SAFE AND SECURE
One of the more valuable books I have read in a while is THE BLACK SWAN. This is not a book review. The Black Swan's subject is unforeseen disasters such as the one which occurred in 2008.
Contrary to what anyone might tell you, we live in a world subject to unforeseen disasters. And as with other possibilities, we are oblivious. And because of this we are a fragile society. I refer to a general belief we have about our circumstances - here in America especially. This is the belief that we live in the richest country in the world, in the land of the free and the home of the brave of which we are reminded of at every sporting event. But just think what would happen if tomorrow you had a heart attack or some other personal tragedy and can’t work, or can't produce an income because AI takes your job.
We say we are the richest country in the world and possibly in history. However, as a country and society we are $40,000,000,000,000 in debt. Now, as a citizen of the richest country the world has ever seen, if I have a few thousand in the bank for a rainy day and the beginning of a pension (value unknown), but I owe $300,000 on the house I just bought, and between my spouse and I, we still owe $40,000 on our two cars which are beginning to show some age, and we owe another $5,000 on our credit cards, the idea that I am free is simply nonsense. Debt does not allow for freedom and it makes us a casualty of any catastrophe.
Being laid off from a decent paying job is the number one catastrophe for most people. No job, no house, no vehicle and if you do survive it you are in more debt than ever. This circumstance is usually unexpected simply for the reason that we don't pay attention to what is happening around us. Those who do pay attention call our world one of overwhelming fragility both for our country and for many of us personally. The unexpected is always possible. It's called the Black Swan.
Often you read or hear that there is a general anxiety amongst us which appears to be caused by not knowing what tomorrow will be - along with our individual vulnerability. I don't think we do know what tomorrow will be, but one thing for sure, it will affect each of us personally - good, bad, or indifferently. Technology has changed the lives of people many times and clearly will continue to do so. Our world will be different tomorrow from what it is today and this means we will be required to adapt and many of us will be unable to do so.
One of the issues seems to be that our major function in life, as individuals, and the most necessary one, is to consume as much as possible of the products that are for sale from cars to Starbucks' coffee. The people that provide these products do not care whether you have the money to buy them or you borrow the money to buy them, but buy. Just think, our most important function and requirement as a citizen may be to buy stuff. If you don't buy stuff, the jobs of making or serving all this stuff will disappear. Seems like a dead end to me - buy and become a debtor or don't buy and the economy collapses. They call this capitalism of which we all approve.
Richard E. H. Phelps II
Mingo
