How naïve do you have to be to believe that the good times will last forever? Then again how naïve do you have to be to believe that the good times will return soon or has already returned? We have to learn that true wealth creation is dependent on growth and productivity, not financial and monetary manipulations. Until our markets return to monetary policies that create wealth the proper way, we will continue to suffer from decreased overall production, productivity rates, inflation, and the systematic destruction of savings.
Perhaps we are just starting to see the true face of capitalism which is not understood by most investors including fund managers. What we were taught in our business and economic schools have us believe that money and value are disconnected. As such, we can and should manipulate money without consequence. No ethical dilemmas and no need for environmental considerations as long as there is profit to be made. We have deluded ourselves into thinking there is a free lunch. The stock markets have turned into casinos rather than the capital markets they were created to be. Somewhere along the way, we got lost. Ironically, your average ecologist will have a better understanding of genuine economics than an economist - balance of systems, growth, populations, demographics, resources, rates of consumption, production.
For me, I am fundamentally disapproving of jobs with financial titles which do not entail real services. By real, I am referring to full disclosure of information related and unrelated, educating the clients on of the fundamentals of what they are interested in getting involved in, as well as managing wealth in an ethical manner without exploitation of others. Easier said than done. The system at hand is already corrupted, built on lies and illusions. Since no one wants to work for nothing, the system is driven by profit rather than the common good.
This is not to discern the necessity of these financial jobs. I admit wealth management is not a common skill. It is time consuming and heavily reliant on sharp judgement and experience. However, does it justify the ridiculous salaries and bonuses some of these so-called professionals are getting? At the end of the day, the so-called investments are good bets at best and these advisers we are relying on are not much better than us at predicting the market future.
Upon reflection, the biggest problem is a lack of understanding of the risks you are taking. Misinformed and misled perhaps but it would be irresponsible to put all the blame on these professionals since greed has blinded most people leading them to make less sound decisions. Education plays a big part of who we are and how we work. It is therefore important to recognize that the education we have been given are always flawed. Simply because there are so many unknowns and questions unanswered that all the education can do is prepare you for the society at large.
Pity that as people learn to survive in society, they learn to forgo whatever little moral standards they have left. Sad but true, morals and ethics have no value today. It is hard to imagine a society without any moral standards but purely legal oblilgations but clearly this is our future judging from the path we have chosen.
As age catches up with me, I have come to realize that experience is much more valuable than education and I lament how much time I have wasted in school. Of course you still need basic education to hone the skills for adaptation but life should always be about living rather than learning. Your life accomplishments should not be about what you have done and achieved but how you choose to live your life and how fulfilling it has been for you.
We still have a long way to go.
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