The Federal Reserve attempts to fight inflation by raising interest rates, hoping to curb consumer borrowing and slow demand. But this tool misses the mark when the real driver of inflation is government deficit spending.
In 2024, the U.S. government will spend around $6.8 trillion, while running a $2 trillion deficit. That deficit is money injected into the economy without corresponding production—pure demand creation, which stokes inflation.
As this article explains, the Fed can raise rates, but it has no power to rein in Congressional spending. It’s trying to apply brakes while the government is flooring the gas pedal.
And here’s the kicker: with $36.2 trillion in national debt, if interest rates were to return to the 20% levels of the early 1980s, the annual interest expense would hit $7.24 trillion—more than the entire federal budget. That would mean spending 106% of all federal outlays just on interest. This scenario is not only unsustainable—it’s impossible.
Which is why, in reality, interest rates can never go that high again. The debt burden makes it mathematically unworkable. So the Fed is trapped—raising rates just enough to pretend it’s fighting inflation, while the root cause (unchecked government spending) goes unaddressed.
Why real freedom starts with escaping centralized money
Most people think money is neutral. You earn it, you spend it, you save it. Simple. But what if the money in your wallet isn’t really yours? What if it works more like company scrip than true, independent money?
Let’s take a step back in time — and a step deeper into the system we live in.
🏭 Company Scrip: The Original Trap
In mining and lumber towns of the 19th and early 20th century, companies often paid workers in “scrip” — private money usable only at the company store.
Could you spend it elsewhere? Nope.
Could you build wealth? Not easily.
Were prices fair? Absolutely not.
It was a closed-loop system. One that looked like money, but ultimately existed to control labor and consumption.
🏛️ Fiat Currency: The Scrip Goes National
Now look at the dollar, the rupee, the euro.
These are government-issued fiat currencies. But just like scrip:
They’re created at will by central banks.
They lose value over time through inflation.
They’re political tools, subject to manipulation and control.
And they limit your economic choices to within a system you didn’t design.
It’s still scrip — just at scale. You’re still in the company town. The company just got a flag and a central bank.
🪙 Bitcoin, Gold, and Financial Exit
Real money — money that promotes freedom — should be:
Scarce
Neutral
Borderless
Independent of politics
That’s why people turn to Bitcoin and gold. They’re not controlled by anyone, and that matters.
When your wealth is stored in something you control, your freedom becomes harder to take away.
⚠️ The Real Issue: Agency
The bigger point isn’t about currencies. It’s about control.
Whoever controls your money controls your choices.
If a central bank, a political party, or a single institution can dilute or freeze your money — you don’t own your life. Not really.
Financial agency isn’t just a luxury. It’s a requirement for freedom.
🧠 Final Thought
So yes, your dollars function. But they’re not neutral. They’re managed, manipulated, and diluted — all without your consent.
They’re just fancy scrip — and you don’t own the store.
As we edge closer to a post-labor economy fueled by AI and automation, the conversation around how to distribute wealth fairly is more urgent than ever. Advocates of dividend-driven futures, like David Shapiro and others, propose income portfolios built from public wealth funds, UBI, cooperatives, and residual wages. But are there any historical models to guide us? Have civilizations ever successfully structured systems where wealth flowed to the public without direct labor?
It turns out, yes. And the lessons are mixed.
The Roman Bread Dole: Subsidy Without Structure
Ancient Rome’s grain dole (“annona”) offered a form of basic sustenance to citizens, distributing heavily subsidized or free grain. At its peak, hundreds of thousands of Romans received this support. It was politically stabilizing, popular, and arguably necessary as economic power consolidated into the elite.
But the system was fragile. It depended on imperial conquests, slave labor, and an expansive logistics network that became unsustainable as Rome declined. It also did little to build durable economic agency. The dole kept people fed, but not empowered.
Lesson: Subsidy without economic diversification or civic agency becomes brittle.
