Part V: Chapter 16 - Bringing Wealth Home

This chapter of Born on Third Base discusses the meaning of "bringing wealth home", in the context of globalization and relocalization. It uses three examples to illustrate how to bring wealth back to families and local communities: financial transparency, divestment from fossil fuels, and impact investing.

Hiding money is a common practice that steals money from the global economy and governments. 8% of individual wealth is hidden away in tax havens, accounting for about $200 billion in revenue in 2015. The use of tax havens and offshore accounts is not always illegal, but it is definitely unethical. Jacques Leblanc's family has hidden their fortune in offshore accounts for generations, but Leblanc wants to bring the money aboveground and pay his dues to society.

Divest-Invest is an organization that encourages divesting from fossil fuels and investing in renewable energy. The fossil fuels industry uses lobbying and money to maintain their relevance and secure political advantages, but many individuals are choosing to change the tide by divesting from this industry. Investing in renewable energy instead would bring much more global prosperity and wealth in the long run.

Deborah Frieze practices impact investing, which is a much more direct method of lending than typical Wall Street transactions. Wall Street investments are hidden in layers of trading equities, without a lot of context about where the investments go and how they create real value. Impact investing establishes traceable streams of capital so we can ensure that our wealth is indeed brought home.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 22, 2019 at 11:00 AM

    Thank you for this summary! Are the people you mentioned (Leblanc, Frieze) famous or just people Collins is using to tell his story?

    -Kaela

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jaren AunanMarch 24, 2019 at 12:04 PM

    Awesome summary! I totally agree that more people need to divest from the fossil fuel industry and start investing in renewable energy. Not only will clean energy benefit the Earth, but it will also benefit investors looking for returns in a growing industry.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 24, 2019 at 5:07 PM

    I enjoyed reading your summary. I agree that it is unethical to store money in offshore accounts and the future is in renewable energy, not fossil fuels. However, I'm a little unclear on what exactly impact investing is, and the majority of Wall Street investments are actually not hidden. These banks have the resources to create real value through large scale projects 99% of others are unable to do.

    -Ryan Baer

    ReplyDelete
  4. AW340March 24, 2019 at 11:34 PM

    I had no idea that such a large percentage of individual wealth was 'hidden away' until I read this! I'm by no means surprised but considering the impact that that amount has by not being part of the regular economy, it's easy to see how it takes away from helping the economy to run smoothly and fund other ideas. Also, impact investing does make a lot of sense if you know exactly what sector you want to help most in and help revive.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Patrick FranzinelliMarch 25, 2019 at 2:20 PM

    Hidden wealth is for sure a problem. I think it is necessary that society is tougher on people hiding the money. Bringing your money to tax heavens is basically theft.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reading Post 1

I will be reading "How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming" by Mike Brown for this assignment. I chose this book because I have limited experience reading books about science and astronomy, and this seemed like an interesting choice. I remember hearing about the "murder" of Pluto when I was young, but I did not think much of it at the time. Truthfully, I found it rather unnecessary, as I do all arbitrary redefining of words. Maybe Mike Brown can convince me that it was not arbitrary at all. The first chapter is called "What is a Planet?". It describes how Brown's journey began in a discussion with his colleague about the possibility of another planet. It then reflects on his upbringing and how that formed his connection to the stars. At the end of the chapter, Brown reflects on how he had known what a planet was his whole life, and now he is suddenly unsure. So far, this book seems like a promising read. It is written in Plain English, and is n...
Read more

Random Post 1

Image
Whenever I am having a stressful day, or just bored, I like to turn on the TV and watch my favorite show Adventure Time. Adventure Time is a cartoon written by Pendleton Ward that follow Finn and Jake in their adventures through Ooo and beyond. On the surface, it seems like a simple children's show, but there is a rich backstory lurking underneath. The show slowly reveals that the world of Adventure Time exits from the post-apocalyptic remnants of the Great Mushroom War. The world-building in this show is intricate and immaculate, while retaining a child-like and optimistic tone. Adventure Time reminds me of the magic of innocence and fills me with nostalgia and joy. I have rewatched many Adventure Time episodes multiple times, and there are usually always new little details I notice. The show includes many easter eggs hidden for viewers to discover. For example, the earlier seasons had a little waving snail concealed in every episode. There are many moments in the show that s...
Read more