The Rich Are Not Interested In Creating Jobs

Subject to edits/revision:

The rich are NOT interested in creating jobs, they're interested in making money.

The rich make money in two ways:
1. Raise prices.
2. Cut costs (labour is a big part of costs, so are taxes).

In the United States of America (USA), rich land owners used African slaves (free labour) to make money. Then came emancipation (the end of slavery). Costs went up and profits went down.

The rich then exploited workers, offering poor wages, few benefits and deplorable working conditions. Then came unions. Costs went up and profits went down.

The rich then moved production overseas to exploit cheap labour there, offering poor wages, few benefits and deplorable working conditions. The American worker at home was left without a job.

The rich aren't interested in creating jobs, they're interested in making money.

The Hypocrisy Of The American Dream

Updated Jul 25, 2015.

The American dream [1] promises opportunities for success for anyone willing to work hard for it. It's rooted in the 1776 Declaration of Independence, which states, "... all men are created equal ..." Equal to do what? Equal to engage in aggressive competition where people seek to be greater than others? This isn't equality, it's hypocrisy.

How can you on the one hand say "all men are created equal", yet on the other hand expect them to engage in aggressive competition where everyone is seeking to be better than others, thereby creating inequality?

Here are my notes:

1. Societies Built On Selfishness:
• Today, we're all immersed in selfishness, seeking to benefit ourselves with no regard for others. The European societies of old were also built on the quality of selfishness. 
• Emigrants left Europe for America fleeing poverty, oppression and the injustices of aristocratic governments that sought to benefit themselves at the expense of everyone else. Money, power and authority was consolidated in the hands of a few.
• New American immigrants set out to create a country where "all men are created equal". However, the people didn't change, meaning their selfish nature didn't change, so the USA was also built on the quality of selfishness, where everyone was (and still is) seeking to benefit themselves at the expense of everyone else. The result? Poverty, oppression, and the injustices of the division of wealth (the huge gap between the rich and poor). Money, power and influence is consolidated in the hands of a few - those with the ability to best acquire it. Have the Americans created the country they originally set out to create? No. The USA is identical to the Europe that early immigrants originally fled.
• Every time mankind has tried to be better than others, to dominate others, to control others, to subjugate others etc., it's failed. Why? Because such systems don't work. The discrepancies created by such systems leads to tension and conflict, which ultimately results in its demise.
• The only solution is connection. We have to change from selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) to bestowal (seeking to benefit others and Nature).
2. Aggressive Competition & The Aristocratic Mentality:
• Aggressive competition creates an aristocratic mentality. People who engage in aggressive competition seek to be better than others, to be greater than others, to be more important than others, to be richer than others etc. This is the same aristocratic mentality that existed in Europe, that early emigrants originally fled. 
• The USA is built on aggressive competition:
• In business, people are expected to engage in aggressive competition in order to be greater than others. This isn't equality. How can you be equal to others when you're trying to be better than them?
• It brings out a type of business aristocracy - the aristocratic rich and everyone else.
• Are "all men created equal"? No, not when everyone is trying to be better than others. Not when there's a huge gap between the rich and the poor.
• In sports (baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer, tennis etc.), athletes are expected to engage in aggressive competition in order to be greater than others. This isn't equality. How can you be equal to others when you're trying to be better than them?
• It brings out a type of sports aristocracy - the aristocratic winner and everyone else.
• Are "all men created equal"? No, not when everyone is trying to be better than others. Not when there's one winner and a whole bunch of losers.
• In foreign affairs, Americans engage in aggressive competition with other nations in order to be greater than them. This isn't equality. How can you be equal to others when you're trying to be better than them?
• It brings out a type of country aristocracy - the aristocratic Americans and everyone else.
• Are "all men created equal"? No, not when the USA thinks it's better than everyone else.
• Some people justify aggressive competition as a motivator that brings out the best in us. It doesn't, it only brings out our most egoistic side. Also:
• When people seek to benefit themselves, their potential is limited because they're only thinking about themselves; however, when people seek to benefit others/Nature, their potential is unlimited because they're thinking of others and all of Nature.
• Love is an even greater motivator. A mother, who is motivated by love, will do anything for her children, to ensure they're well taken care of. Even when she's sick, she still performs her motherly duties.
• Cooperation and collaboration is better than aggressive competition. Nature is an integral system that's interconnected and interdependent. Nature is pushing us to connect and we must do so through mutual cooperation and collaboration.
3. Equality:
• "All men are created equal" in that we all have the same basic needs, including food, water, clothing, shelter etc.
• We need to simply our lives and focus only on meeting our basic needs. We need to ensure that the basic needs of everyone on earth are met.
• All men are not created equal in terms of our abilities and talents. Different people have different talents, strengths, abilities, ambition, etc. We're different and we have different roles to play in society. In the USA (and around the world), those with the greatest talents, skills, abilities, ambition, connections, prestigious family heritage etc., are the ones most likely to succeed. This isn't equality, it's people taking advantage of their God-given potential, attributes and station in life to benefit themselves at the expense of others.
• We all have different God-given potential. If John's God-given potential output is 100 and Peter's God-given potential output is 10, it would be extremely unfair to expect John to aggressively compete against Peter because John would win every time. In his frustration, Peter may resort to undesirable practices to compete with John. However, if both John and Peter used their God-given potential to benefit others/Nature, they'd be equal because they'd both be working at their full potential, John at 100 and Peter at 10. Even though John's output (of 100) is greater than Peter's output (of 10), it doesn't mean John is working any harder, it comes to him naturally because it's his God-given potential. Since they're both working at their full potential, they're both equal, even though they're different, and they have different roles to play. With love as a motivator, John would use his full potential to benefit others/Nature and Peter would use his full potential to benefit others/Nature.
• Equality means one thing in selfishness and it means something else in bestowal:
• In selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves), the phrase, "all men are created equal" means all men have the equal opportunity to engage in aggressive competition, to selfishly seek to benefit themselves (even at the expense of others), to use their God-given potential and attributes to benefit themselves (for their own selfish profit and gain), to try and be better than others etc. The result is inequality.
• In bestowal (seeking to benefit others and Nature), the phrase, "all men are created equal" means all men have the equal opportunity to do good to others, to benefit others/Nature in a positive and constructive way, to use their God-given potential and attributes to benefit others/Nature etc. The result is TRUE equality, with everyone using his/her potential to benefit others/Nature.
• We have to change from selfishness to bestowal.

