economicmultipliers_174

Economic Multipliers (174)

Do you know what these are?

They help CREATE wealth in systems.

Poverty is not an economic multiplier. (No. 4)

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I reiterate:

‘Elections are a great time for young people to ‘meet’ their leaders.

For that reason, I’m hoping young people will think about some things they observe in their world related to how their ‘leaders’ lead.’

In chatting with a young man out campaigning, he mentioned TPP. I was not familiar with that acronym so I looked it up. It’s proposed legislation related to trade. I’m always a bit surprised by ‘big pacts’ today since it always seems like a lot of little and very relevant things never get taken care of.

And, we now live in a different world.

To my knowledge, it’s possible to buy almost anything today from global suppliers as a result of the Internet. I haven’t tested this thinking so I could be wrong. If I’m right, then all the people working on this ‘big pact’ might have to rethink trade pacts.

I heard that a candidate was asked what foreign leader they liked the best. For any of you political want-to-be’s anywhere, avoid answering that question. Expect that about one-half of the people in any country won’t like who you choose (so they’ll immediately dislike you – regardless of the reason for your choice). And, a reporter who’s thinking about your nation’s national security would never ask that question.

It is good to be able to say: ‘When [so and so] did this, I had great respect for them and [this is why].

A good reporter will ask you about the ‘actions’ of people/leaders.

I sent a note out recently regarding getting young people properly trained in the use of chain saws (which would also include knowing how to properly use hand saws*).

When more people heated with wood and/or still had wood stoves, it was ‘common’ to know how to cut and split wood.

‘Leadership’ is about creating sustainable communities with people who have a broad range of skills (and tools) which might be necessary to deal with ‘life’s events.’

I know (or believe I know) a lot of people who’d be able to clear the streets they lived on if a major storm came through and city or county crews couldn’t immediately or easily get the work done.

I’d expect (based on prior observations / experience) that any person who cleared the street of wood and brush and placed it curbside would first ask the owner if they wanted the wood from their downed tree even if they could use it themselves.

When I think of the people who know these skills or have an interest in acquiring them, I don’t normally think of people who run around looking for Pokémon (I did recently meet two exceptions).

When I think about the parents who teach their children about tools and the value and necessity of acquiring them and learning how to use them as part of the communities they live in, I don’t normally think about ‘protestors’ or ‘gamers’ or ‘late-night partiers.’

When I think about communities which don’t have a broad range of young people who are routinely educated about the use of tools and the value in acquiring them (if only so they can help out some day in the event of an emergency), I worry about the future of their communities and the future of their nations.

Leadership is about finding ways to connect the people that you normally don’t think about (like the young people who may not easily get a chance to learn skills) to the people you do in ways which are beneficial to communities and nations as a whole.

Keep in mind that I think several billion people could solve the ‘rising water level’ crisis if it was possible to get them all on the same page (It doesn’t involve trading pieces of paper. It does involve some ‘footwork.’). Likewise, I believe all the nations which would get involved would end up wealthier.

As a realist, I don’t believe ‘increased wealth’ is always distributed well. If it was, a lot more young people would have the opportunity to own and learn how to properly use tools. A lot more young people would know that, with a little bit of planning and self-created luck, they will be able to handle (and usually enjoy) the challenges that the future is going to offer.

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* I once used a miter saw to cut a ‘significant limb.’ (Using the wrong tool is a great way to appreciate the right ones: It was quite challenging and I effectively ruined the saw as the blade bent.) An observant individual offered a more appropriate saw: I declined as I already had one. Thinking only about the limb and the process, I missed an opportunity to chat: He might have given me more tips for making the job more efficient had I borrowed his saw. I do believe I went and got an equivalent saw lest he think that I wasn’t paying attention.

The things I remembered about that encounter were that he saw a way to make something easier, he chose the right tool and he even offered to lend it to me. Blades on saws ultimately dull, I myself never know exactly when to sharpen them or change them out and tools can break and/or get dirty so when someone offers to lend you a tool, in many ways, they think a lot of you.

Sometimes people get offended when others offer help and hopefully he never thought that I was offended. I was actually flattered. How would a person know that though if you didn’t specifically say so?

Ironically, I think it’s sometimes harder for guys to take advice from gals because of how they are conditioned. I do hope both sexes will find this funny (or enlightening): I noted one day that I thought many men would listen to a woman if they thought she had a good idea while pretending that they weren’t listening or that the idea wasn’t good and then they’d use the idea when the woman wasn’t around.

When people talk about ‘biases,’ this is one kind of bias. It’s my own bias because I think this is sometimes true.

If you’re married (or ever get married and/or have a significant other or close friend), my wish for you is that:

• • you end up in a relationship where your ‘other’ values your knowledge and skills,

  • you have an opportunity to work on enjoyable projects routinely together in ways where the knowledge and skills of both of you increase, and ultimately

  • you get to a point where you not only want to share with others your knowledge and skills, you also want to share how much fun it can be working with people who respect you, your skills and your ability to learn and teach. (If you have children, I think most people would call these ‘fun’ and/or ‘strong’ families/relationships.)