What would it take to make humanity switch to an economic system that sits within the laws of nature? One that is capable of evolving and becoming stronger over time?
The problem with our modern economic system and banks is that these entities believe that they are above the laws of nature; that they are gods capable of making humanity bend to their will and personal ambition.
In the second half of a two-part series, Alexander McCaig and Jason Rigby continue discussing the problem with our banking system—and why we need to provide an alternative to the modern economic system we’ve come to rely on today.
The reality is that banks are an archaic system, and that it’s a dressed-up way to have someone else carry your money.
As Alexander McCaig and Jason Rigby discuss: say you had a million dollars. To deposit this amount into a bank, you would need to open up multiple accounts because a single account is only insured up to a quarter of a million. Once you’re done with that, try withdrawing your money after six months.
Chances are, your bank of choice (or any bank, for that matter) won’t be able to give it to you straight away. This is because they’re taking your money and making money off of it. It’s how banks survive in the larger economic system.
So what would it take to create a system where you don’t need to pay such a heavy price just for storing your money?
The TARTLE Wallet eliminates the need for banks. It’s accessible at any time, completely free to use, and controlled exclusively by its owner. Nobody has access to your money, or will profit off of your money, except you.
Here’s another sobering reality: the economic system we currently function in is incredibly fragile. Everybody’s living off of borrowed money. Once people sense the slightest disruption, they’ll feel compelled to sell all their assets and everything will collapse.
And who gets to benefit from this entire set-up? Maybe it could be the one percent, who are taking your money through taxes and inflation. It could also be the government.
But it definitely won’t be you. Or us. Millennials can’t buy houses, the elderly are in a pension crisis, everyone’s struggling under the weight of carrying this system. We need a new system that is openly available, low friction, and has a beneficial effect on the environment.
With the TARTLE Marketplace, you have an opportunity to participate in a system that is designed to evolve and stand the test of time. Our current economic system is not built with the best interests of humanity at heart. It only serves to benefit the elite, and it’s time to change that.
The idea of taking control over everything that you have, and everything that it can be, sounds overwhelming. We’ve never had the chance to choose how our money and our work will generate profit without giving a percentage of it to third parties. But imagine the power to see how far you can go based on your own efforts.
We feel incredibly passionate about making financial stability and personal empowerment accessible through the creation of a better, stronger economic system. That’s why we created the TARTLE platform—so that everyone can find their personal strength and financial footing through measurable, data-driven participation.
What’s your data worth? Sign up for the TARTLE Marketplace through the link here.
So, the World Bank is wanting to help people in poor and undeveloped countries? Great! Always good to hear when someone wants to help. However, these big, global organizations have a way of not actually helping a whole lot. Pledging money, sending investigators and doing some studies don’t actually do much to really help. Yet, perhaps this time will be different, so let’s give the World Bank the benefit of the doubt and take a look at what they are proposing.
Turns out what they are proposing is a study of economic inclusion programs. These programs typically operate by trying to introduce jobs into third world countries and training people to be able to work them. What the World Bank is attempting to do is to actually do a full study of whether or not these programs are working. You know what that means – they’re going to need a lot of data. This is where we start to get into the problems. They are collecting data of course – as they should – but they are collecting it from the 219 economic inclusion programs already underway in over seventy countries on multiple continents. But, is that really the best approach? Why get data from these programs that by their own admission, they aren’t even sure whether or not they are working?
Why not do something really crazy? Something like…getting the data from the people they are trying to help? That seems nutty, right? If you want to get the real picture of the way things are really happening on the ground you should talk to the people on the ground. That way the World Bank, or anyone else genuinely interested could find out from the actual people if their programs are working. If they are working, in what way they might be working. What actually sets them apart so they are effective? Or if one is failing miserably, they can tell you why. After all, if a program isn’t very good at its intended purpose the people running it aren’t likely to be fully honest about it. That’s just human nature.