The American dream, where "all men are created equal", is hypocritical because the American society is rooted in selfishness, driven by aggressive competition where people are seeking to exploit others for their own personal profit and gain. The result is inequality - poverty, oppression, winners and losers, and a huge gap between the rich and the poor.

The only way the USA can realize its dream, where "all men are created equal", is if people change from selfishness to bestowal and seek to benefit others/Nature instead of themselves. This will result in TRUE equality.

The USA has a big influence on the entire world. If positive and constructive change comes to the USA, the entire world will be positively affected. It's not just the USA that has to change, the entire world has to change from selfishness to bestowal, from aggressive competition to cooperation and collaboration.

It's time to leave the old, archaic, aristocratic mentality behind, the mentality of engaging in aggressive competition and trying to be better than others. It's time to unite in mutual bestowal, in a mentality of benevolence, cooperation, collaboration, compassion and empathy, where everyone is seeking to benefit others/Nature instead of themselves. If we all did this, we'd all be truly equal.

We're different and we have different roles to play, but we're all one family. In everything we do, we should use our God-given potential to seek to benefit others/Nature instead of ourselves.

___________

References:

1. American Dream. www.en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved Jul 13, 2015.
2. Declaration Of Independence. www.archives.gov. Retrieved Jul 13, 2015.

Copyright © 2015, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

God Doesn't Use Good Looks To Convey His Message

Companies often use good looks and sex appeal to sell their products. God doesn't use good looks or sex appeal to convey his message. Here are some notes:

1. How Companies Sell Their Products:
• Companies often use good looking people and sex appeal to sell their products. Many advertising campaigns feature a beautiful woman and/or a handsome man to sell their products, even though the good looking person has nothing to do with the product being sold. For example, you might see a beautiful woman responding orgasmically to a piece of chocolate she's just eaten.
• This does two things:
• It makes people believe that if they buy the product, they'll be just as good looking and sexually desirable as the person in the ad, and
• It makes people believe that the product is 'good looking' and 'sexually desirable', and if they buy the product it will fulfill them in more ways than it actually will. The product is offered as a sexually fulfilling relationship. Who needs anything else, when you have the product, right? All lies. People buy the product, it doesn't fulfill them as they expected and they're left feeling even more empty than before.
2. How God Conveys His Message:
• God doesn't use good looks or sex appeal to convey his message:
• Of God's servant it is written, "... his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness ..." (Isaiah 52:14, NIV)
• It is also written, "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem." (Isaiah 53:2-3, NIV)
• God's message stands on its own, without the focus being on the person delivering the message. It's not about the person delivering the message, it's about the message itself.
3. A Mother's Love For Her Children:
• A mother's love for her children or a father's love for his children has nothing to do with the parent's good looks or the children's good looks. Looks has nothing to do with how much a parent loves their children. Love is love and looks has nothing to do with it.

Companies often use aggressive advertising campaigns to brainwash us to believe that their products are more desirable than they actually are because they use good looking people and sex appeal to sell their products. By contrast, God doesn't use good looks or sex appeal to convey his message because God's message stands alone.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

Copyright © 2015, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

Mixed Messages In Society About How To Make Money

Society sends mixed messages about how it's okay and not okay to make money, even though they're all selfish:

1. What's Okay:
• It's okay to sell overpriced products to make as much money as possible.
• It's okay to lower product quality to reduce costs to make as much money as possible.
• It's okay to engage in aggressive and manipulative marketing practices to make as much money as possible.
• Justification: It's legal, it's called competition, capitalism, business, strategy, trade, commerce etc.
• Consequences: You're a winner, a star, a hero etc.
• The Truth: It's harmful selfishness cloaked in excuses.
2. What's Not Okay:
• It's not okay to steal money from others.
• Justification: It's illegal, it's called theft, punishable by the law.
• Consequences: Jail.
• The Truth: It's harmful selfishness that's transparent.

We have to change from selfishness to bestowal. Instead of seeking to benefit ourselves, we should seek to benefit others and all of Nature.

Copyright © 2015, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

It's Time For Businesses To Take Responsibility

Edited Feb 20, 2015

Today, businesses are focused solely on making money. In their quest to achieve their selfish goals, they harm their employees, customers and all of Nature. This kind of behaviour has to stop.

We have to change from selfishness (for me) to bestowal (for others). Instead of seeking to benefit ourselves, we should seek to benefit others and all of Nature.

