I write about how we might use the complex world of finance to do good in the world. Amanda. |
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What do you think would happen if all the wealth managers in the world go on strike?
"Not much."What happens if all the baristas go on strike?
"I'm pretty sure that the spiritual health of this city would collapse." Rutger Bregman, historian and author of the book Moral Ambition stops bankers on the street in the city of London to ask them if their job makes a meaningful social contribution to the welfare of us all (and whether it makes them happy). Snippets:
We're in the middle of the financial district. Today, a lot of talent goes to, you know, consultancy and corporate law and finance. Do you think that's the best allocation of talent? "It's their choice basically, you know. I would love for everybody to find a cure for cancer or to do other things, but you and I know that we live in this world. It's reality. Treading water these days is a little bit more expensive than it used to be and so you don't quite necessarily have the space to explore those, you know, slightly more romantic jobs or something that's a little bit more powerful or positive in the world. So, a lot of people just do what they need to do to get by, especially if you live somewhere like London. I mean, good luck getting a mortgage - you kind of have to sacrifice some of those ideals to get there." — What do you do for a living? "I'm a head hunter for Lloyd's market. So insurance brokers, wealth management, look after people's money, giving them financial advice." Was that something you dreamed about as a little girl? "Of course not. Not at all. Absolutely not." Does it make you happy? "You know what? It does actually. I like talking to people. That's my day-to-day thing. I enjoy getting to know people on a bit more of a personal level rather than being very transactional and superficial. We work on a trusted relationship with our clients." — What would happen if finance professionals like you go on strike? "Not much. No, I don't think it would make too much difference at all. Maybe our clients would try and do it themselves, not be quite as successful."* — I assume you work with very very wealthy people, right? "I work with people. Yeah. Most of my clients have a million pound or more with me. So I look after about 170 clients, but they're my friends. They trust me. I say to my client, if you were a client of mine, if you were a client of mine, I'd say to you, look, I wouldn't do anything for you that I wouldn't do myself. And they kind of, you know, understand that." —
"People generally don't know how to look after their money properly."*
— So, allow me to be a little bit naive here, maybe, but wouldn't it be wonderful if we would live in a world where quite talented people like you would be working on some of the most pressing issues that we face as humanity? "Yeah. Have you got any of those jobs going?" Would you be willing to accept a pay cut to an extent? "Yeah. Like, it's not all about the money, of course not. Um, but it is important. It depends quite what you mean, quite what the role is, quite what the pay cut looks like, but yeah, absolutely." — So, what do you do for a living? Uh, I'm a barista. Yes. What happens if all the baristas go on strike? Um, I'm pretty sure the uh spiritual health of this city would collapse. Yeah. I mean, let's see. You can see it when it's people's favorite bit of their day when they come in, you know, to get uh coffee and stuff. It's one of those essential jobs, isn't it? Absolutely. It's the only thing keeping anyone I serve going into their office, as far as I can tell. "The irony that the barista is the one to recognise Rutger." - comment by @dawnl6745 with 1.1k likes. "The barista was great. Going for a coffee and escaping my job is the best part of my day." - comment by @clairesquared — Rutger’s book Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference.
*Maybe they could with tools such as VIP Trading Indicators. Get straightforward signals for when to enter a trade, when to exit, and when to take profit - set it up within one minute.
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Wealth & Freedom How can we work and earn money as decision-makers and drivers of value? How can we significantly increase our income while experiencing severe constraints such as physical health challenges, social and economic exclusion, and systemic predation?
Kian Xie and Megan Elizabeth Morris have created a "radio" style chat Wealth & Freedom to invite community engagement on these questions and more. Discuss how to create wealth that nourishes freedom for ourselves, those we love, and our global community on Telegram, free.
