Category Archives: Economics

Blockchain , a blessing or devil in disguise.

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[ The previous article has been rewritten after closer study and advice.]

Internet changed the world. They say the same now on cryptocurrency and the blockchain. Cryptocurrency can not do without blockchain. But blockchain can.

Blockchain is in principle decentralized and open source. It is a new way of making and controlling a database. I have read several articles and books on the subject. One thing is sure. It is a hype at the moment. Just like the Bitcoin. A crypto currency.

Starting a crypto currency is like creating a new bank. But the blockchain can not yet handle the transactions fast enough like the current payment systems. So there is a challenge that people are already working on.

Privacy could be an issue. What are we going to store and use it for is the question. The whitepaper is the bible for that so to say. But that is made upfront , clear and transparant. If it is not in the favour of the user it will not have a momentum. Like f.e. Facebook “wrongly” did get.

Everybody can start and create a blockchain on whatever purpose. There are already a lot. A strong growth can be expected. Some have the same ideas and or business models. It might become chaotic. See for example all the apps you can dowload. It is not much more than a website but it holds memory and slows down your mobile phone. It could become a jungle where nobody can find its way. So there is compass needed and maybe regulations should be implement.

A new cryptocurrency can be hyped on the internet via trolls and fake news on social media. People step in and the creator steps out by cashing in and makes lots of money. There are not many rules to protect you yet. Only common sense can help you here. So there is a point to understand. There might be a devil in disguise.

Can we put everything in a blockchain. That is a nice question. Keep in mind that it is an database. And its virtual. A tree in nature grows according to a certain proces. That is not something we can capture exactly. An algorythm could capture most of it and with a smart contract and a blockchain trees and forests could take economically care of themselves. Their own identity so to say and generating value for them selves instead of being plundered by people. The value will be more than they need. If we do it for machines it is also for sure.

The value , or in other words money , that is being generated should be wisely used. As it is created by the commons it should be going back to the commons. The way to do that would be an Unconditional Basic Income. Also protections of the commons , so nature and environment , should be coming from this source. This would be the blessing I am referring to.

Also we could put the data from Facebook and Google into an blockchain owned by the users. The value of this data would be for the users instead of Marc Zuckerberg. Which data would be commercialized is something you can put upfront into a smartcontract.  Furthermore a blockchain is transparent and decentralized. If that is not the case it is not really a blockchain.

Governance is still in development but there a big steps being made. So DAO’s are in their momentum and emerging. DAO stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. Bitcoin and Etherium are examples. AI can be added to DAO’s. Which means that Artificial Intelligence gets an ability to resources , via the DAO , so say.

Will the (AI) DAO’s create a commons from which everyone can prosper?This is very good possible. If goverments and politicians will fail to establish it right now via a social tax / value contract for companies and other value adding natural resources.  We will make the wings ourselves to share the blessings of nature so that everyone will prosper.

The magnetic attraction of prosperity, and how to reverse the flow of migration.

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A pretentious title. I am aware of that. The western world is for most people in the world the place to be with regards to prosperity. A place to whom they are drawn to in order to experience a good human existence.

Question should than be: Is this really the case? Whats is the prosperity there. Mostly it is an economic prosperity. So money. Better facilities. It looks like that.

But it is not directly available for a refugee. You have to comply to rules. You can go into illegality. Work in anyway you can find and send money home. It is a way to find improvement in life. But in illegality you are in most cases close or in the crime scene as well. Not something I would call real prosperity.

Prosperity also means that have you no or almost no real worries. That you can be in the neighborhood of your family. Being there where your social ties started and grew. Having the possibility to build a reasonable existence. Doing things you like and in which you can help others also. Giving respect and getting recognition. That is the kind of prosperity we should be seeking.

Not the prosperity of a big house , a car , another car , a vacation , another vacation. Materials things will never be enough to fill the greedy caterpillar. There will not become a beautiful butterfly from that but a never satisfied and consuming dragon.