Businesses have to start taking responsibility for how their products affect people, animals, society and all of Nature. 

One of the ways to achieve this (and in the spirit of transparency), is to disclose how their products are made through clear and obvious labeling. Here are some suggestions, perhaps you have your own ideas:

1. Food:
• GMOs:
• All genetically modified foods (GMOs) should end immediately.
• Where they temporarily persist, GMOs (and products with GMO ingredients) should be labeled.
• GMO Free:
• All food that isn't GMO (and products that don't have GMO ingredients) could also be labeled, e.g. GMO FREE.
• Nutrition Scale:
• All food/products ingested by people and animals should have a label with a nutrition scale. For example:
• 1 - for low (or no) nutritional value
• 10 - for the highest nutritional value
• All items could be subjected to this scale, not only food, but also things like cigarettes, alcohol etc. Special labels could be used for products that are known to cause harm to others. 
2. Treatment:
• Products should be labeled to let consumers know how employees, suppliers etc., are treated. For example:
• Ethical Treatment of Animals (ETOA)
• Ethical Treatment of Farmers (ETOF)
• Ethical Treatment of Suppliers (ETOS)
• Ethical Treatment of Employees (ETOE)
3. Environment:
• Products should be labeled to show the impact the product has had on the environment. For example:
• Environmentally Friendly Product (EFP) could mean that no herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, growth hormones, fertilizers, toxins etc., were used. Or that no harm was caused to the air, land, waters and Nature as a whole.
4. Recycling:
• Businesses should be more actively involved in recycling their own products. Having a recycling logo on a product isn't enough.
• Businesses could include clear recycling instructions, even mailing instructions if need be.
• Businesses could also offer money, credit or other incentives for used products that are returned, which could include items such as electronics, to burger wrappers, to coffee cups, to gum wrappers etc.
• Whenever I see fast food wrappers, gum wrappers, cups, bottles with logos etc., littered on the ground, I always think - why aren't the companies doing more to make sure that doesn't happen. It's negative advertising for companies when their wrappers / products / containers (with their logos) are strewn as litter.
5. Benevolent Score: 
• Just as FICO [1] scores are used to measure consumer credit risk, benevolent scores could be used to measure business benevolence - the positive impact businesses have on people, animals and all of Nature.
• Businesses that harm people, animals and all of Nature, receive a low benevolent score.
• Businesses that benefit people, animals and all of Nature, receive a high benevolent score.

It's time for businesses to take responsibility for their actions, specifically how their products affect people, animals and all of Nature. It's no longer about making money, because that system is antiquated and unsustainable.

Round tables need to be established to discuss these issues and find solutions that benefit people, animals and all of Nature.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

_______
References:

1. FICO. www.en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved Feb 19, 2015.

Copyright © 2015, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

Stealing From Others, Society And Nature

Edited: Feb 12, 2015

We're all born with specific talents, skills, abilities, traits, attributes etc., which are meant to be used to benefit others and all of Nature.

When we don't use our talents, skills, abilities, traits, attributes etc., to benefit others and Nature, but instead, to benefit ourselves, we exploit others and Nature in two ways:

1. Stealing:
• First, we steal from others and all of Nature because our talents, skills, abilities, traits, attributes etc., are a resource, and all resources in the world belong to everyone equally and are meant to be shared. Meaning, our talents, skills, abilities, traits, attributes etc., don't belong to us, they belong to others and all of Nature.  (This is one of the ways we're interconnected and interdependent.) When we use them selfishly, to benefit ourselves, we deprive others and Nature of the benefit they would have otherwise gotten, had we used them benevolently. We steal, by not contributing benevolently to society and Nature.
2. Selling Stolen Property:
• Not only that, to add insult to injury, we sell our talents, skills, abilities, traits, attributes etc., to others for a fee. Basically, we ask them to buy their own stolen property. (Like a thief who steals your own property, then asks you to buy it back.) Extremely unfair.

We have to change the way we interact with others and all of Nature. Instead of using our talents, skills, abilities, traits, attributes etc., for our own selfish purposes, profit and gain, we should use them to benefit others and all of Nature.

This doesn't mean that we impose our benevolence on others, not at all. We shouldn't force our good deeds on others. Rather, we should receive permission before we engage in acts of bestowal, or know that our benevolence will be well received.

We have to give ourselves to others and Nature.
We have to share ourselves with others and Nature.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others and all of Nature.

Copyright © 2015, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

Stealing From Nature To Make Money

The resources of the earth belong to everyone equally.

When individuals, families, groups, businesses, organizations and/or countries take resources from Nature and sell them as their own (for their own personal profit and gain), they exploit others in two ways:

1. Stealing:
• First, they steal from others because the resources of the world belong to everyone equally. Even though people spend time, energy, effort and money to get the resources, doesn't mean the resources belong to them. They appropriate the resources and claim them as their own, even though the resources are not theirs to take.
• Just because the resources are in a specific country, doesn't mean they belong to that country. The world doesn't have geographic boundaries, we created them.
• Imagine that the world is a house, with different rooms that serve different purposes, a kitchen, a bathroom, bedrooms etc. Through no action of our own (call it divine providence), we find ourselves living in one of the rooms. Instead of cooperating with others in the house, we charged a fee for them to use our room - a fee for the kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms etc. It's inefficient and absurd.
• The resources of the world belong to everyone equally, and even though different places of the world have different resources, doesn't mean those resources belong to those places. All the resources belong to everyone equally. 
2. Selling Stolen Property:
• After the resources have been wrongfully appropriated, they're sold to others for money. Basically, people are forced to buy their own stolen property. (Like a thief who comes into your home, steals your property, then asks you to buy it back. Or more specifically, like a family member who takes family property, then asks other family members to buy it back.) Extremely unfair.

