a teenager whose father died and whose only source of income was completely gone. No one stepped in financially to help me or my siblings.
I want wealth because I want to help in whatever capacity I can. I dream of granting scholarships to children who lost their parents young, like I did. Or to create a safe haven for women and children that are being sexually trafficked and abused, or young children living in the streets.
I want wealth because having been a support worker for a young woman with a disability, I know how much parents struggle financially, mentally, physically and spiritually to a raise a differently-abled child in this scary, unkind world.
THAT’S why I crave wealth.
Right now, I’m trying to figure out how I can use bitcoin to do goodwill in the world so that it’s not just me accumulating it for myself. By the way, if you have ideas on how I can do this by all means please reach out.
I do not want wealth because I get to say “meh, my real estate value went up. It’s already starting to pay off quicker than I thought.”
The World is Getting Poorer & Poorer
When the pandemic hit, many people understood the effects of printing unlimited money. They - like the people I shared a meal with - knew inflation could work in their favour so they invested like the financial beasts that they are.
Assets ballooned up in value and that’s why the rich got richer, like Jeff Bezos.
At the same time, we knew people were getting poorer. Many of them lost their jobs but did we ever stop to think how many parents had to decide whether to feed their children or feed themselves? What’s the price for a child’s development being jeopardized? We really won’t know for years.
What about people living in tight and unclean spaces? Or people who sold their cow to get by?
What about the gender gap worsened by COVID-19? Many women are teachers, nurses or workers of the tourism industry - these all areas most affected by the pandemic.
The COVID-19 crisis cost women around the world at least $800 billion in lost income in 2020, equivalent to more than the combined GDP of 98 countries, said Oxfam today.
Or, what about the millions of little girls who were forced into earlier marriage or forced into prostitution to survive?
These are the REAL effects of COVID-19… But of course, no media outlet or big institutions are talking about this. Instead the obsession lies in how many percentage points our assets grew by.
The level of apathy to poor, disadvantaged, disenfranchised people worldwide here in Vancouver (one of the most expensive cities in the world) is truly appalling.
Bitcoin is Water to a Burning World
The world is burning all around us, literally and metaphorically. We can do better than caring about short-term gains.
The beautiful thing about bitcoin is that it’s exposing the cruelty many people around the world have been forced into… debt, financial slavery, mental illness, high suicide rates. The list is endless.
It’s teaching this to people joining the revolution… but my worry is they get fixated on price appreciation or depreciation. Gosh, why’s everyone so hellbent on this?
Bitcoin is more than its price.
I’ve said it again, and again, and I will say it again… Bitcoin as a humanitarian tool in a way no other tool has ever been used. It is democratic and it allows people to access a fair financial system instantly, without blockers. They can be their own savers, their own businesses and their own libertarians.
It restores human dignity by not stealing their purchasing power and their wealth away from them. It doesn’t push people into further extreme poverty when uncontrollable things - like viruses - take hold.
It does quite the opposite. It restores the power, entrepreneurial spirit and the kindness in strangers.
Bitcoin makes us a less fucking crazy and more free.
Love,
AO
PS. My goal is to get as many people to a) buy bitcoin and b) send it to a hardware wallet!