That this dragon is working on eating our world is a different story. I would like to talk about that beautiful butterfly. Can we bring that beautiful butterfly into the light? And while we are doing that halting the flow of migration and maybe turn that around?

I think it is possible. There is already a huge gap between rich and poor. A way to diminish that gap is a Basic Income. You share some of the wealth and pull up the poor to a higher level. They are than able to develop themselves in a human way in the place and country where they where born and grew up. Starting initiatives and or companies that will be an added value to that region. Creating prosperity in an own and just way. In consideration with their own culture.

The local government needs to make just and good regulations. Local companies should get more space than the multinational. You should be thinking on an other way of taking taxes. The use of patentrights should be different. Making products should be according open-source. Trade agreements should be fair and more free. There should be implemented a real fair trade , fair profit and fair use system.

If that has been taken care of you can provide the basic income. This should be done by the budget holder.  So in The Netherlands it should be the government in the Hague. Not the provences. Not the parishes. It could be moving to Europe. Or even de UN and than probably the IMF.

My idea would be to deploy it to the IMF controlled by the UN for this. If we are doing this we could create a bottom up approach. Rank the countries form poor to rich. Start with the poorest country or countries. In affordability also the best approach. For how it works also. Possible improvement can be taken into account in proceeding to the next countries. In this way people can find their happiness in their own country. Without antics in having to flee and making illegitimate money  and sending it home. Prostitution in the broadest sense so to speak.

Most people do not see any other way to survive. Therefore we can not even blame them. We condemn them as searchers for luck and criminals. But we are creating this world in full awareness. Then we look at each other , avoid each other and let it happen. As long as we are doing fine nothing else matters.

At the moment we create and make barriers and borders in order to shield our not shared prosperity. There will be more than a whole lot of people there shortly which you can not really stop. It will escalate into violence. We should let go of the egoism in the neo-liberal and western worlds mindset.

But if we think in reverse and create a social and humane magnetic force as an opposite. Giving the poorest countries and than the less poor a basic income we would create it. Which way will we go as humanity than.

Take a while to think about this. It will not be easy but there are many good advantages coming out of this. A world on which Thomas Moore would have been jealous.

Its time for the move to a better world.

World Economy.

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Yes , world economy. Why am I writing this. Well there is a yearly Forum on this subject. The World Economy Forum. This year it was held at Davos and lots of people and organizations are there to talk about the problems in the World. And yes they are there.

But the readers of my website realize this as well and do know my view on these matters. There is a good video published on YouTube in which many issues are discussed. I would like to share that video with you. So here it is.

Many matters are well stated. Taxes for example. Bono may think that he is like Jesus but that would be a lie. Multinationals and shareholders , it are just people with names and addresses by the way , all look like to have a business side only.

Bill Gates does share some money with charity but his fortune has been made by letting other people pay. He has made considerable profits. But did he pay taxes in a fair way? Let me go through the list of head offices in Amsterdam South. Than it is pretty clear.

Banks earn and make their money by creating bubbles. In the real estate market for example. High prices on houses gives them the ability to make money from nothing and getting nice fees from the charged interests.

It also raises the question what should be really taxed. Is that largely labour? Labour what might not exist anymore. At least less than nowadays. Or should it be on profit and fortune.  A fairness principle is crucial here. Will get in more details on this later.

Queen Maxima promotes on behalf of the IMF microcredits as the way to fight poverty. Still their interest rates are going to 30%. Many thanks Queen Maxima. But when you have worked in the world of banking human principles are lost on the horizon and financial gains are in the picture only. A beautiful smile hides the face of a monster.

Labour conditions and wages are also mentioned in the video. They have been transformed by globalizations and profit maximization in such a way that we are living in a new form of modern slavery. The companies are making the demands. The demands are being dictated by their financers. Banks and shareholders. Together they are in a ratrace , they even start to look like one ,  in which all means are allowed. The managers and politicians do try , because of certain motives ,  to give it a kind of human dignity. That it is actually something good. Sorry but this is just a bad fairytale. In correct words a nightmare.