All resources of the earth belong to everyone equally, which means:

1. We need permission from the whole world to use the resources of the earth, and
2. They resources of the earth must be used to benefit the whole world.

We have to change the way we interact with each other. Instead of pursuing selfish individual business ventures, we should realize that we're all one family living in one house. We should establish a global, cooperative and collaborative living arrangement, where family decisions are made to benefit others and all of Nature.

We have to change our internal qualities from personal selfishness (for me) to bestowal (for others). Instead of seeking to benefit ourselves, we should seek to benefit others and all of Nature.

Copyright © 2015, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

The Unfair Healthcare Industry Of The World

Edited Nov 15, 2014.

The global healthcare industry is estimated to be USD $6.5 trillion in 2014. [1] 

Healthcare is driven by money, not by patient well-being, which makes it extremely unfair in many ways:

1. Cost:
• In most countries, we have to pay for our healthcare, which means the rich have better access to healthcare than the poor.
• Sometimes people can't afford to see a doctor and sometimes they can't afford the medication. Pharmaceutical companies are notorious for overcharging for medication.
• About 1/3 of the world's population (about 2 billion people) don't have access to essential medicines. [2]
• Doctors are one of the highest paid professionals in the world, yet they don't guarantee that we'll be healed. In many cases we're healed, in others we're not, so we pay for treatments that don't work, like paying for a TV that doesn't work. The difference is that when we see a doctor, we can't get our money back. Should doctors be paid only after patients are healed? Or be paid a certain amount up front and then the rest after the patient is healed?
2. Lack Of Incentive To Heal:
• With money as a motivator, doctors, pharmaceutical companies and the entire healthcare industry have little incentive to heal people quickly and permanently because sick people generate money. For example, doctors may request unnecessary repeat visits in order to make more money.
3. Not Enough Doctors:
• There aren't enough doctors to go around, especially in rural communities, which means some people don't have a family doctor. Doctors are drawn to more lucrative markets, such as big cities where they're paid more and where they see a wider variety of cases.
• Sometimes, doctors who work long hours are tired, they may see patients quickly or aren't as thorough as they should be. As a result, the quality of patient care is less than optimal.
4. Long Waits:
• Family doctors tend to overbook their daily schedules to ensure they see enough patients to meet their monetary requirements, which means they're often running late. At the doctor's office, it's not uncommon to wait for over an hour past a scheduled appointment. Somehow the doctor's time is more important than the patient's time.
• If a person doesn't have a family doctor they have to go to emergency, where the waits can be hours long. Sometimes the waits are intentionally long to dissuade people from showing up at emergency with a cold. Emergency is for emergencies; however, without a family doctor, many patients have no choice. Again, the patient's time is disregarded.
5. Aggressive Marketing:
• Pharmaceutical companies are constantly advertising their medications on TV, in magazines, the internet etc. There appears to be a pill for almost everything. We're given the impression that medication will solve all our problems, but it doesn't. Sometimes the medication works, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes we suffer side-effects and/or become addicts.
• Pharmaceutical companies also seek to establish business relationships with doctors so doctors can prescribe their medications over that of their competitors. 
6. Mismanagement And Corruption:
• In some places of the world, mismanagement and corruption in the healthcare sector means money isn't spent as it should be. It's siphoned off into various pockets before it gets to its intended destination. As a result, patients suffer and even die.
• Due to mismanagement, lack of planning and/or foresight, which results in limited budgets, staff and/or space:
• Patients Aren't Admitted: Sometimes hospitals are full and there aren't enough beds. As a result, patients may not be admitted because there's no room. 
• Patient's Are Sent Home Prematurely: Some patients may be sent home prematurely in order to make room for other patients. As a result, they receive less than optimal care.
• No Dignity For Patients: Due to limited space, sometimes patients end up on the hospital floor or on beds in corridors. This affects their dignity and  their ability to recover quickly.
• Cramped Rooms / Dormitories: Patients often have to share space with other patients, which affects their ability to sleep (which is vital for their rest and recovery) and increases their likelihood of catching a contagious disease.
• Institutional Food: Hospital food can be on the lower end of the nutritious spectrum, which affects patients ability to recover quickly, since proper diet and nutrition is a big part of our health and well-being.
• Lack Of Medical Equipment And Supplies: Without the proper medical equipment and supplies, medical personnel can't do their jobs properly.

We have to change from personal selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) to mutual bestowal (seeking to benefit others).

Healthcare has to stop being a business. It has to become a benevolent service offered freely, openly and at the highest standard of quality to everyone in the world. We should be able to travel anywhere in the world without having to worry about health insurance or access to medical services.

Round tables need to be established to find a fair and equitable system that provides benevolent healthcare to everyone on earth.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
_________
References:

1. Introduction To The Healthcare Industry. www.plunkettresearch.com. Retrieved Nov 3, 2014.
2. The World's Medicines Situation 2011: Access To Essential Medicines As Part of The Right To Health. World Health Organization. Retrieved Nov 3, 2014.

Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

The Unfair Judicial Systems Of The World

Edited Nov 13, 2014.

When human beings judge other human beings, it's often unfair, arbitrary, and based on personality and likeability. Here are the issues:

1. The Defendant:
• The race, gender, personality, likeability, looks, dress, demeanor, reputation, position in society, connections, wealth and celebrity of a defendant often determine the outcome of their trial.
• Under duress, some defendants may confess to crimes they haven't committed. 
2. The Facts/The Truth:
• Often, we don't have all the facts, we don't know The Truth. So we speculate and come up with likely scenarios, looking for motive and intent.
3. Witnesses:
• Sometimes witnesses are truthful, sometimes they're not, they lie. They may have a vested interest in the outcome, a personal vendetta, seeking vengeance, or some other nefarious reasons.
• Sometimes witnesses are coerced, bribed, or they may feel pressured to give one testimony over another.
4. Lawyers:
• Careers: Lawyers are often more interested in their own personal careers (and professional reputations) than with The Truth. It's all about the number of wins and losses.
• The Art Of Persuasion: Successful lawyers are often the most successful manipulators. They have the ability to persuade, to influence, to use language (and body language) to extract a preferred response, and to use their personality to be liked by the judge, jury and greater community.
• Personal Prejudices: Lawyers often have personal prejudices, which affects the cases they choose, and the side they choose to argue for or against.
• Money: The best lawyers are often the most expensive, which means the rich have a better chance of staying out of prison than the poor. Meaning, the rich are held to a different standard of the law than the poor.
5. Judges:
• Judges also have personal prejudices, and also focus on their own careers and reputations.
• Not all judges are the same, they have different personalities. Some are known to be more harsh (or more lenient) than others. Why should judgement be based on a judge's personality? One judge may give you two years, while another judge may give you five. It's arbitrary, based on personality and/or prejudice, which is unfair.
• In some places of the world, judgement is based on faulty interpretations of Scripture, such as The Quran.
6. Juries:
• In some places of the world, juries decide the outcome of a trial. The jury selection process becomes an art in and of itself, because the types of people on a jury determines the outcome. If you have one group of people on a jury, you may get one outcome; whereas if you have another group of people on the jury, you may get another outcome.
7. Punishments:
• The punishments handed out to defendants don't often transform them. If anything, they may become resentful and bitter because of the way they've been (mis)treated. If they go to jail, they may meet more criminals who then teach them new things, which is far from genuine rehabilitation.
• Defendants are sometimes punished three times:
• They're beaten and mistreated by the law enforcement personnel who arrest them,
• They're tried and sent to jail, so their freedom is taken away from them, and
• They're beaten, raped and/or mistreated in prison by other prisoners and/or prison guards.
• Sometimes governments put people in prison to quell dissidents in order to restore public order and/or retain their own power. People are punished for wanting change and for being vocal or demonstrative about it.
8. Law Enforcement:
• Dirty Cops/Law Enforces: Dirty cops and dirty law enforcement personnel who pursue their own selfish agendas may plant evidence, hide evidence, fabricate information, give false testimony, coerce someone into confessing etc. 
• Errors: Sometimes cops and law enforcement personnel make errors, they may be incompetent, negligent, lazy, or just not interested in doing a good job.
• Quotas: Sometimes overzealous law enforcement personnel have their own hidden agendas - they may be seeking to meet quotas, to let everyone know that they're doing a good job, they may be seeking a promotion, or be seen as relevant in order to keep their job etc.
• Bribery And Corruption: Corruption is rampant in law enforcement, and bribes are used to bypass the law altogether. 
• Injury And Death: Sometimes civilians are injured or killed by law enforcement personnel.
9. Complicated Judicial And Legal Systems:
• Judicial systems are often complicated, cumbersome and laden with bureaucracy and politics, leaving them inefficient and unreliable. Sometimes it takes months (or years) for people to go to trial, face a judge, or be sentenced.
10. Different Standards Around The World:
• Different Standards Of Behaviour:  We're all human beings, yet depending on where we live, we're subjected to different standards of behaviour. In some places of the world, people are executed for adultery; in other places, it's not a crime.
• Different Judicial Systems: There are many different types of judicial systems around the world, which means people are tried, judged and sentenced differently for the same crime.
• Prisons: Different standards of living in different countries means different standards of living in prisons around the world. For a one year sentence, a prisoner in one country may live in deplorable conditions, whereas a prisoner in another country may live in relatively high standards. The punishment experienced is different, depending on the country.

When Jesus was tried, he was treated unfairly. The priests were out to get him, they had Judas his disciple betray him, and under pressure from the angry crowd that had been influenced by the priests, Pilate the governor handed Jesus over to be executed, even though Pilate himself had found no fault in him. (Matthew 27:1-26, NIV) The whole affair was a first class mess.

We have to change from personal selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) to mutual bestowal (seeking to benefit others). If we seek to benefit others, we won't want to cause them any harm. We'll self-police ourselves and we'll want only to do good to others. This means that crime, violence, the police, prisons etc., will eventually disappear.

When God judges man, His judgement is true. He has all the facts, He's not trying to impress anyone with His persuasive abilities, He's not interested in advancing His career, He's not trying to impress people with His dazzling personality, He's not trying to be liked, He has no political aspirations etc. He's interested in life lessons, personal education based on experience, and internal transformation from personal selfishness to mutual bestowal.