Native Tribes and Casino Revenues: Promise and Pitfalls
In the U.S., many Native American tribes operate casinos, with profits funding health care, education, and direct dividends to tribal members. These tribal wealth funds resemble the localized wealth mechanisms proposed in post-labor economics.
However, outcomes vary widely. In some communities, casino revenues have elevated living standards and strengthened governance. In others, benefits have concentrated in tribal leadership, exacerbating inequality and dependency.
Lesson: Without transparency, inclusive governance, and diversified investment, even well-intentioned redistribution can fall short.
The Alaska Permanent Fund: A Modern Dividend Model
Established in 1976, Alaska’s Permanent Fund takes oil revenues and invests them globally. Each year, residents receive a dividend, usually between $1,000-$2,000. It’s simple, durable, and popular.
Yet, it faces political risk. When Alaska hit budget shortfalls, politicians dipped into the fund. There are debates about whether it discourages work or disincentivizes participation in broader civic life.
Lesson: Popular dividend programs are sustainable, but vulnerable to political raids and lack of reinvestment discipline.
Norway’s Oil Fund: The Gold Standard of Public Wealth
Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, often dubbed the Norwegian Oil Fund, is the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. Fueled by oil profits, it now exceeds $1.5 trillion and invests in over 9,000 companies across more than 70 countries.
Unlike Alaska, Norway does not send direct cash to citizens. Instead, the fund returns go into the national budget, funding universal services such as education, health care, and pensions. Crucially, the fund adheres to strict ethical guidelines, has world-class transparency, and maintains a 3% spending rule to preserve capital.
Lesson: Long-term sustainability requires diversification, professional governance, limited spending, and a focus on services that boost collective agency.
Designing for the Post-Labor Era: What Must Be Done
The future calls for a blend of these lessons. Post-labor economic resilience depends on:
Diversification: Don’t over-rely on a single industry or location (Rome, casinos).
Capital Preservation: Limit annual drawdowns to preserve intergenerational equity (Norway).
Layered Income Models: Combine UBI, local trusts, cooperatives, and personal assets for resilience.
The past offers both warning signs and inspiration. If we take the best from each model—Rome’s stabilizing intent, tribal localization, Alaska’s dividends, and Norway’s professionalism—we might just build a post-labor economy worth living in.
Elon Musk is on a rampage again—this time, against Donald Trump’s so-called “One, Big, Beautiful Bill.” He’s called it a “disgusting abomination,” a pork-stuffed monstrosity that will explode the national deficit and bury Americans under a mountain of debt. And he’s not wrong.
But here’s the thing: yelling into the void of Washington politics won’t change a system that’s already rigged to print, spend, and inflate its way into oblivion. The real protest isn’t a tweetstorm. It’s opting out.
Elon Tried to Fix It—And Got Burned
Let’s not forget: Elon Musk didn’t start out as a critic. He tried to work within the system. He joined advisory councils, met with presidents, and even offered to help streamline government operations. He believed that innovation and logic could steer the ship of state.
But the bureaucracy didn’t budge. The incentives were too broken, the politics too entrenched. Eventually, Musk walked away—disillusioned and vocal. His recent outburst isn’t just frustration; it’s the sound of someone who tried to fix the machine and realized it’s designed to resist change.
Why Fighting the System Is a Distraction
The U.S. government isn’t going to stop spending. It’s not going to balance the budget. And it’s certainly not going to voluntarily give up the power to print money. So while Elon’s outrage is justified, it’s also futile. The system isn’t broken—it’s working exactly as designed.
The Only Real Exit: Bitcoin
If you’re tired of watching your purchasing power erode while politicians play Monopoly with your future, there’s only one real move: opt out. Buy Bitcoin.
Bitcoin isn’t just a hedge against inflation—it’s a peaceful protest. It’s a decentralized, deflationary alternative to fiat currencies that can’t be manipulated by central banks or corrupted by politics. It’s the lifeboat in a sea of fiscal insanity.