As promised I am getting back on the fairness principle. If you want the strongest shoulders to carry the highest burden we have to think on fortune. If you are striving for a fair economy you have to tax fortune , profits and products in such a way that the ship we are sailing on is going in the right direction. Growth of the economy  , the famous “holy” growth of the Gross National Product , is something you have to let go. It is mostly going at the expense of ecology. That is where we have to make a good choice.

The planet is our home. Not only for us. Good maintenance is crucial. No growth does not mean there is nothing happening in our economy. The point is that we are doing good things. Circular is one of the principles. Using natural reusable raw materials is an other one. Products are also not always physical. Healing , creating happiness , sharing knowledge making people positive are good and beautiful products.

It is not about more but about good.

Global warming , and what to do.

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Indeed and what to do. What are all the things we should really do differently. How is that global warming on this planet created. Who is really the creator of the greenhouse effect? Where should the government put their priorities. The cars? Using warmth from the earth? The aeroplanes? Just have a look at the following movie.

So everything should be much clearer now. That piece of meat on your plate. The glass of milk that you are drinking. That fridge also.

At this moment they put a lot of effort on windmills and solarpanels. But we have to realize that this energy is not uninterrupted. Just like the usage of electricity. It needs to be stored somehow. A good , fast and big network could help. There is at any given moment somewhere wind. But storage is less developed at the moment. There is quite a big challenge there.

One of the things we need to keep in mind is the energy density. The space that is needed to produce the energy. For windmills this is gigantic and solar panels also huge. Fossil fuels are very compact and transportable. Do we fill half of the Netherlands , or even world , with windmills? Yes , because that could be the consequence. We than can also say goodbye to all the birds in that area. Windmills also need a lot of maintenance. More than solar panels. Planes are using less energy and produce less C2 that all data centre’s form Google, Facebook etc.. all together.

There are many things that are not being told. Politicians and people with a certain interest and agenda are that transparent. In their way only. Ed Nijpels , Diederik Samson are politicians and people with their interest but not much more than that. Whose interest? Wit what kind of agenda? Diederik Samson is in origin coming from Greenpeace. Greenpeace who is guarding and trying to safe the climate in their opinion. But they never spoke out against the meat industry. One of the biggest if not the biggest causer of the climate change. Whom can you trust? Who can I believe? Where can I find the right information.

I have a suggestion for that two books.1.) The green Illusion , Why we can not save the climate with a few windmills and solar panels ( In Dutch by the way ). – Maarten Van Andel. 2.) Drawdown , the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to roll back global warming – Paul Hawken.

You could just read these books. Trust is sometimes good but checking is always better. That is something we have to do ourselves. Yes , you as well. Wishing you lots of wisdom.

The table model , the new dutch way of compromise.

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It is again almost time to take your seat at the Christmas table. A time to enjoy the many pleasures that we believe to be attached to Christmas. The house can be beautifully decorated. The lights may shine abundantly. The groceries need to be in on time. Before you know the turkey , tournedos , steak and more are sold out. Quickly fetch that exquisite wine at the liquor store. Should I take that cognac as well?

The whole family is welcome to join on the first or second day of Christmas. To enjoy these wonderful days. There have been written articles with advice how to behave and avoid quarrels. Apparently it is handy to stick to a few rules. This to avoid problems. To give an example. You can wear an wrong Christmas sweater. Maybe decorated with lights as well. But if put those lights an a yellow vest and join the table you will have a problem.if you throw the problems of the world on the table. It is not a time for that. It is time to….. .

You have to be dressed appropriate and also behave in that way. I am wondering if the climate tables , that have to finish this week by the Dutch government , do have a good and appropriate occupation.

