Pick a Box

Wealth is created in boxes. The key challenge once you understand a problem, is understanding the box. The box is so important, that sometimes it is better to start with a box. Pick a box with money in it... then start looking for problems to solve. The box defines the shape and form of supply and demand. The barriers to entry. The barriers to exit. Who makes the rules? Who can compete? Who are you serving? One of the key measures of inequality looks at equality within the primary wealth creation box that we use. Nations. The Gini Coefficient would be 0.00 if everyone had the same, and 1.00 if one person had everything. South Africa is the worst box in the world (estimates of 0.63-0.70) and yet is at the level of the global income Gini coefficient (0.61-0.68). Our biggest box is as bad as our worst box. There are boxes within boxes... but one of the best ways to open opportunity is to chip away at barriers to entry and exit for the four freedoms (Goods, Services, Capital... AND People).

Freedom of Movement

I moved to the UK from South Africa in 2008, via Bermuda. My high school Maths teacher used to tell me I always did things the long way (my answers went “via Cape Town”), so it was time to up my game. I spent six months in Bermuda because it was easier to organize a work visa, and the company I was with was based there. The goal was to move to Putney, which was where my brother would be with my new niece. Reverse-Colonisation, my sister-in-law called it.  On the day the little lady was born I was still in Bermuda, strapping a celebratory cake onto my scooter to take to my colleagues. I am a supporter of the Four Freedoms of Movement (Goods, Capital, Services, and Labour). Having grown up during Apartheid, I have never understood why the lottery of birth should play such a big role in determining the container in which people are able to build their financial security. Whether the container is nationality, race, gender, or any other form of discrimination.

Via Bermuda

Keyhole Solutions

Keyhole Surgery is a minimally invasive approach to fixing a problem that restricts the collateral damage. I had my appendix out when I was a little guy. Embarrassingly (now) I was quite excited about it. My Gran used to bring me sweets when I was sick, and my older brother seemed to have such fun when he had his out. Balloons, TV, comic books. Hospitals aren’t scary. I turned out not to have appendicitis, but just an ulcer. Fortunately, the surgeon still felt the surgery was necessary. I still have the scar. Mine was small for the time. Now they are tiny. We are getting better at dealing with the specific problem. Immigration would be a massive financial boost to the global economy. Economist Bryan Caplan calls it “Trillion Dollars Bills on the sidewalk”, but people have concerns. In his book “Open Borders”, he takes the concerns seriously and provides keyhole solutions. The step forward with Capitalism was realising win-win wealth creation beats win-lose wealth extraction. The same is true of Property Rights. Freedom of Movement (Capital, Goods, Services, Labour) doesn’t take anything away. You can surgically remove Global Apartheid while protecting the things we rightly value. Wealth Creation doesn’t require oppression. Holding someone down doesn’t lift anyone up.