INVERTIR, NO APOSTAR

What’s the problem?

You’ve heard the saying ‘money makes the world go around’, so you know where you spend your money makes a difference, and it’s obvious that where and how you lend and invest money makes a difference too. Right now, financial firms are directing your money around the world wherever it will make the most money.

What’s so bad about that?

The problem is that money so often seems to miss projects that you and I might consider useful for providing a decent life for people now and for generations to come. Instead, it ends up in projects where people spend time, energy and resources betting against each other for short term gains. Trading firms invest millions in technology, even installing new transatlantic cables and drilling through mountains, all just to shave milliseconds of the trading times of their computer programs. Bitcoin and other crypto currencies are fast becoming a financial asset but Bitcoin alone uses as much electricity as Ireland, a high price to pay if it used mainly as a plaything for traders. Meanwhile we continue to invest in coal and dirty industries even though we know they are threatening human life on this planet.  

What’s the alternative?

The alternative is to construct a financial system that directs our money to projects that society needs, to help stave off environmental Armageddon and to secure a decent life for all of us and our children. We already stop financial firms investing in criminals and rogue states, so we know what can be done. Instead of standing back as the financial system miss-fires, we should steer firms to lend and invest in projects that will address societies issues. We should clamp down on wasteful and harmful activities such as tax avoidance and the “hot money” flows that can damage developing countries.

How will it help?

The financial system can help move money to the places where it is needed, to construct new energy sources and to make possible new projects. But to make sure it is focussing on the best outcomes for society and not solely on its short-term profits, we need to take much greater control and improve the shape and incentives of the financial sector to reflect its long term social purposes.

What steps could we take to get started?

• Coming soon