The motto was to create a big and broad basis for climate measures. I am curious whom from the yellow vests have attended. The multinationals could for sure. Other organizations ,  foundations with entwined interests or not , also.  But the common man , woman or child? No.

Furthermore you are already making compromises but there is no space for half measures. Does politics know that this way of handling will not work. They talk in nice words about their ambitions and promises but it is all make believe. They are the worst boy in class. Its about doing things. Real things only. .

In the current way you are losing time and efficiency. They do not realize that there is no more time. Do as much as you can as fast as you can should be the motto. If something works go full for that. Take the lowest hanging fruits first. Eating less meat is a good start. No meat at all even better.

But wars are not over yet as well. Again the same year done over. When are we finally going to fulfil our real potentials. Going to the barricades. Put on a yellow vest . Put people in first place. Not the economy but us. We all together.

Pills , and their costs.

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Medicine. They often come in the form of pills. Being made by the pharmaceutical companies.

After much research available for you. They have spend a lot of money , time and effort to make it. That you can see in the prices they are asking. In many cases its huge. Its for a reason that the pharmaceutical sector is one of the best profit making sectors there is.

In most cases they have a patent and therefore the sole right to ask what they want. A monopoly in words. The patentright is lasting for 20 years. But even after that they mostly hold power. They are enforcing in many cases a right of exclusivity on the market. So they can continue their monopoly even further. They are making gigantic profits with it.

Development of medication costs money. But how much money it exactly costs they do not show. Real transparency is something we do not get from the companies. The hospitals , health insurance companies and the government do not know what the costs actually are. They do not stand strong against the multinationals looking at in from the perspective of power. Negotiating a reasonable price.

Or do they?? The government could use a parole so they have to renounce the patentright in the concerning country. Than it can be made generically and local. As long as they dit not got the right of exclusivity. Because than there is no other thing than to accept the situation.

This is however frequently the case. No wonder that the costs of health and social security are the main fields of expenses for the Dutch. Both around 80 billion.

It looks strongly that there is no case of fair profit. Putting it mildly. From my perspective there should be no more granting of the right of exclusivity. Via the principle of the parole the real costs should be made clear in detail. Based upon those costs grant a fair profit. Et voila a fair price.

There are more things that matter. More detailed information. But you could read this book , Private Patents And Public Health , if you are interested.

You can download it freely on: http://haiweb.org/publication/private-patents-public-health-changing-intellectual-property-rules-access-medicines/

Everybody thinks that through patentright innovation is guarded and taking place. But it also creates monopolies. Raises prices. Obstructs development. Has now a days its own trading and market.

Patents should protect the inventor to develop his product and bringing it to the market. But in almost all sectors there are lots of patents which are not used at all. Just trying to block your competitors. That kind of shit.

My idea would be to abolish the right on patents. Innovation should more be made and done on intrinsic grounds. All the lawyers in the business who work on patents should do something that is really worthwhile.

Basic Income , it’s affordability.

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Yes. The affordability word. The first question that you get. From politicians, sceptics , doubters and also the proponents.

It looks like the economy question is again the most important one. In our current system we can not manage things without making debts by the way. The debts are huge. Specially in some countries. So why do we now get this question.

On some websites you can find spreadsheets , calculating  tools in order to find out what is all possible. You can play with that. What I would like to do is give some guidelines. Point where we have to take money and where to give. Point out a few hurdles we have to step over.

First making one thing clear. Basic Income should be the income you can spend. If you are single or a couple the money you can spend should be inline. This makes it necessary that we have to cut it into two pieces. A part Basic Income and a part Housing Fee.

