Over the last three decades, we have seen a degradation in societal values, government elitism, and lack of regard for parliamentary procedure and ethics. This behavior of control and power is filtering down to our education system and influencing our young people. The result is this is a tax and spend attitude to address the issues created by a lack of accountability, ethics, and morals.
Veterans day, served as a reminder that our current freedom and ability to make choices and vote, is made possible by those who sacrificed and those who continue to make a sacrifice for our freedom. Those who are making the sacrifice goes beyond the military and includes all first responders and front-line workers, as evident during the pandemic.
The biggest mistake we make as a society is referring to politicians as leaders, they are NOT leaders, they are elected to perform a set of duties as outlined in the election platform and to do the right things to keep the country and citizens safe, enable polices that will support and enable growth and prosperity and do no harm. Let us make the transition and not refer to politicians as leaders, they are enablers of policy and regulations based on the input and desire of the voting public.
Making this shift will serve three purposes, first, it will remind them they are being paid with citizens tax dollar to do a job, secondly, the attitude of entitlement and privilege does not fit in public office and third, it will help bring accountability, reform, and ethics back into the public office.
This will have a trickle-down effect and hopefully will transform our education systems which are total of our control today.
In economics, resources are referred to as factors of production and each factor of production has a unique type of payment associated with it, called factor payments.
1. Labor. The workers. The factor payment for labor is wages
2. Land. Includes land that is rented or purchased, as well as other components like natural resources and raw materials. The factor payment for land is rent or lease payment.
3. Capital. This is the money used to acquire assets, buy the tools that labor implements to convert natural resources from the land into goods. The factor payment for capital is interest.
4. Entrepreneurs. These are the people who put resources together to create a successful business. The factor payment for entrepreneurs is profit.
Factors not in the Flow that influence the outcomes and at times disrupts the flow
Economics deals with the simplistic supply and demand flow and economic vacuum; the system does not take into account other key and influential factors of the system.
1. Government sector. Government is an important factor since it both injects money into the flow and also takes money out of it (called “leakage”).
2. Government spending. The government injects money into the economy by buying things from both the product market (like garbage trucks or other carriers) and the resource market (like bureaucrats or fuel). Payments the government makes to both the resource market and the product market are called government spending.
3. Taxes (sales, income, property, and others). In addition to spending and distributing money, the government is also a cause of leakage that is, the removal of money from the system through taxes. Governments tax households and businesses in the form of income tax, sales tax, property tax, and other types of taxes. This leakage enables the government to inject money into the economy in other ways and places. We must note that the money government injects into the systems, is money that the system generates, not “Government Money”.
4. Financial institutions (banks). Financial institutions also contribute to leakage through household and business savings. These are monies that would have otherwise flowed into the economy but have been removed semi-permanently. In turn, the financial sector injects money into the economy through investment and loans, which can help both the household sector (e.g., mortgage loans) and the business sector.
5. Foreign sector (imports and exports). Instead of money, the foreign sector typically injects goods into the flow in the form of imports and leaks goods in the form of exports.
The economy and business systems
An economy with the household sector and the business sector on each end, and product and resource markets in between are the simplest version of the system. However, it does not provide a complete picture of the economy. Once the government, financial institutions, and the foreign sector are incorporated into this model, we get a more entire and accurate model of the economic system and it also exposes the points of deflection, corruption, deception, and opportunities for government to operate in a “black box” of sorts, it is where ethics and trusts of our elected officials begin to come apart.
The value of purpose
Everyone in Government and Business, from politicians, bureaucrat’s business owners, and support staff must remember who their clients are, the purpose and value they bring, the services they are accountable for, and the experiences they must enable to those they interact with on a daily basis.
Regardless of what new and innovative process, technology, or methodology is developed, nothing will succeed if people do not adopt and use it as intended, and continue to develop and modernize it for relevance and value.
The missing ingredients in the operational accountability framework, production, regulations, delivery of goods and services in our economic system is the ability of our elected officials, business executives, financial audit companies to reflect, remember, and respect everyone at every level around us, as we are, all participants and contributors to the whole system.
Without all the participants the systems will not exist, therefore let us return to what matters and common to all, take the time to reflect, remember what got us to where we are, and respect those that contribute, support, enable and consume!
Stay up to date by subscribing to our newsletter and publications. www.resultantgroup.com
Stay tuned for the launch of our online learning academy coming January 2021.
Dave Gajadhar is an Advisor, Speaker, Educator, and an Advocate for Human prosperity and resource optimization at Resultant Group (Edmonton, AB), business modernization, resource optimization, and transition advisors.
Phone: (780) 483-4800
e-mail Dgajadhar@ResultantGroup.com or contact through
Twitter: @dgajadar.
Resultant Group helps companies to identify what matters to each of your stakeholders, participants, and clients across your value chain. This enables your organization to optimize resources, monetize excess material, and enable your sustainability reporting to convey the business’ unique story reflecting how your business is genuinely managed in a shared and circular economy.
Join us at one of our regional workshops. Check out our schedule online at Resultantgroup.com Visit @ResultantGroup to learn more about advisory master classes.