When we judge others - whether it's in court, things we see on TV or people we meet in person - what's it based on? Our own limited understanding of who they are and what's happened? The fact that we like or dislike them? Believe them or not? That they're different from us? That we have a vested interest in the outcome?

Round tables need to be established to seek fair, equitable, consistent, reliable, dependable and efficient judicial systems around the world, where the goal of rehabilitation is personal transformation from selfishness to bestowal.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

Lower Income Home Owners Pay More For Housing

Edited Feb 19, 2015

Lower income home owners pay more to purchase a home than higher income home owners. (This post focuses only on buying a home and excludes the option to rent.)

For comparison purposes, given the same type of property, a lower income home owner will pay $151,940 for a home; whereas a higher income home owner will pay only $106,544, which is extremely unfair. Also, a lower income home owner will likely sell their property for less than a higher income home owner. Here's why:

1. Lower Income Home Owners:
• Smaller Down Payments:
• With less money, they often opt for the minimum required down payment. The smaller the down payment, the greater the mortgage loan. The greater the loan, the greater the interest on the life of the mortgage and the greater the monthly payments.
• Longer Amortization Periods:
• They often prefer longer amortization periods because this lowers the monthly payments; however, longer amortization periods results in higher interest on the life of the mortgage.
• No Additional Payments:
• With less money, they often can't afford additional payments, which means they can't afford to pay off their loan sooner.
• Limited Renovations And Repairs/Maintenance:
• With less money, they often can't afford home renovations or home repairs/maintenance, which decreases the resale value of the home.
• Undesirable Locations:
• With a limited price range, they're often restricted to less desirable locations and neighbourhoods, because generally speaking, the homes are cheaper. This affects their quality of life and the resale value of the home.
• Calculations:
• Here's an example. (For simplicity's sake, Realtor fees, condo fees, taxes, inflation, insurance and other expenses have been excluded. Additional payments has also been excluded. Also, the interest rate remains constant over the life of the mortgage.)
• Home Price:  $100,000
• Down Payment: $10,000  (A lower down payment)
• Mortgage: $90,000  (A higher mortgage)
• Amortization: 20 Years  (A longer amortization period)
• Interest: 5%
• Monthly Payments: $591.41  (Lower monthly payments)
• Interest Over The Life Of The Mortgage: $51,940 [1]
• Total Cost of Home: $10,000+$90,000+$51,940=$151,940
• Lack Of Diversification:
• With less money, they often can't afford other investments. Their home becomes their primary and only investment, resulting in higher risk due to lack of diversification. [2] God forbid, if the housing market collapses, they'll be greatly affected.
2. Higher Income Home Owners:
• Higher Down Payments:
• With  more money, they can afford a greater down payment. The greater the down payment, the lower the mortgage loan. The lower the loan, the lower the interest on the life of the mortgage and the lower the monthly payments.
• Shorter Amortization Periods:
• They can afford higher monthly payments and therefore shorter amortization periods, which results in lower interest on the life of the mortgage.
• Additional Payments:
• With more money, they can afford to make additional payments and pay off their loan sooner. The sooner a loan is paid off, the more money they have to invest in other things.
• Renovations And Repairs/Maintenance:
• With more money, they can afford home renovations and home repairs/maintenance, which increases the resale value of the home. Some strategically plan to flip [3] their homes in order to make a profit.
• Desirable Locations:
• With a greater price range, they can afford to buy in more desirable neighbourhoods, potentially increasing their quality of life and the resale value of the home.
• Lucrative Clients:
• Higher income home owners are lucrative clients and banks may be eager to secure their business, hoping for future additional loans and other investments. As such, banks may be willing to negotiate better mortgage terms (lower interest rates etc.) in order to secure their business.
• Calculations:
• For comparison purposes, let's assume the higher income home owner is buying the same type of home as the lower income home owner. We're not taking into account that the higher income home owner can afford a more expensive home or, as a lucrative client, may be able to negotiate better mortgage terms. (For simplicity's sake, Realtor fees, condo fees, taxes, inflation, insurance and other expenses have been excluded. Additional payments has also been excluded. Also, the interest rate remains constant over the life of the mortgage.)
• Home Price:  $100,000
• Down Payment: $50,000  (A higher down payment)
• Mortgage: $50,000  (A lower mortgage)
• Amortization: 5 Years  (A shorter amortization period)
• Interest: 5%
• Monthly Payments: $942.39  (Higher monthly payments)
• Interest Over The Life Of The Mortgage: $6,544 [1]
• Total Cost of Home: $50,000+$50,000+$6,544=$106,544
• Diversified Portfolio:
• Higher income home owners have other options as well, for example, they can offset their debt with other investments, diversifying their portfolio to decrease risk.
• Instead of putting $50,000 on the down payment, let's assume the higher income home owner chooses to diversify her investments by putting $10,000 on the down payment and investing the other $40,000 elsewhere. For comparison purposes, let's assume all variables are equal to the lower income home owner: 
• Home Investment:
• Home Price:  $100,000
• Down Payment: $10,000 
• Mortgage: $90,000
• Amortization: 20 Years
• Interest: 5%
• Monthly Payments: $591.41
• Interest Over The Life Of The Mortgage: $51,940 [1]
• Total Cost of Home: $10,000+$90,000+51,940=$151,940
• Other Investment: (Assuming no pay outs or dividends. Inflation has been excluded.)
• Initial Investment: $40,000
• Number of Years Invested: 20 Years
• Annual Rate Of Return: 2%
• Interest Earned Over The Life Of The Investment: $19,438 [4]
• Total Future Value of Investment: $40,000+$19,438=$59,438
• Total cost of the home is $151,940, minus the income from the investment $59,438 = $92,502 paid out over 20 years, which is considerably lower than the $151,940 paid out by the lower income home owner over the same period of time.