Lets take the following as an example. We provide a Basic Income of € 600,00 and a Housing Fee of € 600,00. For a single it makes a total income of € 1200,00 ( BI:€600,00 & HF:€ 600,00 ). For a couple it makes a total income of € 1800,00 (BI: 2 x €600,00 & HF: € 600). So per person in a couple € 900,00. For a triple situation it would go to € 800,00 per person.The Housing Fee should be in line with costs of having a reasonable place to live.The Basic Income should be in line with costs that need to be covered to have a basis for a reasonable life. So not just barely getting by but being able to have a social life as well.Also I am assuming that basic healthcare will be free. Preferably centrally organized by the government. The market economy is not at its place in health programs.

If we have agreed on the right amounts we can go the next step. The next step is the funding of it.

As the government has to pay for it the taxpayers are next. At this point it would be wise to think about fairness. Should we tax income , capital , transactions and in which balance.  People and companies. There is a big gap between rich and poor. Read for example Capital in the 21st Century from David Piketty. Where will be the most money and gains be established. Profits at companies and investors most likely. Its should be fair and therefore also taxed in such a way that it is fair.

Lets give an example. On income in first instance. How much money do people really need. Is that € 10.000.000 or is that € 1.000.000 per year. I think it is fair to have a maximum. In Holland we have the Balkenende Norm. Its currently € 187.000 ( 130% of the salary of a minister ). In my perception and I could manage with that amount. So lets make a kind ceiling with a progressive way of taxes so that you can earn a lot but most will taxes at flexible rate. The more income the more tax. For the people who are thinking why Basic Income for the rich. The Basic Income they are receiving will be taken back in this way.

Second example. Profit on the market exchange are huge and investmentfunds and banks are profiting. It also gives the financial world the opportunity to realize profits without participating in the real economy. The reason why banks where realized in the first place. Just tax every transaction and use the money for the fairness of basic income.

Third example. Taxes should be paid. Company profit should not go via tax free haven’s. Like what they are doing right now. Fiscal paradises should be dismantled. Preferably so that every country get a fair part of the profits that has been made. In this time of technology we are able to monitor what they are selling and where.  Tax them for every product sold per country. Than every country get their share. In case they don’t accept they will loose their permit to sell.

There are many more. From the perspective of money there really is enough.  Its only a smart re-shuffle.

So new cards please.

Social Justice.

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There is a new revolution on its way. This is always the case if there is a big gap between a few rich and many poor. Look at the French revolution. Where the King and noblemen could do what they like. At some point enough is enough and people will open their eyes and unite. Unite , and if needs be fight , in order to get a fair share of what the world has to offer.

At that time things where maybe a little simpler than now a days. The information and news that we are receiving currently is huge. Not only books , as in the old days , but also television and internet with its social media. Its enormous and the world is much more diverse. Whom can I believe? Are the politicians telling the truth? What is fake news? Are the neo-liberals right? Is profit the only thing to consider? Ego the only thing to work at?

Yes , we are heaving more wealth nowadays that in the time of the French revolution. But the gap between rich and poor are still huge. The uncertainty of having work is growing. The multinationals are getting more and more flexibility in that perspective. Slavery is around the corner. AI is going to help them more and more. Wages for labour are under pressure. All for the profits of the rich. Even the taxes can be easily avoided.

In the last decades you can see that the politicians have assisted them by adjusting regulations in their favor.  Flex contracts , payroll constructions , easier ways to fire and more. Are the politicians not representing the people?

If we need to be flexible there should be social responsibility by the companies. The politicians could create flexibility but they should never forget that social justice is the most important value.

If you keep this in mind and focus on that you could create freedom for everyone. Basic income does have that value and more.

Its really time that the politicians show vision. If not they will become obsolete. No one will vote and they loose their mandate.

 

Borders , but in our favour.

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Borders. They can be mentally. In your mindset for example. I do hope for you are in control there. But looking at the mass media , culture and education it is hard to have a really free mind. What should you believe. Is their information honest? What they are telling? Or should you think a little deeper? Does it makes sense with your own logic and values? You will be surprised if you take a little more time to think what the information really shows.

