I want you to change my mind...
I have thought about this a lot. I have done research and I still cannot get to the place where I am seeing "the experts" point of view.
Gurus will tell you that money is everywhere, that it is in abundance. That there is plenty out there. They even say that everyone can have unlimited money and we all can have whatever we want. This is where I draw the line.
Making money means that others have to lose money. This is what the gurus don't say.
My point of view is that money is a zero sum game. If I earn money, it comes at the expense of someone else. I emphasize I am only talking about money here. I am not talking about value or changing the world, I am talking about my cash account versus someone else's cash account.
For example, if my employer pays me a salary they lost x amount of dollars and I gained x amount of dollars. If I go to KFC and buy some chicken then I have lost y amount of dollars and they have gained y amount of dollars.
If I am a life coach and I have a mastermind group others have to lose money for me to gain it. After I "transform" them, they can gain their money back and more, but only through other people losing money to give them money.
I have tried to see different scenarios where economists talk about this, but it is always about a gain in value or marginal utility value. For example, I buy a ticket from American Airlines. I lost $500 in flight fares, but they provided me the opportunity (value) travel to 8 other cities than I would have been able to without them and I gained a lot more money because of them. Essentially, my $500 gained me more value than I spent and thus "it is not a zero sum game".
But it doesn't work that way.
At least not in the way that I currently see it. In terms of money, and money alone, I lost $500 and American Airlines gained $500 when I bought plane tickets. Then I made one deal that netted me z amount of money where that person lost z amount of money, another deal where the person gave me t amount of money and lost t amount of money, and yet another where I gained s amount of money and someone else lost s amount of money.
This brings me to the conclusion that of course, money itself has to be zero sum game and that in order for one person, or group of people to be rich, others have to be a shade or many shades poorer.
It also leads me to wonder about very poor countries and the rich. Would the rich not be so without the poor?
I know that this isn't taught and has the potential to be very controversial. Again, I am not talking about giving value here. Purely, we are talking dollars. I really am open up to this idea being shattered, but I have tried and can't see anyway of disproving it.
I have thought about this a lot. I have done research and I still cannot get to the place where I am seeing "the experts" point of view.
Gurus will tell you that money is everywhere, that it is in abundance. That there is plenty out there. They even say that everyone can have unlimited money and we all can have whatever we want. This is where I draw the line.
Making money means that others have to lose money. This is what the gurus don't say.
My point of view is that money is a zero sum game. If I earn money, it comes at the expense of someone else. I emphasize I am only talking about money here. I am not talking about value or changing the world, I am talking about my cash account versus someone else's cash account.
For example, if my employer pays me a salary they lost x amount of dollars and I gained x amount of dollars. If I go to KFC and buy some chicken then I have lost y amount of dollars and they have gained y amount of dollars.
If I am a life coach and I have a mastermind group others have to lose money for me to gain it. After I "transform" them, they can gain their money back and more, but only through other people losing money to give them money.
I have tried to see different scenarios where economists talk about this, but it is always about a gain in value or marginal utility value. For example, I buy a ticket from American Airlines. I lost $500 in flight fares, but they provided me the opportunity (value) travel to 8 other cities than I would have been able to without them and I gained a lot more money because of them. Essentially, my $500 gained me more value than I spent and thus "it is not a zero sum game".
But it doesn't work that way.
At least not in the way that I currently see it. In terms of money, and money alone, I lost $500 and American Airlines gained $500 when I bought plane tickets. Then I made one deal that netted me z amount of money where that person lost z amount of money, another deal where the person gave me t amount of money and lost t amount of money, and yet another where I gained s amount of money and someone else lost s amount of money.
This brings me to the conclusion that of course, money itself has to be zero sum game and that in order for one person, or group of people to be rich, others have to be a shade or many shades poorer.
It also leads me to wonder about very poor countries and the rich. Would the rich not be so without the poor?
I know that this isn't taught and has the potential to be very controversial. Again, I am not talking about giving value here. Purely, we are talking dollars. I really am open up to this idea being shattered, but I have tried and can't see anyway of disproving it.
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