THE CURE FOR A VERY SICK ECONOMY (I've Got Two Words For You...)
To All Of You Economic Pundits, Policymakers and Politicians -
I have two words for you and they are neither "Happy Birthday!" nor "Let's Dance."
Nope. The two words contain within them the intuitively obvious but ever-receding medication to curing a very sick economy:
Reward Productivity.
This is where it begins. When you reward productivity, innovation, efficiency, courage and genuine entrepreneurship, you are helping to create value rather to re-finance an ever-increasing debt.
The only true economic stimulus must involve an incentive to produce. Any other theory of "stimulus" is irrational enough to be laughable. We cannot refinance our way out of debt, nor can we magically create prosperity by throwing money into subsidies, bailouts, do-nothing jobs working for do-nothing newly-minted government agencies (In the United States, we are creating lots of governmental agencies and "job" opportunities), welfare programs and temporary fixes.
Sadly, in the real world, we must ultimately EARN a PROFIT by CREATING VALUE in order to PAY OFF our DEBTS and other expenses. This applies to households, companies and sovereign states. Our US National Debt is almost up to 66% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Other nations are facing similar "phenomena".
These "phenomena" are the predictable result of continuously rewarding inefficiency and failure, while stifling productivity and creative effort. It's a function of Human Nature... in a society where there are no positive incentives for productivity and earnest effort and when there are rewards for wastefulness, greed and selfishness ("too big to fail," eh? The chill in the air portends our dangerous proximity to a giant iceberg. Stop me if you've heard this one before --).
The worst investment decision a society can make is to pour its resources into proven losers, and to pull the fiscal rug out from under the could-be winners. This ridiculous, inculcated and all-pervasive philosophy of "entitlement without earning" will prove fatal if sensibility doesn't intervene.
Oh, and by the way -- the problem is not capitalism at all. The problem is institutionalized greed compounded by incredible inertia.
A civilization which punishes the producers and rewards the idle, and which always pays off the gambling debts of the privileged few with the very sustenance of the starving masses will not remain standing.
But let's not discuss the notion of "rewarding productivity." It's so archaic, and causes emotional distress. I mean, even thinking about work is downright unpleasant. Let's just pick up our fiddles and play a reel while the flames grow higher around us. Since we are so entitled, surely, someone will rescue us. And after all, someone always has in the past...right?
Faithfully,
Douglas Castle
Douglas Castle
To All Of You Economic Pundits, Policymakers and Politicians -
I have two words for you and they are neither "Happy Birthday!" nor "Let's Dance."
Nope. The two words contain within them the intuitively obvious but ever-receding medication to curing a very sick economy:
Reward Productivity.
This is where it begins. When you reward productivity, innovation, efficiency, courage and genuine entrepreneurship, you are helping to create value rather to re-finance an ever-increasing debt.
The only true economic stimulus must involve an incentive to produce. Any other theory of "stimulus" is irrational enough to be laughable. We cannot refinance our way out of debt, nor can we magically create prosperity by throwing money into subsidies, bailouts, do-nothing jobs working for do-nothing newly-minted government agencies (In the United States, we are creating lots of governmental agencies and "job" opportunities), welfare programs and temporary fixes.
Sadly, in the real world, we must ultimately EARN a PROFIT by CREATING VALUE in order to PAY OFF our DEBTS and other expenses. This applies to households, companies and sovereign states. Our US National Debt is almost up to 66% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Other nations are facing similar "phenomena".
These "phenomena" are the predictable result of continuously rewarding inefficiency and failure, while stifling productivity and creative effort. It's a function of Human Nature... in a society where there are no positive incentives for productivity and earnest effort and when there are rewards for wastefulness, greed and selfishness ("too big to fail," eh? The chill in the air portends our dangerous proximity to a giant iceberg. Stop me if you've heard this one before --).
The worst investment decision a society can make is to pour its resources into proven losers, and to pull the fiscal rug out from under the could-be winners. This ridiculous, inculcated and all-pervasive philosophy of "entitlement without earning" will prove fatal if sensibility doesn't intervene.
Oh, and by the way -- the problem is not capitalism at all. The problem is institutionalized greed compounded by incredible inertia.
A civilization which punishes the producers and rewards the idle, and which always pays off the gambling debts of the privileged few with the very sustenance of the starving masses will not remain standing.
But let's not discuss the notion of "rewarding productivity." It's so archaic, and causes emotional distress. I mean, even thinking about work is downright unpleasant. Let's just pick up our fiddles and play a reel while the flames grow higher around us. Since we are so entitled, surely, someone will rescue us. And after all, someone always has in the past...right?
Faithfully,
Douglas Castle
Douglas Castle
Career Profile: http://bit.ly/DouglasCastleResume
Linked In: http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/douglascastle
Professional Blog: http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com
Join my TNNWC Group, LLC collaborative business community (GICBC) at no cost by clicking on http://bit.ly/JoinTNNWC.
No comments:
Post a Comment