Another issue is that banks aren't interested in helping home owners, they're only interested in making money:

1. Mortgage Penalties:
• Banks penalize home owners for overpaying on mortgages or for breaking mortgages and the penalties can be surprisingly expensive, potentially running into the tens of thousands of dollars.
2. Complicated Contractual Documents:
• Mortgage documents are written in legalese that the average home owner doesn't easily understand, which is how banks are able to incorporate penalty charges without explicitly disclosing the costs.
3. Banks Own The Home:
• A home belongs to the bank until the mortgage is fully paid off. If the home goes into foreclosure, the home owner may lose everything, regardless of how much equity they've already invested in the property.
4. False Sense Of Home Security:
• Using predatory banking practices, banks sometimes issue mortgages to people who can barely afford to buy a home. If the home owner's financial situation changes, or if interest rates rise, they wouldn't be able to make their mortgage payments and the home would enter foreclosure. This can be a devastating experience for people who were excited to own a home.
5. Empty Houses:
• When the economy is bad, foreclosures tend to be high and many people lose their homes. The houses may remain empty because people can't afford to buy houses. It's sad to think that there are so many empty houses when so many people don't have a place to live.

Round tables need to be established to find a fair, equitable and ethical way of providing affordable and dignified housing for everyone on earth.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

________
References:

1. Mortgage Payment Calculator. www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Retrieved Oct 18, 2014.
2. Diversification (finance). www.en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved Oct 18, 2014.
3. Flipping. www.investopedia.com. Retrieved Oct 22, 2014.
4. Investment Calculator. www.bankofcanada.ca. Retrieved Oct 18, 2014.

Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

The Aggressive Marketing of The Sports Industry

The sports industry uses aggressive marketing to keep viewers glued to their TV screens. Sports is simply a soap opera with a never ending story line - someone wins and the whole process begins again.

It's very strange to watch grown men chase a small piece of plastic around a rink, or to watch grown men chase a ball around a field, court, or diamond. It's actually kind of weird. It's something children would do, but grown men? It looks ridiculous.

Just because sports is presented in a professional way, with lots of statistics, ceremony, awards etc., doesn't mean it's actually important. It's not. It's a business and it's been built up to be important, but it's a complete waste of time, energy and money - resources that could be better used elsewhere. 

Aggressive competition is not the answer. The answer is connection, collaboration and cooperation.

We have to focus on meeting our basic needs - food, water, clothing, shelter, healthcare, education etc. Everything else is meaningless.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

All Resources Belong To Everyone Equally

All resources (minerals, oil, trees etc., above or below the ground) belong to everyone equally. Today, they're owned by a select few.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

The Venus Project

The Venus Project [1], founded by Jacque Fresco, proposes a new way of living, based on among other things, social cooperation, sustainable development, and automation. This YouTube video [2] summarizes the project:

We have to change from personal selfishness to mutual bestowal. We have to rise above our egos, stop harming others, and seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

If we all did this, we'd become connected in mutual bestowal and connection is the only thing that makes us truly happy.

For more on The Venus Project, check out this YouTube video [3]:

_________

References:

1. The Venus Project. www.thevenusproject.com. Retrieved Sept 29, 2014.
2. What is The Venus Project. www.youtube.com. Retrieved Sept 29, 2014.
3. Paradise or Oblivion. www.youtube.com. Retrieved Sept 29, 2014.

Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

Is Aggressive Marketing Responsible For Looting?

Aggressive marketing makes us feel discontent. Advertisers tell us that our lives are incomplete until we buy their latest product. The problem is that most of us can't afford to buy new products all the time. This creates tension between what we're told we should have, and what we can afford to have. 

In addition, the focus on selfish materialism has left us empty, unfulfilled, alone, unhappy, and in debt. Even if we buy new products, the pleasures are fleeting and we're left feeling even more empty than before. We buy things we can't afford. We buy things that don't make us happy. This creates an underlying feeling of frustration, dissatisfaction and resentment. We're left feeling cheated, manipulated and exploited. 

Is aggressive marketing responsible for looting?

We need to simplify our lives. If we focus only on meeting our basic needs: food, water, clothing, shelter, healthcare, education etc., all other redundant goods and services would disappear.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

The Worldwide Annual Smoking Holocaust

Smoking is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Round tables should be established to seek to eliminate smoking entirely.

Here are a few notes on smoking, tobacco and the tobacco industry:

1. Within the last few years, the worldwide tobacco industry is estimated to be around USD $700 billion [1].
2. There are about 1 billion smokers worldwide, 80% of whom live in low and middle income countries. Up to half of these will eventually die of a tobacco related disease. [2] 
3. The Nazis killed 6 million Jews between 1941-1945 [3]. Tobacco companies kill 6 million people worldwide every year [2] - a worldwide annual smoking holocaust.

If you use tobacco, you'll pay. You'll pay with your wallet (smoking is an expensive habit), you'll pay with your health (you'll likely suffer from a tobacco related disease), and you'll pay with your life (up to half of all users eventually die of a tobacco related disease).

