What’s that old saying? Ah yes, “money is the root of all evil”. From what is happening in Italy and elsewhere around the world, there would appear to be some truth in that old adage. Why? I’ll explain.
The world has given birth to two distinct categories of business person – the traditional business person and the money person. The ones which are causing many of the world’s woes are the money people, as I’m sure the supporters of no-global and occupy movements will agree. Why are the money people causing problems?
Recently, through the course of my work here in Italy, I’ve been able to chat to a few of the more traditional business people, one of whom, it might surprise you to learn, is a banker. No names, I’m afraid, as I don’t have permission to mention them and don’t want to land these people in trouble. Back to the explanation.
While the traditional business people do want to make money, they also want to build businesses and sell products or services, and a few also like the idea of creating jobs and livelihoods in the bargain, the others, the money people, care very little about creating jobs or livelihoods, all they want is to fill their bank accounts to bursting. They care very little if a few tens of thousands of people lose their livelihoods while they are on the way to tucking a few more millions in their bank accounts as a result of buying and chopping up businesses. Building businesses only interests these people if they can then sell the businesses on at a fat profit – think Gordon Gecko from the classic film, Wall Street. Asset stripping does few favors for society as a whole.
The Gecko Way
The Gecko way of doing business appears to have taken precedent in today’s world over the more traditional model and it’s harming society. Neo-liberalist economic theory has not been helping matters either as the implementation of neo-liberal economic policies tends to favor the money people and not the traditional business people. The IMF is, perhaps, beginning to understand that austerity benefits the money people much more than it does the business people.
The traditional business people, while they are certainly motivated by making money, also want to build businesses but are prepared to live with at least some of the obstacles presented by bad government. Instead of re-locating businesses to cheaper nations, traditional business people are prepared to stay where they are, or rather, they would be if certain governments governed better, or actually governed, full stop. Italian automaker Fiat moved out of Italy primarily because repeated governments failed to govern.
The Financial Kingdom
My nation of birth, the United Kingdom – perhaps that should be the FK, Financial Kingdom – was taken over by the money men many years ago.
My late father, once a managing director, was, sadly, a victim of the money men’s business strategy way back in the early 1980s. He often used to moan about accountants taking money motivated business decisions which had in the past been taken by those who run businesses at a more direct, hands on level.
Fortunately after being ousted in part by the money men, and, I admit, the onset of technology, my father was able to re-invent himself but perhaps he shouldn’t have had to. Despite his problems, he was able to retire and had a reasonably good pension. Sadly, I fear that work related stress – caused in part by the money people – may have led the triple bypass, pacemaker, and, ultimately, to his, relatively early and sudden demise this earlier this year at the not so grand old age of 81.
From the retirement viewpoint, others may not be as lucky as my father and the way the world is heading, many of today’s young are likely to end up with pensions that will not allow them to see out their days in some degree of comfort – not a great reward. These people may also be more prone to the kind of heart problems which finished off my poor father. Treating heart conditions is not cheap either, so preventing them would mean societies would have more money to spend on other things, such as funding education and training for the young, for example.
No Future for the Young
Stop reading, start speaking
Stop translating in your head and start speaking Italian for real with the only audio course that prompt you to speak.
What seems to be happening nowadays, thanks to the money people approach, is that people are being forced to work until they are older and this, of course, prevents younger people from taking their places. This is a major problem for society because younger people tend to consume more, they procreate to provide us with new generations and they offer society new and fresh ideas. Without consumption, there’s no growth and this means less tax income for governments too. A lack of procreation also leads to economic problems as well, as economist Edward Hugh will tell you.
Italy’s Jobs Act employment law reform, which has not had any effect so far, risks creating lots of low paid jobs for the young and this will neither stimulate economic growth nor social progress. It will hamper procreation too.
Money People Damage Businesses
From the people I’ve been speaking to, high level managers in a range of different sectors, the message is clear: the money people damage businesses by focusing too much on financial efficiency in order to maximize profits. As a result businesses may well become more profitable, but they become hollow and lack a sense of belonging which probably impacts on productivity and even day to day operations which require team work. Workers who feel they are little more than a commodity don’t tend to be particularly happy.
Events like Milan’s 2015 Expo which should lead to the creation of more business and more livelihoods are simply boosting the already overflowing coffers of money people, or that’s the perception that led to the violence which left an unpleasant stain on the inauguration of the Milan Expo. The Black Block, No Expo and other protest movements see the Expo as a feeding frenzy for the money people and they know this means that the pawns – them – in the money hungry power mongers’ games will suffer. Well, they are already suffering seeing as protests are happening.
Another protest organization, the virtual Anonymous movement would probably admit that behind their discontent with the modern world lies the money people problem.
Ineffectual Politicians Driven by Money Men
Exacerbating the money people issue is that of contemporary politicians who are either overly influenced by the money people, are money people themselves or have completely forgotten that politics is supposed to be about making society as a whole better.
In Italy, sadly, the nation’s political class appears to have one aim and one alone, and that is to enrich themselves any which way they can.
In the United Kingdom, in which general elections are imminent, nobody finds any particular political party credible anymore. A hung parliament is likely and this means the UK will end up with either a government which cannot govern or one which will not be able to govern effectively.
Many voters have come to understand that contemporary politicians are little more than self-marketers who, to make matters worse, are marketing a sub-standard product which does not do what it says on the box.
