If you are not really blind, ask yourself are you pursuing what you really want to pursue in life? If not, what holds you back? Are you a person who wants to visit a lot of places in this world, if so, what is holding u back from taking that dream vacation? Are you someone who has an amazing skill? Ask yourself what holds you back from mastering it? If not, well u r lucky!

But then, just look at the people who are poor and are around us; who do not have food to eat, a decent education or clean water to drink or clothes to wear – why r they like that? What stops them from not living our lives…?

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There is a Country called Taxville (purely hypothetical)

It constitutes of 4 families.

A’s family manages a food & grocery store.

B’s family builds roads for the Government

C’s family builds homes on Government owned land and

D’s family works in the farms.

The currency of this country is TCash

PART 1

Month 1:

SCENARIO 1:

The government gives 100 TCash each to the road and homes builders, for which they are taxed 50%. So they actually receive just 50 TCash each.

Now with this 50 TCash, they go to the store and purchase food worth 25 TCash from A’s family.

A’s family charges them an extra 20% as sales tax which is 5 TCash.

So each family shells out 30 TCash to get the food.

This means B and C’s Family have 20 TCash with them now.

SCENARIO 2:

End of the month A’s family has to pay D’s family 20 TCash for food replenishments. Also, they have to give the government 50% of the remaining money as corporate tax. Which leaves them with 15 Tcash.

SCENARIO 3:

When D’s Family receives 20 TCash, they have to give 50% as tax to the Govt. So they are actually left with 10 TCash.

PART 1 Conclusion:

So from the initial 200 lent out, the government mops up 135 TCash as Tax from everyone.

PART 2

The Government owns all the land in the country. If you need a home and land, each plot costs 9990 TCash. You cant argue on the price, as the owner(Govt) has no need for money, they print it. But you need the land and a home on it, so you are ready to pay whatever price the government asks.

SCENARIO 4:

Where does B’s family produce 9990 TCash from? They have saved just 20 TCash. So they go to the local bank, (which is owned by the Government of Taxville).

The Bank gives them 9990 TCash. B’s Family will have to give the Bank 15 TCash every month as principal and 5 TCash as interest.

PART 2 Conclusion:

So the Bank lends 9990 TCash to B’s Family as loan and the Government gets the 9990 back in its account in the Bank (which it owns).

ANOMALY 1:

Did the government loose the 9990? No. it lent 9990 TCash via “its” bank and then got it back from B’s Family and deposited the same money back into its account with “its” bank.

But B’s family owes the government 20 TCash off which 5 is Interest on nothing. This is the beginning of debt.

Which makes B’s Family work for the government and “its money” for the next 55.5 years. Almost the entire of his working life. So that he can pay the money he owes the goverment for the land he took and pay the interest for it too.

ANOMALY 2:

The Government made from B through his lifetime  3330 TCash from just interest debt. A money that never existed in the first place. And the re-sale price of that land becomes 13320 (9990 + 3330).

A Funny addition to this system is the concept of inheritance tax of say, 50%. So the child cannot take possession of his parents’ household and remain burden free. He has to pay the government liquid cash which is worth 50% of the current price of the house! In addition, if there are at least 2 children in a family and they need new homes, they will have to begin their lives in a world of debt once again.

ANOMALY 3:

What’s more? After B gives the government the 9990 TCash for the land he purchased, and C walks to the Bank and asks for a loan for his house, the Bank gives the same 9990 deposited by B to C as loan and receives it back when the Government deposits the money in the bank. So the same money is circulating many a times and the Bank (hence the Government) is making free interest money out of nothing “many times over” as payment.

The total “real money” in the system remains at 10190 (9990 + 200). But people think that there is a lot of money with everyone. The 3330 that one gives back is also as ficticious as anything else. its a system that keeps you subservient and compliant to the whims and fancies of the system creator.

As far as B is concerned, he thinks, even though he paid the government say,  100 TCash for tax, he still had 25 TCash for food and 20 TCash for his home payment. But really, is that true? For whatever he paid (tax and non-tax) landed up in the government’s hand by the end of the month. And he is expected to give even more than that in the form of interest.

Check out this table:

So what’s the problem above?

The government of Taxville gets B to work for 100 TCash every month which it just circulates. The bank (owned by the Government) keeps you indebted for life on money it too just circulates. Virtual Cash!

