The Dirty World Of Finance

 Hi and welcome!

As I begin writing, a part of my brain is trying to figure out how to caption this piece. Well, I will just go on and write what I have in mind and hopefully, the caption will spring up along the way. 

I talked about personal finance a while back because I realized how important it is to every person. I didn't just only read up about personal finance but actually got into finance itself. And as a complete newbie to the field, I must say it has been a heck of a ride. Not only have I learned how to manage my money and grow it, but I have also learned how nations and governments create, acquire, spend, and waste money haha! It is fascinating, overwhelming, and saddening at the same time. 

Wow! I now have a caption. Let's continue with why I think the way I think about the world of finance. I came across a video on Youtube where a girl was explaining why there's so much wealth disparity in the world. She alerted to the fact that a country like the United States of America was so prosperous because of its capitalist nature of markets. I'm really not the type to walk around and blame capitalism and his brother (patriarchy). This is mainly because after reading the book "23 things they don't tell you about capitalism" by Ha-Joon Chang which lays out a critique of capitalism and "Basic Economics" by Thomas Sowell, I understand that capitalism is perhaps (and to use the words of someone I can't recall) "the cleanest shirt in a dirty laundry". I'm not going to go into the different market and/or political systems here but I do end this paragraph by agreeing with the consensus that perhaps it's time to upgrade to capitalism 2.0.

                                                             

 

Are you part of the middle working class of society? well if you answered yes to that question, then I can without a doubt say you're very familiar with what is called income tax. This particular class is the engine on which government depends to keep the nation running. This particular class is why I mention in the second paragraph that it is saddening. A grave and great omission occurred when school curriculums deliberately left out personal finance in the training of this group of the working class. The main reason why I'm saying this is because they are crucial for the functioning of economies but are greatly ignored in their demands for a "comfortable" life which they rightly deserve even when those suppose to keep their finances safe are failing to do so and are not being held accountable. And also because when they eventually do retire, their pensions become a topic of debate.

I watched how banks collapsed early on this year and thought we are heading into another episode of the 2008 financial crisis. The working class has all their earnings tied up within banks (as they "rightly" should) and stand the risk of losing some if not all. For the ones that have been brave enough to attempt investing some of their money, the ever-looming stock market crash leaves them anxious. Think of the direct consequences of these bank failures plus the ripple effects this has on families and the economy as a whole. Not that all those concerns of bank failures are gone but things seem somehow stabilized or perhaps the bubble is yet to burst. These banks collapsed just like in 2008, as a result of the poor management of the customer deposits. 

I guess what I'm saying is, you deposit your funds at your bank, turn up one day, and are told you can't withdraw them because the banks took your money and gambled with it and then lost all with their inability to manage risk. What makes this messier is that the finance world is a zero-sum game. That is, while someone is losing, another person is gaining. Are there regulations? Yes but not enough because some government officials are part of the game and when politicians get involved, there's always corruption. 

Normally, I should write this paragraph as the last but I guess I have one more. The working class has a shot which I think lies in acquiring knowledge on personal finance and for those that are brave enough, give it a go in financial markets. Overall, everyone in this class should embrace some or outright frugal lifestyle for the future is mixed, and money as we know it is changing again. 

Just to finalize, I also see that the world is very globalized now and the market system on which the world operates is very capitalistic. Though some countries may pride themselves on being different, the fact remains that they do have a trade balance (Exports minus Imports) as such partake in the global capital markets. 

Thank you for reading and stay blessed!!