Thursday, November 26, 2020

ANS -- Forget GDP. We Need ZDP: A rich nation is one with Zero Domestic Poverty

Here is a novel idea about how to measure the wealth of a nation -- not by GDP (which is a really bad measure), but by how many poor people it has.  A truly wealthy nation has no poor people.  
--Kim


Image for post
You are only rich if you have room at your table. We Live in Silence XVI, 2017 by Kudzanai Chiurai

IfJeff Bezos moved to Sri Lanka, my entire country's GDP would double. Just from his white ass moving next door. But my life would be the same. It's not like he shops at the grocery store 3 million times more. It's not like he pays real taxes. Dude wouldn't even loan me a cup of sugar. This is how meaningless GDP is. We average out our richest assholes and call ourselves rich.

We need to measure something else.

We need to stop measuring the rich and start measuring the poor. We need to stop measuring greed and start measuring good. We need to stop measuring GDP and start measuring ZDP.

Zero Domestic Poverty.

It's a simple measure. How many people do you have below the poverty line? Rich nations should have zero. Otherwise you're not rich are you? Because you have poor people. Stop measuring exploitative dipshits with their money in obscure assets and tax shelters. Start measuring the people on the street, or more specifically, people not living on the street.

We should rank nations by how few poor people they have. The richest nation is the one with zero poverty.

Image for post

Burning Down The House

This is a different way of looking at things, but I must tell you, the way we look at things today is insane.

If I dig a hole and fill it up, GDP goes up. Hell, you can use fossil fuels to dig a hole, fill it with more fossil fuels, light the whole thing on fire, and that increases GDP. This is a stupid measure, designed to be gamed, and the house always loses. By house I mean the Earth. Your house.

You know what's not measured in GDP? Caring for a child. Caring for an elder. Sharing a meal. Under GDP a tree has no value until it's cut. A sunset has no value until its Instagrammed. A mountain has no value until its stripped bare.

You know what GDP values the least? Growing and picking food. Nursing. Care work. Sex work. Cleaning toilets. All of our essential work pays the least and the non-essential, exploitative, destructive work pays the most. We've gone mad, and we've gone mad round a metric.

They tell you GDP is necessary to lift people out of poverty, but it's not. We could just lift people out of poverty without depending on meagre drippings from the rich. You are what you measure. We're just measuring the wrong thing.

In pure economic terms, the Net Present Value of GDP is negative. Project over one hundred years and all of our GDP growth today is worth less than nothing because it destroys the Earth. We are burning the house we live in so that a few people can roast marshmallows over the open flame. For the historical equivalent of 15 minutes. It's madness.

And they call this development. This is the western development model. First white empires exploited our bodies and land, and now they've colonized the air. I have been on this ride. Capitalist colonialism (we were mainly colonized by companies, not states) ended in human ruin and environmental ruin is next. For us all. It's not even economic unless your time frame is vanishingly small. And believe me, our time frame is vanishing.

Western civilization doesn't build pyramids. It's a pyramid scheme. The grift is built on GDP, which they tell you is per capita, but it's really not. Are you getting a cheque? It's per capitalism. It's per colonialism. It's leading us straight to perdition.

Image for post

Be happy as a clam

Think of it this way. What does wealth mean? To me it means a surplus. But what is the value of a surplus, what is human good? There is only so much pleasure we can get from stuff.

Take me. I earn maybe $30,000 and I'm happy as a clam. Give me $3 million and I'm not going to turn into an oyster. I use this mollusk metaphor because do you know what a pearl is? It's an irritation. The oyster is miserable, they're trying to get it out. Listen to Biggie, listen to Laozi. Just be happy as a clam.

As Biggie said, mo' money mo' problems.

I don't know what they want from me
It's like the more money we come across
The more problems we see

The Taoist Laozi said this 2,500 years earlier. In this first line he refers to a tipping vessel, something the ancient Chinese used in Confucian days to illustrate Biggie's idea. When the vessel got too full, it just tipped over.