Conclusion: Don’t Rage—Exit
Elon’s fury is understandable. But the real revolution won’t be televised—it’ll be verified on the blockchain. If you want to send a message to Washington, don’t waste your breath. Move your money. Buy Bitcoin.
Most of us think of money as the bills in our wallets or numbers in our bank accounts. But money isn’t a physical thing—it’s a system of IOUs. It’s how we track value we’ve created, whether that’s building a fence, baking bread, or writing software.
Here’s the key insight: money itself doesn’t hold value. If it did, you’d want to hoard it. But you don’t. You probably try to get rid of your dollars by putting them into stocks, real estate, or gold—anything to escape inflation.
🧱 A Story About a Fence (and a Broken System)
Imagine this: You build a 100-foot fence for someone. They pay you $100. One year later, you ask them to build a fence for you. They say, “Sure, but now it’ll cost $105.”
Why? Inflation. Your money didn’t hold its value. The effort you gave last year is worth less this year.
And while the U.S. has “low” inflation, other countries—like Argentina—see 100% inflation annually. In places like that, people rush to convert their paychecks into food, bricks, or U.S. dollars just to preserve value.
But let’s be honest: the U.S. dollar and Argentine peso aren’t fundamentally different. Both are government-issued currencies that lose value over time due to overspending and excessive money printing.
⚙️ Enter Bitcoin: Fixed, Transparent, and Decentralized
Bitcoin was designed to fix this exact problem.
There will only ever be 21 million bitcoins.
Each one can be divided into 100 million sats (Satoshis).
Bitcoin is basically a global, digital IOU ledger that nobody controls—but everyone can verify.
Think of it as an open-source Excel spreadsheet that tracks who owns what. But instead of one person controlling it, thousands of computers (nodes) maintain the same list and agree on changes only when a valid transaction is made.
🔨 How Bitcoin Transactions Work
You send a transaction using your app or wallet.
It enters the mempool, a kind of digital waiting room.
Miners select and bundle transactions into a block.
They solve a math puzzle to earn the right to add the block to the chain.
Once added, it’s permanent—and verified by the entire network.
Each block takes about 10 minutes to process. Miners are rewarded with both newly “unlocked” bitcoin (currently 3.125 BTC) and small transaction fees—typically less than 1%, cheaper than credit cards.
🆚 Bitcoin vs “Altcoins”
Bitcoin has no premine, meaning the creator didn’t secretly give themselves coins before anyone else could buy them. Most altcoins (alternative cryptocurrencies) do. That makes many of them less like open money and more like disguised businesses.
Ask yourself: What real problem is this altcoin solving?
The answer is likely that the coin is built around a company structure, because it can’t solve the store of value problem. Bitcoin already solved that problem.
💸 How to Buy Bitcoin Today
Option 1: Brokerages
Buy FBTC, the Fidelity Bitcoin Trust, just like a stock or ETF
Available through Fidelity, Schwab, and others
Small fee: ~0.25% expense ratio
Option 2: Direct Purchase
Use apps like Strike, River, or Cash App
You can hold your own Bitcoin (self-custody) or keep it with the app
📈 Why Bitcoin Could Hit $13 Million
There are $750 trillion in global assets.
Asset Category
Estimated Value (USD)
Real estate
~$360 trillion
Equities (stocks)
~$110 trillion
Bonds (debt markets)
~$135 trillion
Broad money (M2)
~$100 trillion
Gold (above ground)
~$14–15 trillion
Private businesses, art, collectibles, etc.
~$20–30 trillion (est.)
If even $273 trillion of that (stocks, real estate, bonds, money supply) flows into Bitcoin, that’s:
$273 trillion ÷ 21 million BTC = $13 million per coin
This isn’t speculation—it’s about monetary premium, the extra value people add to assets (like real estate or art) just because they don’t trust cash.
Bitcoin is absorbing that value because it’s better money.