And who knows what the World Bank might find out? They might actually get some real answers about how to really go about developing programs that will really help people. Or they might find out something truly startling – that maybe people don’t even want them around. It is possible that people are happy with where they are at. It may be that people like being a tribe living in the jungle, or the desert, or wherever. It reminds me of a couple of things. One, an anecdote I read a long time ago about a pair of people trying to figure out how to incorporate a rural area in Russia into the global economy. Finally, another party asked what was wrong with just leaving them alone? The response was incredulous.
But of course there are people who want nothing to do with the modern world. There are plenty of groups that simply reject it. Think of the Amish. They have chosen to live another life that is separate from the developed world. By modern standards, they are indeed poor, yet they are happy and content. Why do we assume that the people in what are considered undeveloped countries are any different?
Naturally, we shouldn’t assume that they don’t want something different either. That’s why we should go out and get that data so that we can be sure. In fact, why not go through TARTLE so that the World Bank or whomever can get the best possible data straight from the source and actually pay the people for it, thereby doing some real economic inclusion.
What’s your data worth? Sign up and join the TARTLE Marketplace with this link here.
Recently, the World Bank released its World Development Report for 2021. Its focus is on bringing better data connectivity to Africa. Why data and why Africa? Let’s look at the second question first.
Africa is massive, is full of resources, has been inhabited longer than any other continent, various parts of it have been the seat of major civilizations or been ruled by the most powerful empires on the planet. Yet, it remains a technological backwater and is the least digitally connected continent (well, except Antarctica. The penguins don’t need wifi). The reasons for that are so many and various that one could write volumes on the subject. For our purposes here, we’ll just point out that they lack the needed infrastructure, and in many places the social stability needed to develop that infrastructure in the first place.
As for the first question, the World Bank rightly recognizes that data is important, that it underlies everything done in the modern world. Digitally connected data is how most companies, governments and even individuals make decisions in the modern world. Without reliable, truthful data, necessary decisions are either not made at all or are made poorly. Therefore, improving the quality of life for modern Africans means improving their ability to make use of data.
Unfortunately, the World Bank has forgotten something important – they’ve forgotten that you can’t just drop a bunch of smartphones in people’s laps and expect things to happen. People also need to be educated on the worth and usage of that technology. Even in Western countries with excellent connectivity and established education systems, most people don’t really recognize the value of the super computer they carry around in their pockets. Too often, it’s nothing more than a way to send texts and play Candy Crush. Think of it this way, if someone hands the average IT guy a hammer and says “build me a house” it probably will not turn out well. He doesn’t have the necessary education and experience to be able to do that. Or hand the average carpenter a box of circuit boards and tell him to build a computer. Again, not going to go well at all.
Sadly, this is a tale at least as old as the colonial period. Often, when the developed world goes into an undeveloped area, they simply try to wedge their systems into place in a culture where it just doesn’t work. Just think of all the nation building experiments of the 1980s and ‘90s. At best, this is just handing someone a fish and assuming that they will figure out how to fish. Even if the locals are more directly involved in the infrastructure projects – teaching them to fish – they are far too often left without any understanding of why these things matter.
Naturally, these projects are generally well-intentioned. The hope is that by improving physical and digital infrastructure, the economy will grow and bring the standard of living and quality of life up along with it. And of course, that is how things work, assuming that people understand the value of what they are being asked to do in the first place.
It is great that the World Bank truly recognizes the value of data. Data underlies every decision made in the modern world. It represents people expressing themselves and their interactions with others and the world around them. The only problem is that they are still taking an outside-in approach to everything. They are coming into these areas and saying, “this is how we will help you,” instead of asking, “how can we help you?”.
That distinction is crucial, and it is what separates TARTLE from other technology companies. Instead of trying to impose our own solutions – however well intentioned – we are going to individuals and asking how we can help, and putting the choices in their hands. That approach is truly what is needed. It directly involves individuals and communities in the important decisions being made. By doing so, we can ensure that we are helping people in ways that matter to them, and doing it in ways that won’t inadvertently destroy important aspects of cultures we aren’t a part of and don’t fully understand.
That is what separates TARTLE, we don’t look at data as a mere commodity, we see at as an expression of humanity.
What’s your data worth?