To hold the vessel upright in order to fill it is not as good as to stop in time.
If you make your blade too keen it will not hold its edge.
When gold and jade fill the hall none can hold on to them.
To be haughty when wealth and honor come your way
is to bring disaster upon yourself.
To withdraw when the work is done is the Way of Heaven.

The Daodejing of Laozi

There is a broad philosophical basis for this idea of ZDP, or Degrowth, or whatever you want to call it. Specifically, there is a Confucian concept of xiaokang shehui (小康社会) which inadequately translates as "moderately prosperous society." That should be our goal. Kongzi, Laozi, Biggie, they were all clear about quitting while you're ahead.

Image for post

Greed is destroying the Earth

Greed is not good. White people started experimenting with this vapid philosophy in the 1980s and it has not worked out well. Take climate change. The richest 1% cause more than double the emissions of the bottom 50%. And these assholes talk about over-population. The problem is not billions of people. It's billionaires.

The wealth of this 1% bloats the GDPs of western nations, but what's it doing for you? Look at yourselves. Your societies are literally sick and dying. Health is wealth, and every western nation (out of Australasia) has worse public health than Rwanda or Vietnam. The United Kingdom spent twice the entire GDP of Rwanda on a test-and-trace system that doesn't work. That is, the Brits spent more than the entire measure of Rwandan society to suck 120x as hard at one small thing.

What are you doing? What do these numbers mean? You're literally dying. The Earth is dying. We need to turn around.

Image for post

Wealth is room at your table

I see wealth this way. It's a table. If you're wealthy, you have room at your table. That's it. If I walk into your grand house and you have beggars outside, congratulations, you're poor. You're poor in spirit, and your ZDP is high.

We need to measure that. How do nations treat the hungry, the poor, the orphan? The refugee, the criminal, the sick? You know, the people Jesus hung out with. The people Muhammed and the Buddha all tended to. The people Zhuangzi spoke aboutWealth — true wealth — is how much room you have at your table.




You want to judge a wealthy nation? See how well their poorest member is living. Fuck the rich. Measure the poor. Fuck GDP. It's time for ZDP.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The article above made me go looking for a list of the poverty levels of various nations.  So, if this copied alright, here is one list: 

Population living below national poverty line[edit]

The percentage of the population living below national poverty line (%) - poverty line deemed appropriate for a country by its authorities (however definitions of the poverty line vary considerably among nations).