1) B actually works for 100 TCash he had already received last month.

2) B pays an interest and so do others pay an interest on the same money. And this interest is to be paid from non-existent money. For the bank simply roles the same money over and over again.

ANOMALY 4:

The Government of Taxville claims that it taxes everyone to provide for roads and other amenities! But really, is that what is happening? Is it a case of blindness to reality?

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Actually There is a lot more that I have to expand from here. Have just presented the scenarios. However I wish to end this topic for now. Maybe I will re-edit this post on a later day and add the other points or I will make another blog post. Let me know your thoughts in the mean time!

]]> http://kuriakose.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/money-is-the-root-of-all-evil/feed/ 0 Sandy govt-tax-mop http://kuriakose.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/the-moon-the-next-dumpyard/ http://kuriakose.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/the-moon-the-next-dumpyard/#comments Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:47:41 +0000 Sandeep Kuriakose http://kuriakose.wordpress.com/?p=52 ]]> These are going to be 3 bizarre points which will be woven into a single link towards the end…

1) Once upon a time one would look at the Himalayas and gawk at its sheer beauty and might.

Now we see expedition after expedition chartered to climb the mountain. This is made possible because today we can climb the range far easier than say, 200 years ago. And in a not so distant future we may not even have to climb it – just fly! We may have hotels and ice recreation (ice-creation) spots all across the mountain range. The once serene mountains will be painted in a completely different picture and the people of the future will not even realise it.

2) Coming to my main subject – the moon.

Today we send expeditions to the moon to study it. More nations are joining the fray. Am sure in the years to come flying to the moon will be like flying from Mumbai to London. Am unsure if it will be made habitable as much as it will become easy to at least travel to the moon.

Why all these random thoughts?

3) I have a habit of storing paper. Not newspapers but bills, notes, even books from my childhood to this point in time.

It first moves from my table to my drawers. From there to my shelves. For some the next movement is into their garage. Finally it’s all throw away and space is made for fresh (recent) trash.

Now I can’t possibly live in a house which is filling with trash. I have to move it out of my way. Today this trash lands up in landfills. And most of the latest trash is made of plastic which will never degenerate.

As human population grows and needs more space for living, farming, industry, and a safer environment, these landfills will have to be closed and reclaimed.

If I was one large human being and the Earth was my home, and I was filling it with trash, where will I move all the junk to?  The Moon?

I think the moon with all its beauty and splendour is only visible to us in this form today. Poets have written songs of love looking at the moon. Just like Everest is accessible to us today, years from now we will have regular shuttles leaving with people to the moon. At some point in time these shuttles will pack more trash than humans – processed trash for storage.

One may cry foul to this line of thought. And I sure hope that it will not happen. But history is replete with examples of man experimenting and then interfering with something beautiful in nature for his own good. The encroachments we do into our forests, the building of a dam on the grand canyon, the ruthless killing of animals for their hide or tusks. If these can happen, why not dump all this trash on the moon – at least it eases our life on Earth!

The beauty we see today will become a storage house of trash tomorrow. People of the future may not get to appreciate the beauty of the moon the way we get to do it today! Just as we are unable to fathom the beauty of the place we live in had we paid a visit to the same place 1000 years ago.

Why not add history of economics and finance to what we learn? Why not add an end note and discuss the learnings from History?

There is one good thing that happened because of the financial crisis. The Youth of today who know only about plastic money and juggling their credit cards should hopefully learn how to save now.

It is good to see the work that aid workers are doing in this region. It is also amazing to see how wealthy individuals are giving a helping hand, giving free food and basic resources to a lot of people.

However, when one sits back and thinks, is it really helping these African nations?

- People here have been accustomed to free aid for a long long time. For them aid is now their right. You don’t have to work, aid’s there.

- We need a radical shift to aid. People need to be empowered. Education and medication are the only two free aids I support. Everything else should be earned.

We say when you cut a tree, replant the seed. We talk a lot about renewable energy. But why should it not apply to us humans? When you give free food, we need to make people earn it rightfully. This will ensure that at some time in the future people will be independent to feed themselves.

- Instead of setting up camps and giving free food for years we need to set up local industries. Nothing complex – but something that will make people earn a living. It could even be basic farming activities, cottage work, anything! After one has worked during the day he could be given free food and incentivised with a little bit of money. This will ensure trade begins.