🧠 Strategy: It’s Not Too Late
A $10,000 investment today could get you 0.1 BTC. If Bitcoin hits $13 million, that’s worth $1.3 million.
Of course, you shouldn’t invest money you can’t afford to lose. But for many, $10K is a small bet with a big upside.
Bitcoin isn’t just about price—it’s about a fundamentally better way to store and transmit value.
🎯 Final Thought: We’re All Fish in Fiat Water
You’ve lived your whole life in a system where money loses value. It feels normal, but it’s not natural.
Bitcoin is a new kind of money: scarce, digital, decentralized, and global.
Once you understand what money really is, it becomes clear: Bitcoin is not just better money—it’s the future of value itself.
In 2012, a Chinese student studying in the U.S. wrote a letter that was later shared by David Pogue in Business Insider. He described how his aunt had worked for several years in what Americans might call a “sweatshop”:
The student emphasized that, despite the difficult conditions, the factory job was a step up—it provided safety, legality, and stability she had never known before.
This story raises a profound moral question: Does an improvement from desperation make an exploitative system justifiable?
Let’s explore why this tension sits at the heart of modern global capitalism.
Better Than Nothing Isn’t the Same as Fair
A factory job may lift someone out of desperation. But an improvement from rock bottom does not equal justice.
The woman in this story is performing the same labor as someone assembling parts in Michigan. She’s not less intelligent or less valuable. She’s just on the wrong side of a global wage arbitrage system.
Corporations don’t pay her less because she’s worth less—they pay her less because they can.
What Is Exploitation?
Exploitation occurs when value is extracted from someone without fair compensation.
You can have:
Exploitative jobs that are better than the alternative, and
Exploitative systems that improve people’s lives short-term
But the core question is: Who captures the surplus value?
In this case, it’s not the woman. Her labor adds real value to a global supply chain, but she sees only a sliver of it. The rest flows upward:
To multinational corporations
To shareholders
To high-income consumers paying less for products made with underpaid labor
This is exploitation by design—not an accident, but a business model.
Does “Choice” Make It Ethical?
Many people argue:
“Well, she chose the job.”
But choice under coercion of circumstance isn’t freedom. If the only options are wage slavery or something worse, the system isn’t ethical—it’s merely tolerable.
Asking someone to be grateful for a better form of poverty is morally hollow.
So What Can Be Done?
This is where technologies like Bitcoin offer potential.
No, Bitcoin doesn’t magically fix global labor markets. But it creates an escape hatch:
A way to store value in a neutral system not subject to local currency collapse
A method of payment that bypasses middlemen
A step toward economic sovereignty
It lets workers keep more of what they earn. And that alone makes it powerful.
Final Thought
A factory job may save someone from a worse fate. But if it pays unfairly, concentrates profits far away, and denies workers ownership of what they build—it’s still exploitation.
We can be grateful for progress while demanding more. Dignity requires more than survival.
And we don’t have to wait for permission to build something better.
In theory, the ChooseFI and Bitcoin communities should be natural allies. Both value independence, long-term thinking, and building a future that’s not dependent on the whims of politicians or corporations. But in practice, there’s an odd divide: the ChooseFI crowd leans hard into index funds and conventional investing, while Bitcoiners are laser-focused on fixing the money itself.
As someone who walks between both worlds, I think it’s time to bridge this gap.
The ChooseFI Perspective: Smart, but Incomplete
The Financial Independence (FI) movement is one of the best ideas to come out of the last 20 years. It’s a rejection of consumerism and dependence on a 9–5 job. It promotes saving, intentionality, and investing in low-cost index funds to build wealth over time.
But here’s where it falls short: the movement assumes the system is stable enough to invest in indefinitely.
ChooseFI thinkers often acknowledge that inflation erodes purchasing power. That’s why they invest. But they rarely ask why inflation exists or what kind of inflation we’re talking about. They trust the market to keep delivering 7% annual returns because, historically, that’s what it’s done. It’s a comforting narrative—but it’s built on the assumption that the dollar is sound money. It isn’t.