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What is economic growth for?IWe lived through a range of emotions during lockdowns: public and private grief at the scale of loss; reactions to restrictions imposed, withdrawn, and re-imposed; and the pressure of sustaining basic public services. But there was also a sense of hopeful possibility, notes Rowan Williams (former Archbishop of Canterbury) in The Guardian: "Clearer skies, silent roads; time; a sense of what mattered and who mattered, to us as individuals and to the whole of society." Rowan Williams has been working with the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (Cusp), led by Prof Tim Jackson at the University of Surrey in a series of public conversations with diverse social and economic groups. Those involved in the conversations are convinced that stable, successful, confident and positive societies are not produced by the pursuit of growth for its own sake, but by clarity and purpose about what growth is supposed to serve. Being “anti-growth” is high on the new catalogue of deadly sins. We are constantly being fed a narrative in which growth is something that needs no explanation or justification. "Our capacity for not learning from crises is well developed (as it proved to be after the financial meltdown of 2008). After these five years, we are back where we were, our fingers firmly in our ears about the nature of international crises, medical or environmental." Before we settle down with our new government’s rhetoric about growth as the priority (that trumps every other social or environmental goal) it is imperative that we ask what we mean - what is it we want to "grow"? We want opportunities for secure work and fulfilling leisure for ourselves and our children – dependable public services and affordable housing. We want – a fundamental matter, surely – resilience, a durable, trustworthy environment rather than a state of fevered anxiety. So far, we have heard dismayingly little about how we are to develop towards a genuinely resilient society – resilient in the sense of being able to cope with unprecedented challenge without losing our commitment to one another’s wellbeing and safety. “Growing” an economy should mean growing the capacity to sustain all this. But isolate growth from public good (let alone environmental security), and you are simply planning for breakdown: individual psychological collapse in varying degrees of seriousness and collective implosion as limited resources run out, competition becomes more violent and inequalities of power are intensified. When we hear politicians appealing to the imperative of growth, we should be asking insistently what the word means, what we are supposed to be growing into or towards. Doughnut Economics recognises that human behaviour can be nurtured to be cooperative and caring, just as it can be competitive and individualistic. The starting point of Doughnut Economics is to change the goal from endless GDP growth to thriving. At the same time, see the big picture by recognising that the economy is embedded within, and dependent upon, society and the living world. There is growing evidence, set out in detail in the essays in Act Now, that policies capable of creating resilient wellbeing without assuming an endless spiral of simple economic expansion – such as universal access to essential goods and services, reducing working hours, and introducing carbon and wealth taxes – are not utopian fantasies. "The most likely way of changing the government’s single-minded focus on GDP, and instead focus on Rowan Williams’ wishlist of cleaner skies, dependable public services and affordable housing – leading to a sense of belonging, dignity and stability – would be a recession," says Daniel Scharf. "Only if GDP were to fall for a number of accounting periods would the government be persuaded to move the goalposts. If the new goals were those more closely related to individual, societal and environmental wellbeing, then economic recession could be regarded as a good thing." |
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"The measure of a life is not in its duration but in its donation." Peter Marshall, game show, television and radio personality. |
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Michael Sheen secretly writes off a million pounds of people's debt.Hollywood actor Michael Sheen's Channel 4 documentary Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway shed light on debt spirals and debt-buying practices, and explains how he wrote off £1 million of people's debt using £100,000 of his own money. Over two years, this documentary shows him working towards buying up the debt, which he plans to write off immediately, pulling off what he calls a “heist”. "When I realised that I could do this, that I could get £1 million worth of people's debt and just write it off, it seemed like a good thing to do." The documentary highlights the debt problem. Sheen digs into loan sharks and unofficial lenders, uncovering stories of violence and intimidation, of missed payments leading to interest doubling and doubling again. He hears about one man who borrowed £500 and ended up repaying £5,500. Sheen focuses on his home town, Port Talbot, and meets ordinary working people who are struggling to get by. Ceri, the manager of a community centre and boxing gym, explains how debt can spiral. She describes getting through her savings, turning to food banks and credit cards, then being stuck with high-interest repayments, thus exacerbating the problem. The documentary compares the breathtaking profits made by banks and other financial institutions - some of that profit is built upon the suffering of over 2 million low-income families in the UK struggling with high-interest credit loans. He asks banks and financial bodies why they refuse to provide more affordable loans, given the obscene profits they make. No representative will speak to him, perhaps sensibly, given that it’s hard to justify the unjustifiable. Sheen’s documentary provides a decent, moving and clear explanation of the injustice. "This 'Robin Hood heist' is a total inspiration", says The Guardian. "You can’t help but root for him." HOW DID HE DO IT? "People's debt gets sort of put into bundles, and then debt-buying companies can buy those bundles, and then they can sell it on to another debt-buying company at a lower price, so even though the amount that people owe is still the same, people who own the debt can sell it for less and less money." With the assistance of his man on the inside, Sheen secretly sets up a debt‑collecting company and applies for the necessary licence and paperwork. The secrecy is necessary, because debt collectors are “reluctant to have that corner illuminated”. His company purchases £1m worth of debt that had come down in value. The debt included credit cards and overdrafts: "The shocking thing is that people have started having to use credit cards, overdrafts to pay for basics, to pay for necessities, rather than luxuries or anything like that, so the debt that I was able to buy included credit card debt, overdrafts, car finance, that kind of stuff," he said. "Once you're underwater it's very hard to get out again… That's why I wanted to do this, to draw attention to the fact that this is going on, and there is a way to change it, there are alternatives, and we need to push to try and make a difference for people." Sheen confirmed he helped 900 people with their debts across south Wales. Sheen did not know the identity of people's debts he paid off, just the type of debt. He added: "I would never know who they are - I still don't know who they are." Fans spotted posts in local community Facebook groups from Full Fat TV: ‘Actor Michael Sheen has been campaigning for a fairer credit system for years and in an extraordinary gesture, he has used his own money to write off personal debts for hundreds of people in South Wales. If you have received a letter from a company called Ten Acquisitions the good news is that Michael has paid off some of your debt and he’d love to hear from you. The details of how to get in touch with him are in the letter.’ Sheen urges people to check their accounts, as they might not realise their debts have been paid off. In October 2024, Sheen called for a Fair Banking Act in Parliamnent to tackle the credit crisis affecting people and businesses: “Anyone can find themselves in a place where they need credit to make ends meet or to get through a difficult time. The lack of affordable credit for people on lower incomes is harming individuals and families, but also businesses and communities… We need something to change now. The Fair Banking Act could be the thing which really makes the difference.” Watch Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway on Channel 4.
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