CountryWorld
Bank
[8]
YearCIA[9]YearOtherYearContinent
 Afghanistan54.5%201654.5%2017N/AN/AAsia
 Albania14.3%201214.3%2012N/AN/AEurope
 Algeria5.5%201123.0%2006N/AN/AAfrica
 AndorraN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AEurope
 Angola36.6%200836.6%2008N/AN/AAfrica
 AnguillaN/AN/A23.0%2002N/AN/ANorth America
 Antigua and BarbudaN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ANorth America
 Argentina25.7%201725.7%201735.4%2019[10]South America
 Armenia25.7%201732.0%2013N/AN/AAsia
 AustraliaN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AOceania
 AustriaN/AN/A3.0%2017N/AN/AEurope
 Azerbaijan6.0%20124.9%2015N/AN/AAsia, Europe
 Bahamas, TheN/AN/A9.3%2010N/AN/ANorth America
 BahrainN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AAsia
 Bangladesh24.3%201624.3%2016N/AN/AAsia
 BarbadosN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ANorth America
 Belarus5.9%20175.7%2016N/AN/AEurope
 BelgiumN/AN/A15.1%2013N/AN/AEurope
 BelizeN/AN/A41.0%2013N/AN/ANorth America
 Benin40.1%201536.2%2011N/AN/AAfrica
 BermudaN/AN/A11.0%2008N/AN/ANorth America
 Bhutan8.2%201712.0%2012N/AN/AAsia
 Bolivia36.4%201738.6%201554.0%2007[11]South America
 Bosnia and Herzegovina16.9%201516.9%2015N/AN/AEurope
 Botswana19.3%200919.3%2009N/AN/AAfrica
 Brazil26.5%20174.2%201612.1%2011[11]South America
 BruneiN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AAsia
 Bulgaria23.4%201623.4%2016N/AN/AEurope
 Burkina Faso40.1%201440.1%2009N/AN/AAfrica
 Burundi64.9%201464.6%2014N/AN/AAfrica
 Cambodia17.7%201216.5%2016N/AN/AAsia
 Cameroon37.5%201430.0%2001N/AN/AAfrica
 CanadaN/AN/A9.4%20084.9%2004[12]North America
 Cape Verde35.0%201530.0%2000N/AN/AAfrica
 Central African Republic62.0%2008N/AN/AN/AN/AAfrica
 Chad46.7%201146.7%2011N/AN/AAfrica
 Chile8.6%201714.4%201310.4%2011[13]South America
 China3.1%20173.3%2016N/AN/AAsia
 Colombia27.0%201828.0%201745.5%2012[11]South America
 Comoros42.4%201344.8%2004N/AN/AAfrica
 Congo, Democratic Republic of the63.9%201263.0%2014N/AN/AAfrica
 Congo, Republic of the46.5%201146.5%2011N/AN/AAfrica
 Costa Rica20.0%201721.7%201418.9%2009[11]North America
 Croatia19.5%201519.5%2015N/AN/AEurope
 CubaN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ANorth America
 CyprusN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AEurope
 Czech Republic9.7%20139.7%2015N/AN/AEurope
 DenmarkN/AN/A13.4%2011N/AN/AEurope
 Djibouti21.1%201723.0%2015N/AN/AAfrica
 DominicaN/AN/A29.0%2009N/AN/ANorth America
 Dominican Republic30.5%201630.5%201641.1%2009[11]North America
 East Timor41.8%201441.8%2014N/AN/AAsia
 Ecuador23.2%201821.5%201740.2%2009[11][14]South America
 Egypt27.8%201527.8%2016N/AN/AAfrica
 El Salvador29.2%201732.7%201647.9%2009[11]South America
 Equatorial Guinea76.8%200644.0%2011N/AN/AAfrica
 Eritrea69.0%199350.0%2004N/AN/AAfrica
 Estonia21.8%201321.1%2016N/AN/AEurope
 Eswatini63.0%200963.0%2010N/AN/AAfrica
 Ethiopia23.5%201529.6%2014N/AN/AAfrica
 European UnionN/AN/A9.8%201317.3%2015[15]Europe
 Faroe IslandsN/AN/A10.0%2015N/AN/AEurope
 Fiji34.0%201331.0%2009N/AN/AOceania
 FinlandN/AN/AN/AN/A13.7%2013[16]Europe
 FranceN/AN/A14.2%2015N/AN/AEurope
 French PolynesiaN/AN/A19.7%2009N/AN/AOceania
 Gabon33.4%201734.3%2015N/AN/AAfrica