The Bitcoiner’s View: Start With the Root Cause
Bitcoiners take the opposite approach. They start by asking: What if the money itself is broken?
If money is supposed to store value over time and across space, then fiat currency fails that test. Central banks manipulate interest rates and print trillions to bail out markets. This isn’t capitalism—it’s financial engineering.
Bitcoiners understand that if the base layer of the economic system is corrupted, then all the “smart investing strategies” built on top of it are sitting on shaky ground. They argue that if we had sound money—money that couldn’t be debased—then saving would be investing. You wouldn’t have to chase yield to stay ahead of inflation.
In other words, Bitcoin doesn’t replace the FI mindset—it completes it.
The Missed Opportunity
ChooseFI and Bitcoin share the same end goal: personal sovereignty, freedom from wage dependence, and the ability to live life on your own terms. But their tactics differ, mostly because of assumptions they make about the system.
ChooseFI says: “Inflation exists, so invest wisely to beat it.”
Bitcoin says: “Inflation exists because the money is broken—so let’s fix the money.”
Both strategies have value. But only one questions the foundation.
And here’s the deeper issue: too many in the ChooseFI world are afraid to deviate from the script. There’s a culture of “stay the course,” which, while helpful during market turbulence, often becomes a dogma that discourages curiosity. I’ve met people in the FI community who understand something feels off—whether it’s the Fed printing trillions or housing prices going vertical—but they suppress those questions because they fear sounding like conspiracy theorists or rocking the boat.
I want to say this clearly: it’s okay to ask questions. In fact, if you’re pursuing financial independence, you should be asking deeper questions—about the money, the system, and whether the rules we’ve been taught still make sense in a world that’s changing fast.
A Better Future: Combine the Philosophies
Imagine if ChooseFI thinkers began to see Bitcoin not as a speculative gamble, but as a form of saving that aligns with their most cherished values: delayed gratification, personal responsibility, and building a more secure future.
If these two groups came together, we’d have something powerful: a community that not only escapes the rat race—but understands why the race exists, who designed it, and how to stop participating in it altogether.
For ChooseFIers interested in Bitcion I’ll point you to a few of my previous articles below.
In the final week of May 2025, a significant number of companies announced substantial Bitcoin acquisitions, marking a notable trend in corporate cryptocurrency adoption. Below is a list of 20 companies that made headlines with their Bitcoin purchases:
Trump Media & Technology Group (USA)
Investment: Plans to raise $2.5 billion to establish a Bitcoin treasury.
We love to say “just pull yourself up by your bootstraps.” It’s a neat, comforting idea. Work hard, be smart, and success is inevitable.But here’s the truth:
That advice only works if you were born with boots.
In many parts of the world — from Haiti to Senegal to rural India — people aren’t lazy. They’re not stupid. They’re simply locked out of the systems that reward effort.
🌍 Talent Is Universal. Opportunity Is Not.
As economist Ha-Joon Chang points out, people in poor countries are often more entrepreneurial than those in rich ones — because they have to be. There’s no safety net. No trust fund. No stable job waiting after graduation.
But despite this hustle, the game is rigged:
Currencies collapse.
Corruption is common.
Legal systems are slow or predatory.
Borders are closed.
Global capital flows around them, not toward them.
You can be brilliant and still stuck.
👣 Magatte Wade’s Truth: The Problem Isn’t the People
Senegalese entrepreneur Magatte Wade has built global businesses from Africa. She’s seen the raw talent. The drive. The ideas. The hunger.
Her message?
“Africa isn’t poor because Africans are lazy. It’s poor because the system makes entrepreneurship nearly impossible.”
She calls it “permission-based economies.” In many developing countries, just starting a business requires dozens of licenses, bribes, and approvals — often taking months longer than in the U.S. or Europe.
