“It is utterly clear to me that the highest priority need of world society at the present moment is a realistic economic accounting system which will rectify, for instance, such nonsense as the fact that a top toolmaker in India, the highest paid of all craftsmen, gets only as much per month for his work in India as he could earn per day for the same work if he were employed in Detroit, Michigan.”
— Buckminster Fuller, Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth
The Wage Disparity Dilemma
We live in a globally connected economy, yet wages for identical work can differ by an order of magnitude depending solely on where you are born. A toolmaker in India might earn in a month what someone in Detroit makes in a day. Is that just?
Let’s put it in perspective:
| Profession | USA Daily Wage | India Daily Wage | Wage Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toolmaker | $237 | $14.74 | 16:1 |
| Software Engineer | $425 | $23 | 18:1 |
| Farm Worker | $104 | $4.40 | 24:1 |
(Sources: Indeed.com, BLS.gov, Payscale.com, World Bank, average exchange rate of ₹83/USD)
This isn’t just about money. It’s about agency, opportunity, and the right to flourish.
What Happens When the Jobs Move
Consider this real story: a factory job in Ohio disappears. It reappears in Mexico. The Ohio worker loses their livelihood and community. The Mexican worker gains income but likely still struggles in a system with low wages and weak infrastructure.
Janesville, Wisconsin is another example. Once GM left, the town collapsed economically. What was left? Service jobs, government work, and an identity crisis.
The tragedy is that this isn’t helping either community thrive. It’s shifting hardship.
Bitcoin: A Parallel Path Forward
Let’s talk money. Fiat currencies are printed, inflated, and manipulated. In many countries, wages rise slower than inflation, or not at all. The problem is systemic—and reforming it from within is slow and unlikely.
Instead, we can opt out.
Enter Bitcoin:
- Limited supply (21 million)
- Permissionless
- Borderless
Bitcoin offers individuals a way to withdraw their productive capacity from the fiat system and store their value in a fair, incorruptible monetary technology. As Bitcoin adoption increases, it creates a parallel economy alongside the existing one. This isn’t a theory—it’s already happening.
As referenced in my post “Bitcoin: A Withdrawal of Productive Capacity to a Fair Arena”, this is a quiet revolution. People around the world are choosing a system that respects their work and time.
Bitcoin doesn’t need permission. You don’t need to wait for anyone to pass a law. You can start opting out today.
Toward Personal Economic Sovereignty
Rather than lobbying for governments or corporations to fix a broken system, we can take action ourselves:
- Earn in Bitcoin: If possible, request payment in BTC for remote or freelance work.
- Save in Bitcoin: Convert a portion of your earnings to Bitcoin to escape the erosion of fiat inflation.
- Spend Selectively: Support businesses that accept or build with Bitcoin.
Final Thought
Globalization doesn’t have to mean a race to the bottom. We don’t have to wait for someone to fix the system.
We can build a new one—quietly, steadily, block by block.
Let’s start with one question: Why should a toolmaker in India earn 1/20th of one in Detroit?
And let’s end with a better answer: He doesn’t have to. Not if he opts out.
MyWheelLife.com 