- Africa could be an amazing place for us to look at how human being evolved through time – although now it will be in an accelarated mode. You could start with basic building blocks of life – farming, housing and move it up to larger and complex industires.

- This could be one of the biggest “Sim Cities” for us to plan and make.

How do we begin? Go back to an old saying – Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime!

But why not a Since 2008 tag for an apparel? Won’t it sound New and next generation? A different way, for a new brand to establish, and find the necessary connect.

Is there something we have to learn from this?

India is a nuclear power. We need nuclear energy for a lot of good purposes. So does the world.

India has one of the largest deposits of Thorium in the world. GOOD!!! So what next?

Today, the gulf controls oil. Who will control nuclear (energy) tomorrow? The one who has the largest horde! Can we do something here?

Essentially, if I were to keep buying nuclear fuel today and horde it, there will be a time when this precious metal will cost a ‘Bomb’. And then, if I (as in India) were to have the world’s largest reserve, things will simply change directions in this world! What say?

Bottomline: It is time to partner with mining companies and nations which are allowing mining ASAP…. and at whatever cost it takes!

So what’s all this Number 1 thing about?

Was watching the A1GP today. Where Great Britain won the title, their first ever… as was claimed. They were neck to neck with USA. Team USA too haven’t won the top position ever. GBR kept to the number 1 position right from start to finish. And USA kept on its tail with South Africa following it. World Champions Germany simply had a bad day.

What was important was the closing 8 laps. USA kept edging further and further. until it was as close as 1.3 seconds apart and they kept fighting tooth and nail. Finally the last lap came, and the difference squared down to just about .6th of a second. But Great Britain walked away with the coveted glory, despite all the efforts by team USA.

It is important to note that USA has won a second place only once before. Never have they performed as good as this.

Yet, with all the good job done by USA, the cheers went for the Britons. Only the Britons were photographed. Only the Britons finally lifted the cup!

Second was just, second place. It was not the first!

We all know this. I know it too. But never felt it. Dunno, but today it seems to have hit my head! Hit hard! There is no place for mediocrity in this world.

This is going to be a very controversial statement from my end. But it comes with a reason.
Let’s accept one thing. The beggar you see in your city is a part of an organised mafia ring. Gone are the days when there were truly poor people begging for alms. In fact, if a poor person was to come begging, the mafia would beat him/her away.

So why do I say “don’t support beggars”?

Back when I used to reach college on time at Vivek College of Commerce, we used to take a short cut from behind a temple. Dunno if it was really a shortcut!

There, behind the temple at 7am a lot of poor people (so to say) would gather. And a white Maruti 1000 used to drive in, open the boot and hand them all “katoras” and other utensils. Business started like that for them every day.

There were really poor looking children, women in shabby clothes, men with an arm or a leg lost, et al! It was a sad scene. But the truth!

I was wondering how do they get these kids? Why are so many male kids without arms and limbs, same goes with the men.
Perhaps the answer runs in the cases of lost children from hospitals and parks and schools.

Children who are so young, but do not know when they were picked up from any of these places. They would have been amputated when they were young, and were forced into this business. It is indeed a sad tale.

That’s why I strongly believe, if we need to stop this racket. We need to stop our emotions and think before handing over that coin or note to the so called poor.

If you really want to support, keep saving those ones and twos every time you see a beggar. And then give the collected amount to a good charitable organisation. Think of “Cry”, which is actually working for the under-privileged children. Think of “Support” an organisation for street children. Think of “Help Age India”, if you like to support the elderly. They are much better options than supporting this menace!

Keep your children away from beggars, and keep them under watch when young!

Stop supporting those beggars!

This image was taken from Andheri Kurla Road on the fourth of March this year. (04/03/2006). Close to my previous office!
Did you observe???

The Signal is not running on electricity, but on sunlight!
Way to go!
Oh, by the way, i’m not too sure if it’s serving it’s purpose.
It’s supposed to signal vehicles to go slow (blinking yellow), not park besides it…

Will man ever make a spaceship a 100 times or 1000 times, faster than light? Wish man would someday accomplish this!

Then we could send this ship into the distance and capture images of how exactly Earth was formed.

Am sure, we will see the Hand of God in it then…