Valuing Wealth

Chapter 2 - pages 25, 26

The foundation of my thinking was that those individuals who make the greatest contribution to their field should reap the greatest returns in terms of power, leadership and of course financial reward.  The other premise is that there needed to be a shift in what was considered a rewarding industry.  For example, actors can make millions of dollars for entertaining American children, while teachers make tens of thousands for teaching them.  Business leaders make millions or even billions of dollars while scientists make a fraction of that.

As a corollary thought, those who made the least contribution should not expect to receive much beyond basic sustenance.  America was founded on hard work, initiative and honesty and these types of efforts would gain reward in the immediate future.  However, those who chose to do very little or thought that life owed them a living were soon to find out that America owed them nothing.

My goal was never, nor will it ever be, to dictate the income, power or leadership that any individual could attain, but rather to have society at large play a greater role in determining what roles are worthy of substantive financial rewards, and which are not.  Just to make a simple argument, does a baseball player deserve to make five million dollars while a fireman makes fifty thousand dollars?  Many Americans of course who believe in complete freedom say yes due to their belief in freedom and the free market.  Many people will find it hard to comprehend that I agree with these principles as well.  What I set out to do though, was to have the market and society change the definition of freedom to personal responsibility and have a free market where ethics, values and contribution were considered the most valuable characteristics of successful people.

Excerpt from Chapter 6 -- Constructive Capitalism

Chapter 6  --  page 100

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One of my guiding business principles is what I referred to as “Constructive Capitalism."  Let’s face it, I got rich simply by making the world a better place.  That was always my goal from a young age.  I’ll be honest and admit that I also went into business for recognition, wealth and challenge.  However, I always operated with the philosophy that I would like to build a legacy that would be respected.  When my company developed the efficient food product known as “NutrisHouse” Bars which delivered a person’s complete nutritional daily requirements, then that really was the fulfillment of my dreams.  I ultimately have far surpassed any and all of my hopes.

Upon my company’s ultimate success in the USA and Europe, we then started developing the same food products for poorer countries.  The products for these regions cost about a third of the more consumer-oriented products that were being sold and marketed in the western areas.  Of course, everyone knows that the flavor was not as good and the packaging was not as elaborate, but the nutrition value was the same.  Every single country in the world that imported NutrisHouse Bars saw improved health almost immediately.  Even where there were still dictators and civil wars at the time, the health of the citizens improved.

 “Constructive Capitalism” evolved as a concept that in essence requires a company in order to be successful to do doing something tangibly beneficial to improve the state of the world.  This was not necessarily a unique concept that I developed, rather a progression of the changing consumer-mindset and some companies realizing that it was in their best interest to go this route in order to maximize profitability.  “Constructive Capitalism” was also not just about financial contribution either.  Just writing a check to a charitable organization seemed unsettling to most people after the success of NutrisHouse Bars where genuinely positive results were being realized.  Consumers would not accept anymore that if a company does business they just cannot hand over a payment to make them feel or in the worst case scenario, look good.  The contribution of the company must be genuine, involve the resources of the company and be done with the spirit of improving the conditions in the surrounding areas.  Even in the US, the spirit of corporate contribution became more about first-hand infrastructure development rather than continuing to do “fun runs, bake sales and raffles”, as Bill Gates put it in 2007.

The New American Dream: Crafting Ones Own America

The American Dream is changing to one whereby individual citizens have input and control over their world such that they have the opportunity to live free and define their own measures for success.

The traditional dream of being free and working hard which subsequently leads to financial success has become antiquated as most people no longer feel that the system is fair or accessible to them. America's domestic economy has evolved into a tremendously inequitable system whereby a financial oligarchy has complete control over it and manipulates the system to their advantage at the expense of the many.  Many Americans do not even have the ability to strive for an improvement to their existing situation as the middle class formula for growth has diminished. Even a minimal goal of home ownership has eroded for way too many people.

Americans now feel the USA is a place where they are manipulated and controlled to the point that they have no contribution or input into the current system.  This unease with the current system is the root of the social unrest we are witnessing. The Tea Party movement is a social movement to affect political control and the 1/99 movement is a protest over economic inequality. Though each movement represents a very different philosophy, both are the same in their origins in that all the members are asking for is the same thing...access and influence for more American citizens.

The evolving new definition of the "American Dream" is one in which individuals feel they have the ability to influence and craft their own immediate community so that they can have a platform for success.  Success itself  is also being redefined as less of a financial reward but rather one in which American culture, society and the economy is more equitable and accessible to everyone.

George Clooney: A Good Role Model For All

George Clooney is a good example of how private citizens should be doing things.

He selects a cause and then goes on-ground to actually see first hand what is happening and then uses his democratic freedom to try to make changes.  He provides funding, he lobbies Congress, he goes as far as to  get arrested (for some reason?) to make his point and to bring about relief in Sudan.

Whether you agree or disagree with his causes or his methods is inconsequential.  The fact is that anyone and everyone has the opportunity in America to do the exact same thing.  Of course, George has access to his personal resources that allow him to take on a very active role in foreign countries and being an actor he also has the celebrity factor to make his chosen causes more prominent in the media.

All individuals have the ability to do the exact same thing in their local community.  The freedom to choose to be involved and to push for the social or institutional changes that they deem relevant to them.  As we enter this period during the evolution of "engaged democracy" people are starting to realize that they can have access and influence by doing things themselves rather than turning to government for solutions.  There is further, no requirement that an organizational component be present.

Government has proven itself incapable of solving virtually any problem in today's modern world and it is up to the self-directed and impassioned American citizen to craft the future of America. George Clooney is doing his part in the societal areas that affect him the most.  He does not choose to try to fix everything just the areas that concern him the most.  That is truly what freedom is and is the real essences of a new definition of the "American Dream" whereby individuals have the right to be involved in societal development.

The old definition of the American Dream which is predicated on "hard work leading to success" is being usurped by a new Dream "that one has the power to craft the society in which they will succeed".  The requirement of having to accept the current roles no longer exists.