So even if you’ve got the mindset, you don’t have the infrastructure to win.
🎯 The Bootstrap Narrative Fails Globally
Myth
Reality
“Anyone can invest.”
Not if your currency melts or you can’t access a bank.
“Just learn online.”
Not if you have no internet, no laptop, no electricity.
“Start a business.”
Not if your government makes it illegal or corrupt.
“Just move to a better country.”
Not if your passport locks you out.
🍀 And Yes — Luck Matters More Than We Admit
Even in the U.S., success often comes down to:
Who your parents were
Which zip code you were born in
Whether a policy loophole happened to exist in a year you applied
You may know someone in Haiti who made it to the U.S. only through a temporary rule — and only with personal support. That’s not “bootstrapping.” That’s a rare alignment of chance, help, and timing.
🔑 So What Do We Do?
✅ 1. Stop Pretending Meritocracy Is Global
Effort matters. But effort without access is just exhaustion.
✅ 2. Support Systems That Shrink the Luck Gap
Bitcoin → access to global savings
Online education → access to real skills
Remote work platforms → access to higher wages
Legal reform → access to build freely, without bribery
✅ 3. Build Platforms That Let Value Flow to the Creator
Not to the middleman. Not to the gatekeeper. Not to the “aid industrial complex.” To the person doing the work.
💥 Final Thought
The tragedy isn’t that people in poor countries are lazy. It’s that they’re invisible to the systems that claim to reward merit.
Talent is everywhere. Boots are not.
If we want a fair world, we don’t need more advice. We need to start building the Earned World — where those who create value are finally allowed to keep it.
I generated the above table using ChatGPT. I have been invovled in all of these communities that are swirling around the same ideas. I wish I could get them to work together.
ChatGPT also generated the below. It’s not perfect but I wanted to publish it because I want to.
offer it to the world
open for critique and improvements.
The Earned World Manifesto
A Declaration for Builders, Not Rent-Seekers
1. The Problem We See
The current system extracts more than it empowers. It rewards proximity to power, not creation of value. It builds systems that entrench dependency, then calls that stability.
We see:
Productivity rising — but wages stagnating
Knowledge abundant — but credentials gatekept
Labor outsourced — but profit hoarded
Currency inflated — but savings eroded
Talent global — but opportunity gated
Work automated — but ownership concentrated
This is not an accident. The rules are rigged — and the game is extraction.
2. What We Believe
🧱 Agency Is Non-Negotiable
Each individual has the right — and the responsibility — to direct their life. Freedom is not given. It is constructed.
📈 Value Should Flow to the Builder
The person who creates, fixes, or risks should own the upside. Rent-seeking is a tax on the capable.
🧠 Education Must Be Sovereign
Learning is abundant. Gatekeeping it is theft. We reject the credential treadmill in favor of demonstrated skill.
💰 Money Must Be Earned and Preserved
Currency debasement is economic theft. Savings must store effort, not melt it.
🔐 Ownership Is the Foundation
He who owns the tool, the platform, the protocol — holds the power. We choose ownership over permission.
3. What We Support
This is not a utopia. It is a direction.
We support:
🔸 Individuals achieving financial independence through disciplined action
🔸 Workers becoming owners, not just operators
🔸 Monetary systems (like Bitcoin) that cannot be corrupted
🔸 Skill-first pathways over debt-fueled credentials
🔸 Systems that reward contribution, not compliance
🔸 Local or global opt-out zones where new rules can be tested
We reject:
Coerced redistribution
Forced altruism
Dependence disguised as security
4. Our Two-Stage Strategy
🛶 Stage 1: Build your lifeboat. Earn freedom through action. Reduce expenses, save in hard assets, develop durable skills, and reclaim your time.
🏛️ Stage 2: Rebuild the harbor. Use your freedom to build systems that don’t demand sacrifice to survive. Not as charity — but as infrastructure for agency.