 Gambia, The48.6%201548.4%2010N/AN/AAfrica
 Gaza StripN/AN/A30.0%2011N/AN/AAsia
 Georgia21.9%20179.2%201021.9%2017[17]Asia, Europe
 GermanyN/AN/A16.7%2015N/AN/AEurope
 Ghana23.4%201624.2%2013N/AN/AAfrica
 GreeceN/AN/A36.0%2014N/AN/AEurope
 GreenlandN/AN/A16.2%2015N/AN/ANorth America
 GrenadaN/AN/A38.0%2008N/AN/ANorth America
 GuamN/AN/A23.0%2001N/AN/AOceania
 Guatemala59.3%201459.3%201454.8%2006[11]North America
 Guinea55.2%201247.0%2006N/AN/AAfrica
 Guinea-Bissau69.3%201067.0%2015N/AN/AAfrica
 GuyanaN/AN/A35.0%2006N/AN/ASouth America
 Haiti58.5%201258.5%2012N/AN/ANorth America
 Honduras61.9%201829.6%201468.9%2007[11]North America
 Hong KongN/AN/A19.9%2016N/AN/AAsia
 Hungary14.9%201414.9%2015N/AN/AEurope
 IcelandN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AEurope
 India21.9%201121.9%20113%2019 [18]Asia
 Indonesia10.6%201710.9%2016N/AN/AAsia
 IranN/AN/A18.7%2007N/AN/AAsia
 Iraq18.9%201223.0%2014N/AN/AAsia
 IrelandN/AN/A8.2%20136.8%2004[19]Europe
 IsraelN/AN/A22.0%2014N/AN/AAsia
 ItalyN/AN/A29.9%201210.3%2014[20]Europe
 Ivory Coast46.3%201546.3%2015N/AN/AAfrica
 Jamaica19.9%201217.1%2016N/AN/ANorth America
 JapanN/AN/A16.1%2013N/AN/AAsia
 Jordan14.4%201014.2%2002N/AN/AAsia
 Kazakhstan2.5%20172.6%2016N/AN/AAsia, Europe
 Kenya36.1%201536.1%2016N/AN/AAfrica
 Kiribati21.8%2006N/AN/AN/AN/AOceania
 Korea, NorthN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AAsia
 Korea, SouthN/AN/A14.4%2016N/AN/AAsia
 Kosovo17.6%201517.6%2015N/AN/AEurope
 KuwaitN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AAsia
 Kyrgyzstan25.6%201732.1%2015N/AN/AAsia
 Laos23.4%201222.0%2013N/AN/AAsia
 Latvia22.5%201425.5%2015N/AN/AEurope
 Lebanon27.4%201228.6%2004N/AN/AAsia
 Lesotho57.1%201057.0%2016N/AN/AAfrica
 Liberia50.9%201654.1%2014N/AN/AAfrica
 LibyaN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AAfrica
 LiechtensteinN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AEurope
 Lithuania22.2%201422.2%2015N/AN/AEurope
 LuxembourgN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AEurope
 Madagascar70.7%201270.7%2012N/AN/AAfrica
 Malawi51.5%201650.7%2010N/AN/AAfrica
 Malaysia0.4%20153.8%2009N/AN/AAsia
 Maldives8.2%201615.0%2009N/AN/AAsia
 Mali41.1%200936.1%2005N/AN/AAfrica
 MaltaN/AN/A16.3%2015N/AN/AEurope
 Marshall IslandsN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AOceania
 Mauritania31.0%201431.0%2014N/AN/AAfrica
 Mauritius7.9%20128.0%2006N/AN/AAfrica
 Mexico43.6%201646.2%201448.0%2013[11]North America
 Micronesia41.2%201326.7%2000N/AN/AOceania
 Moldova9.6%20159.6%2015N/AN/AEurope
 MonacoN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AEurope
 Mongolia21.6%201429.6%2016N/AN/AAsia
 Montenegro24.0%20158.6%2013N/AN/AEurope
 Morocco4.8%201315.0%2007N/AN/AAfrica
 Mozambique46.1%201446.1%2015N/AN/AAfrica
 Myanmar32.1%201525.6%2016N/AN/AAsia
 Namibia17.4%201528.7%2010N/AN/AAfrica
 NauruN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AOceania
   Nepal25.2%201025.2%2011N/AN/AAsia
 NetherlandsN/AN/A8.8%2015N/AN/AEurope
 New CaledoniaN/AN/A17.0%2008N/AN/AOceania
 New ZealandN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AOceania
 Nicaragua24.9%201629.6%201561.9%2005[11]North America
 Niger44.5%201445.4%2014N/AN/AAfrica
