We were in Antigua on our regular Rotary project, working in the schools. It’s rewarding, especially when someone coming for the first time (last year) tells others how he saw it changing lives.
Antigua is not a rich country and what we’ve provided is very important. And we wonder about their ties to “free money” for projects including the new airport, streetlights, cricket stadium, and more. There really isn’t any free money, is there? Speaking of free money, here are a few examples.
- In Antigua, most of this money comes from the country that sends spy balloons to the US. It’s free now but I’m wondering what happens when the bill comes due. Whether it’s pay back the money, give us something (say military), or something else.
- I got a laugh (even though this is serious) when in the State of the Union speech President Biden talked about reducing the deficit by $1.7 trillion. Sure he/they did, by not giving out $1.9 trillion of stimulus money (which, in my opinion as an econ major, overheated the economy and spurred inflation). A lot of people loved their free money.
- A struggling business owner said, “Well, I made a profit last year.” Not really, you got your PPP loan forgiven and that doesn’t count.
Free money, no. Easy money, yes, when you solve someone’s problem and they’re willing to pay you enough for it that you make a profit. Plus refer you to others you can help. And that’s what increases value for when it’s time to exit.
“The propagandist’s purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human.” Aldous Huxley
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.” Richard Feynman
