There’s a
very common saying that says, “You need to spend money to make money.” This
statement is incredibly true, but the truth runs deeper than most people think.
It is generally believed that this is a statement specifically about running a
business, but it holds true for far, far more than that.
For
businesses, the saying is true in the largest and most literal sense. In order
to have a location to do business, money is needed to pay for it. Before you
can sell something (thus, making money), you first need to buy it. Further to
that, a business needs to get noticed so people will actually know to come buy
from it – so it must spend money on marketing.
Yet, the
average person needs to spend money to make money as well. It isn’t as noticeable
because it’s so built in to our awareness that it just comes naturally. The
first, and most obvious, is feeding ourselves. If we don’t buy food, we don’t eat
and we become inefficient workers, losing our jobs. When seeking a job, we need
resumes (money), transportation (money), and, most likely, some technological
assistance (money). Then, when we get an interview, we are expected to look our
best – which costs money. And if you want a job that requires a higher level of
education? You guessed it: money.
At any walk
of life, you need money to make money, and it’s frustrating when people fail to
understand that. This week I saw an article about a government refusing to
provide homeless shelters because it was ‘enabling’ homeless people and not ‘motivating’
them. So, let’s pretend for a moment that it’s true that homeless people are
homeless because they ‘aren’t trying hard enough’. Let’s pretend that there are
no mental illnesses, no health problems, and no other factors contributing to
homelessness other than how hard they try to get a job.
So, how is
this fictional, perfectly healthy homeless person to get a job? They need you
job hunt – which takes money. They need to look presentable – which takes
money. They likely need a bank account, which takes money, not to mention an
address – which means a home and, once again, money. They may even need an
education, a.k.a. money.
It’s a
circular paradox we’ve built into our system. It works only because we are
introduced into the cycle – we have other people (usually parents or banks)
front the money so we can start making money, and we just continue on from
there. But what happens when we fall out of the cycle? What happens when you
run out of money and have no way of making more?
You fall on
the ground and get dragged along, barely able to survive until someone generous
comes along to pick you up. Someone who can give you enough money that
jump-starts you back into the cycle again.
Rather than
standing over a pit someone has fallen into, yelling at them about how useless
they are and telling them to climb out on their own, perhaps we should lower a
ladder for them. For a government, it’s really as simple as going back to that
saying: spend money to make money. If these people are really a ‘drain on the
system’, spend more money on them so they can become able to earn their own
money. Then you’re not paying for them anymore and they can start paying taxes
to you. You spent money to make money, and now they can do it too.
Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.
Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.
If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.
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