Consumption
Inequality bothers me more than Income or Wealth Inequality. Scarcity is a
reality. This highlights Conspicuous Consumption in a world where a Billion
people still live on less than $2 a day. Most people live hand-to-mouth. For
most people Income is a proxy for Consumption, and few have the ability to
build Wealth. Some have the ability, but not the desire or discipline. You can
live a debt-financed life where your consumption exceeds your high income, and still
have negative wealth. Building sufficient Capital to finance your consumption
detaches the power income and wealth have over you. It doesn’t mean you can do
anything. It forges internal resolve and the ability to respond. Reduces
anxiety. Gives perspective. If you have a secure base powering your endurance,
and the resilience to adjust, you are in a fundamentally different place from
constantly hunting for the next meal. I don’t think fear for survival is a
motivator for the kind of creativity that inspires. We build from solid
foundations.
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