Taking more time a, using perspective and my common sense is at least what I am trying to do. When I than think of borders , the physical ones , it are not really borders. It are filters. What we need can come (/or we take) in and what we don’t want we push back. In basis very egoistic. Short sighted. In the long run creating a great problem.

If we look at the second largest continent , Africa , there are lots of people trying to make a good and honest living. Do they have the means and resources?? Yes , they have a lots of resources. Look at all the minerals they have. Gold , diamonds , copper , oil , kobalt etc…. . All kind of minerals that we can not do without are there. Are they able to make money from that. Yes but not as much as you might expect or find reasonable. It are multinational like Shell etc… who are taking the most. They have the knowledge , the technology , the machines and the funding to excavate the material. Bring it to their factories and make their products. Does get Africa a fair share or profit for the materials. The multinationals are avoiding that as much as they can. Do the Africans get more direct and indirect jobs because of these materials. Indirect jobs come from factories that are using the materials to make components and/or finals products. Answer is: Only if the multinationals have to pay as less as possible. So the cheapest solution. Their shareholders are demanding the highest profits as they can get. If this means even destabilizing , with violence if needs be , the countries. Yes. All means they can think of.

We should be aware that this is not fair , not social and even inhumane.

So on one hand we are exploiting Africa like in the colonized era and maybe even worse. On the other side we treat people who are fleeing for better circumstances to Europe almost like criminals.

The politicians who are doing the last and run a right wing and populist course should be aware that the multinationals are creating the problem. Are they doing something to adres this cause. No , don’t think so. They are namely being controlled by those multinationals. There is no free market. There is no real democracy. People don’t count. The money of the multinationals is all that does count.

Yes , this is one of the faces of the capitalistic system. Enjoy.

The landscape , what would we like to see.

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The landscape. How does it look like? That depends mostly on the perspective. Which glasses are we looking through? How do we hink about matters in this world? Where do we want to go?

Good questions on which everybody has its own answers. The cleaning lady , the painter , the bank associate , the manager , the ceo , the politician and the multinationals. From the last one examples like Mark Zuckerberg , Bill Gates and Elon Musk say that we need some kind of Basic Income.

Nice that they are putting it into the spotlight. The rich are finally to meet with the needs of the poor? Their landscape or what they have in mind might be very different from the people who work hard for a low fee and an uncertain work situation. The multinational might think: I have to secure my selling market. If I want to transfer my production to cheap labor countries I cant squeeze them to much. A.I. , artificial intelligence , can do the work for us. We give them some basic income , not to much , and take away their work. Strikes will not have that much of an influence. The democracy is already in our control. Not much to fear there.

It sounds negative but that is how you look at it. Do I like this version of The Matrix? That depends on the chair in which you are sitting. My chair is social and humane. This means that I am looking differently at this. Basic income stands for in my perspective for freedom and the possibility to make your own choices. As a human and as humanity together. It means that except the amount of money you are receiving we also have the possibility for entrepeneurship. This is a free way. No unneeded obstructions cast up by multinationals and politics. A fair position. Transportcosts on products from the other side of the world should be added in a whole and fairly be added. Taxes on profits should be collected in a fair way. Tax paradises should be dismantled. Local companies should have a fair playing field. Maybe even a little better. And for everybody who is really adding value a fair share of the revenue.

Basic income and the financing of it can not be taken by taxing labor only. The gap , which is huge , between rich and poor really needs to be levelled. David Piketty made it very clear that the Kuznets Curve is a fairytale. Teachers however still teach it at school and most politicians still believe the fairytale. Levelling is not a way to make the rich poor but to make the poor extinct. Also to create a more tight-knit society. If we are maintaining the gaps sooner or later there will be a fight. A kind of French Revolution but on a larger scale or in a guerilla form. I would like to align with Martin Luther King: I have a dream. A dream of freedom and understanding. A dream without poverty , hunger , greed and violence.

But if that dream turns into a nightmare I will not remain timid and go up on the barricades.