5. Join Us
We are the builders. The earners. The ones who won’t rent our future.
We will:
Speak plainly about value and power
Share tools, not just tweets
Reward proof-of-work, not status
Create systems where sovereignty scales
If you’re tired of extraction, If you still believe in ownership, If you’re ready to build —
Welcome to the Earned World.
As I was generating the Manifesto, I had a lot of conversation with ChatGPT. Below was a powerful statement it had.
“The current system extracts more than it empowers.”
This means that the rewards of the modern economy are disproportionately claimed by systems, institutions, and owners — not by the individuals doing the work or taking the risk. The value flows upward, while the burden flows downward.
Here’s what that looks like across different dimensions:
💼 In Work
Wages have stagnated while productivity and corporate profits rise.
Most workers trade time for money with little long-term upside (no ownership, equity, or growth path).
Gig work and contract labor shift costs (insurance, risk, taxes) to the individual while stripping stability.
Extraction: Time, energy, creativity — taken for a wage that doesn’t keep up with cost of living. Empowerment: Would mean building ownership, autonomy, or long-term equity from your work.
💸 In Money
Fiat currency loses purchasing power over time (inflation), punishing savers and wage earners.
Asset inflation (stocks, real estate) benefits those who already hold wealth — not those trying to build it.
Central banks and governments distort money supply in ways individuals cannot control or escape.
Extraction: Your savings melt while those close to the money printer get richer. Empowerment: Would mean access to stable, sovereign, permissionless money, Bitcoin.
🏥 In Healthcare
Healthcare is tied to employment — meaning you’re not truly free to leave your job.
Insurance costs rise faster than wages; many avoid treatment due to fear of bills.
Extraction: Your health and security are used to bind you to jobs and debt. Empowerment: Would mean decoupling basic needs from corporate control.
🏠 In Housing
Real estate is increasingly used as an investment vehicle, not a place to live.
Young people are priced out of ownership, forced into permanent renting.
Extraction: Rent drains wealth every month with no asset built. Empowerment: Would mean pathways to ownership, equity, or cooperative housing.
🎓 In Education
Education costs have exploded, leading to decades-long student debt burdens.
The credential economy keeps people in a treadmill of debt just to be “qualified.”
Extraction: You pay to enter the game, and the game changes by the time you finish. Empowerment: Would mean low-cost, high-agency pathways to skill and livelihood.
🤖 In Technology
Tech companies extract your attention, data, and time to sell to advertisers.
Users create content and community, but ownership and profits go to platforms.
Extraction: You are the product. Empowerment: Would mean open platforms, data sovereignty, and user-owned networks.
🔁 Why This Matters
When a system extracts more than it empowers, it means:
The average person gets poorer in power, even if they get richer in consumption.
Stability, dignity, and control are replaced with dependency and precarity.
People become functionaries, not free agents.
Stagnation in the U.S. and suppression in Mexico are two symptoms of the same disease:
A system where capital moves freely, but labor and ownership do not.
Personal sovereignty is the prerequisite for systemic sovereignty.
Entrepreneurship without savings is economic quicksand.
I think there are solutions to a lot of these propblems. But this is teh start of framing for myself to think more about solutions.
I encourage everyone in the communities I identified to read this as well as consider how they coudl work to make their own lives better as well as make the system better.
I want to highlight the 2 step process.
🛶 Stage 1: Build your lifeboat. Earn freedom through action. Reduce expenses, save in hard assets, develop durable skills, and reclaim your time.
🏛️ Stage 2: Rebuild the harbor. Use your freedom to build systems that don’t demand sacrifice to survive. Not as charity — but as infrastructure for agency.
While I believe everyone is capable of building their lifeboat, it is certainly harder for some than others.
Please comment with any thoughts you have to update this. Please feed this into AI and discuss with it how you might make chagnes to or improve it.
Here are a few resources I referenced when thinking about this.
MyWheelLife.com 