If you're addicted to cigarettes/tobacco and would like to quit, please contact your doctor  and/or your local community support groups.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

__________

References:

1. Statistics and facts about the tobacco industry. www.statista.com. Retrieved Sept 7, 2014.
2. Tobacco. www.who.int. World Health Organization (WHO). Media centre. Fact Sheet No. 339. Updated May 2014. Retrieved Sept 7, 2014.
3. The Holocaust. www.en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved Sept 7, 2014.

Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

Numb To Tragedy And Horror

What happens when we get used to tragedy and horror? We ignore it. Why do we ignore tragedy and horror? Because:

1. The Media:
• Overexposure:
• The media overexposes us to negative and destructive things. The news is constantly about crises. When we're overexposed to things, we become numb to them because they become familiar.
• Advertisements:
• Tragic stories on TV are interlaced every few minutes with happy ads, which takes away from the true measure of the tragedy.
• Aggressive marketing practices make us focus on ourselves because ads tell us what WE need and what WE should buy, which takes our focus away from others who are in need.
• Sensationalization: 
• The media exaggerates many stories, and audiences pick up this exaggerated presentation. As such, we may become a little jaded and think tragedies aren't as bad as they actually are.
• Competitive News:
• Media organizations compete for audiences, so they're constantly marketing themselves to us. Sometimes it feels as though the news is an ad. We tend to ignore ads, so we tend to ignore the news and the tragic stories being reported.
2. Passive Audiences:
• Watching TV is a passive activity. It's hard to be moved to action when I'm lying on the couch with potato chip crumbs on my belly and a drink in my hand. As such, we don't do anything to help those in need.
3. Stressful Lives:
• Many people live complicated, busy and stressful lives, engaged in many meaningless activities that leaves them worn out. As such, they don't have enough energy to help others because they've used it all up on themselves.
4. We Feel Helpless:
• Some problems seem greater than our ability to help solve them. This is because money, power and authority exists in the hands of a few. If we connect in mutual bestowal and seek to benefit others instead of ourselves, we'll self-govern, and everyone will feel empowered to affect change.
5. Corrupt Organizations:
• During a major catastrophe, people donate money to well established charities, yet due to rampant corruption and mismanagement, funds don't often get through to those in need. This may affect people's willingness to donate.

How can we be moved to action to help those in need? We have to change from personal selfishness to mutual bestowal. We have to rise above our egos and seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

Our entire society has to change - aggressive marketing practices have to stop, sensationalized reporting has to stop, news has to stop being a business etc.

Tragic events have to be reported in a compassionate, empathetic and truthful way, without any hidden agendas or ulterior motives. Where appropriate, round tables could be established to help those in need.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

Abuse

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines abuse as, "to treat (a person or animal) in a harsh or harmful way." [1] We harm each other in two ways: Things we do intentionally to harm each other and things we don't do at all. Here are two examples:

1. Financial Abuse:
• Aggressive business practices intentionally harm others by exploiting and manipulation people for financial gain. Such practices include aggressive marketing practices, unreasonably high prices, unfairly low wages with limited benefits, compromised quality of goods and services etc. While a few people reap the rewards, many people suffer as a result, experiencing low quality of life, debt, stress, tension, unhappiness and emptiness because the things we buy don't fulfill us as promised.
2. Social Abuse:
• Social abuse comes from the things we don't do to help others. Through neglect, which comes from laziness and apathy, we harm others by not helping them when we can. Social abuse is systemic, and includes such things as poverty, disenfranchised communities, homelessness etc. Billions of people around the world do not have access to their basic human needs such as food, water, clothing, shelter, healthcare and education [2]. It's not because we don't have enough resources, it's because we're immersed in selfishness and don't have our priorities straight. We prioritize things such as war and conflict over making sure everyone has enough to eat and drink. We're negligent and apathetic and many people suffer as a result. Remember, we're all one family and we have to treat each other as family.

In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

References:

1. Abuse. www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved Aug 27, 2014.
2. Our Basic Needs - A Snapshot Of The World. www.carterkagume.blogspot.ca. July 31, 2014. Retrieved Aug 28, 2014.

Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

New Systems Render Older Systems Obsolete

Advances in technology can render older technologies obsolete. A good example of this is cell phone technology, which has leapfrogged [1] landline technology in many parts of the world.

Landline penetration is high in developed countries, but there are only a few landlines in underdeveloped and developing nations. Now, many people in underdeveloped and developing nations who don't have landlines, have cell phones.

It's projected that there are over 7 billion active cell phones in the world today [2], about equal to the world's current population of over 7 billion people. [3] 

I present the above example as an analogy.

Today, we're all immersed in selfishness, pursuing wealth and material possessions as our primary objective. However, there are only a few wealthy people in the world. Most of us are struggling to make ends meet, living hand to mouth or living in abject poverty.

If we connect with each other in mutual bestowal and if we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves, we'll create a new way of living that will render the old way of living obsolete.

We'll leapfrog the pursuits of the quality of selfishness and we'll begin to live in the quality of bestowal. We'll stop pursuing wealth and material possessions because we'll have new priorities and new goals: In everything we do, we'll seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.

References:
_____________
1. Leapfrogging. www.wikipedia.org. Retrieved June 22, 2014. 
2. Number of mobile phones to exceed world population by 2014. www.digitaltrends.com. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
3. Current World Population. www.worldometers.info. Retrieved June 22, 2014.

Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.