 Nigeria46.0%200970.0%2010N/AN/AAfrica
 North Macedonia22.2%201721.5%201530.4%2011[21]Europe
 NorwayN/AN/AN/AN/A4.3%2007[22]Europe
 OmanN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AAsia
 Pakistan3.9%201529.5%201340.0%2012[23]Asia
 Palau24.9%2006N/AN/AN/AN/AOceania
 Palestine29.2%2016N/AN/AN/AN/AAsia
 Panama22.1%201623.0%201526.4%2009[11]North America
 Papua New Guinea39.9%200937.0%2002N/AN/AOceania
 Paraguay26.4%201722.2%201556.0%2009[11]South America
 Peru21.7%201722.7%201434.8%2009[11]South America
 Philippines16.6%201821.6%2017N/AN/AAsia
 Poland15.0%201617.6%2015N/AN/AEurope
 PortugalN/AN/A19.0%2015N/AN/AEurope
 QatarN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AAsia
 Romania23.6%201622.4%2012N/AN/AEurope
 Russia13.2%201713.3%201513.8%2017[24]Asia, Europe
 Rwanda38.2%201639.1%2015N/AN/AAfrica
 Saint Kitts and NevisN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ANorth America
 Saint Lucia25.0%2016N/AN/AN/AN/ANorth America
 Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ANorth America
 Samoa20.3%2013N/AN/AN/AN/AOceania
 San MarinoN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AEurope
 São Tomé and Príncipe66.2%201066.2%2009N/AN/AAfrica
 Saudi ArabiaN/AN/AN/AN/A12.7%2012 [25]Asia
 Senegal46.7%201146.7%2011N/AN/AAfrica
 Serbia25.7%20168.9%2014N/AN/AEurope
 Seychelles39.3%201339.3%2013N/AN/AAfrica
 Sierra Leone52.9%201170.2%2004N/AN/AAfrica
 SingaporeN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AAsia
 Slovakia12.6%201312.3%2015N/AN/AEurope
 Slovenia14.3%201413.9%2016N/AN/AEurope
 Solomon Islands12.7%2013N/AN/AN/AN/AOceania
 SomaliaN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AAfrica
 South Africa55.5%201416.6%2016N/AN/AAfrica
 South Sudan82.3%201666.0%2015N/AN/AAfrica
 SpainN/AN/A21.1%201221.1%2012[26]Europe
 Sri Lanka4.1%20166.7%2012N/AN/AAsia
 Sudan46.5%200946.5%2009N/AN/AAfrica
 SurinameN/AN/A70.0%2002N/AN/ASouth America
 SwedenN/AN/A15.0%2014N/AN/AEurope
  SwitzerlandN/AN/A6.6%2014N/AN/AEurope
 Syria35.2%200782.5%2014N/AN/AAsia
 TaiwanN/AN/A1.5%2012N/AN/AAsia
 Tajikistan31.3%201531.5%2016N/AN/AAsia
 Tanzania28.2%201122.8%2015N/AN/AAfrica
 Thailand8.6%20167.2%2015N/AN/AAsia
 Togo55.1%201555.1%2015N/AN/AAfrica
 Tonga22.5%200922.5%2010N/AN/AOceania
 Trinidad and TobagoN/AN/A20.0%2014N/AN/ANorth America
 Tunisia15.2%201515.5%20103.8%2005[27]Africa
 Turkey13.5%201721.9%201520.5%2005[28]Asia, Europe
 TurkmenistanN/AN/A0.2%2012N/AN/AAsia
 Tuvalu26.3%201026.3%2010N/AN/AOceania
 Uganda21.4%201621.4%2017N/AN/AAfrica
 Ukraine2.4%20173.8%201624.3%2013[29]Europe
 United Arab EmiratesN/AN/A19.5%2003N/AN/AAsia
 United KingdomN/AN/A15.0%2013N/AN/AEurope
 United StatesN/AN/A11.8%201814.5%2013[30]North America
 Uruguay7.9%20179.7%20156.7%2012[31]South America
 Uzbekistan14.1%201314.0%2016N/AN/AAsia
 Vanuatu12.7%2010N/AN/AN/AN/AOceania
  Vatican CityN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AEurope
 Venezuela33.1%201519.7%201527.6%2008[11]



South America
 Vietnam9.8%20168.0%2017N/AN/AAsia
 Virgin Islands, U.S.N/AN/A28.9%2002N/AN/ANorth America
 West BankN/AN/A18.0%2011N/AN/AAsia
 Yemen48.6%201454.0%2014N/AN/AAsia
 Zambia54.4%201554.4%2015N/AN/AAfrica
 Zimbabwe72.3%201172.3%2012N/AN/AAfrica

See also



No comments: