Traveling is in our DNA. Before permanent settlement 12,000 years ago, our ancestors lived nomadically for two million years. Humanity evolves, but our curiosity to discover new frontiers remains within us. Dedicated to exploration, we’ve developed technological innovations to travel farther, quicker, and with less effort, and even launched ourselves to outer space.
It’s no wonder the pandemic quickly and effortlessly infected the world in a matter of months; we’re a culture on the move. In the grand scheme of disasters, travel restrictions aren’t the most devastating casualty, but it’s still a loss to grieve. …
When the financial sector faced starvation and homelessness a $700 billion stimulus package was approved in a week. Increasing the deficit by an additional $539 billion was worth rescuing the banks from despair but contributing to the deficit to save the lives of millions of Americans is somehow considered less vital. Although the US has been in 78 deficits over 91 years, government spending to minimize the hunger, suicides, evictions, health impacts, and loss of American livelihoods still terrifies many politicians.
Negotiations for a stimulus bill held Americans hostage for eight months. The urgency to rescue the economy wasn’t all…
The economic theories administered in the US, Australia, and the UK state a 3.5% to 4.5% unemployment rate is necessary for running an efficient economy. Sitting in high school econ class, even my dull teenage brain couldn’t fathom why an economic system requiring a percentage of people to suffer through unemployment was the ideal method. To wrap my head around the concepts, I took macro and microeconomics in university; consumers, markets, equilibrium, supply, demand, and a plethora of theories with their adjoining equations exhibited society’s behavior as it interacted in a game of Monopoly on steroids. …
A billionaire moving her online retail business to a small, impoverished nation with nine citizens, would instantaneously and exponentially increase the nation’s economic wealth. The business operations, production, purchases, and investments would indicate the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is undergoing rapid growth, but the wealth wouldn’t affect the people’s lives unless it was distributed. The billionaire would potentially create service jobs, but the pay would be dismal, the work low skilled, and the income tax deducted by the government would be spent aiding the billionaire’s business in the name of “job creation”.
Eventually, the billionaire’s wealth facilitates power, and…
In the eighth month of Covid, requests for food relief reach an all-time high in the United States of America. Food banks in Pennsylvania distributed aid to 2.75 million people within the first three weeks of October and nationwide one in five Americans rely on the provisions. Whilst the Heroes Act is held hostage by the Senate, 54 million financially impacted victims are likely to experience hunger by the end of December. The US government wins the first-place prize for the world’s wealthiest, cruelest country, and the unemployment payments expiring the day after Christmas is the rotten cherry on top…
There isn’t a shortage of information covering the extensive list of hostile interventions orchestrated by the US government — we just don’t learn them in history class. From the 19th to 21st century, left-wing politicians were overthrown by right-wing militias and soft coups. In pursuit of global economic power, the US intervenes in foreign and domestic democratic elections, governments, and leftist movements.
US neocolonialism swiftly replaced European colonialism, and many nations have never experienced true sovereignty. The 21st-century pro-business, neoliberalist governments controlling the world is not a coincidence. Since the 19th century, uncooperative leftist governments and movements are reformed through…
Haha. Nerd is code for cool. Covid lockdown gave me the time to read and write my frustrations about government and economic issues. Life is too busy to do so many of the things we want to do and I'm trying to keep some balance in my life, but life is always a balancing act.
It's a shame the country only privileges a few. Thanks for the great read.
We definitely need a Great Reset.
The US government has been ascribing to MMT, but calling it quantitative easing. Unfortunately, the US spends the money it creates bailing out businesses rather than investing in public goods and services. If the government spent money on public goods (not bailing out businesses) the money shouldn't be viewed as debt, but as an investment. Sadly, we don't have a government for the people.
Japan, the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, and many other nations can and have been creating money because they own their currency. Check out Japan's debt if you haven't already. It's pretty insane, and it defies the economic theories we have prescribed to. The US has only had something like 13 surpluses in 80 years. The country has always been in debt, but we've never suffered from it. We suffer with austerity.
Hmm I'm worried about my painting skills...but practice makes better!
Is this the world you would have created?