Another Coffee Talk

Another casual coffee shop setting with my three friends Eva, Sid and Nance.

Me: Have you guys heard even coffee making not a profitable business anymore? What is going on all around us?

Sid: Yeah and funny thing that there are many many financial articles on how millennial are throwing away their damn retirement income at overprized coffee. The so called elders are not able to make an overpriced coffee profitable and they just keep worrying about what will happen to us after three decades or so.

Eva: How is this possible? Don’t they know simple math. $5 in and $4 out so $1 profit?

Nance: I think this is all a big corporate fraud and everyone is getting better at it every passing day. Open a business, show it has potential, take all money in from banks and gullible investors, launder it to some island country and show all loss. It’s that simple.

Me: Oh damn you just figured out entire modern business model!

Eva: He he he! Not funny. Gullible investors Nance is talking about is us! We lose all our money which we saved by not sending out clothes to laundry, walking 8 blocks instead of taking uber, keeping my shopping limited to only once a month and cutting down all pricey yummy drinks at coffee shop. Oh wait.. it doesn’t look that bad when I am taking about it.

Sid: I am telling you, the last one would definitely save your health for retirement 😃

Me: Seriously guys. Think about it. We are more in debt comparing to any past generations. Corporate debt is highest ever.

Nance: Why only corporate, credit card, home loan even education debt is at all-time high levels and it seems no one care. We are borrowing from future and spending now.

Sid: Who is future and from where this person got all this money? 😃

Me: Very funny!

Eva: No actually if you think about, it is not. If everyone is in debt so who is giving all this debt? Answer would be no one or collectively all of us. So actually we are borrowing from our future us so we need to keep making money to pay off our present infinitely.

Me:   Oh Damn! This is looks very complicated and scary. So are we ever going to retire?

Eva: Yes. If we trick similar way as our elders are doing now. By making our next generation keep borrowing from us and paying us premium now, the interest income.

Sid:  That is not going to happen. Generations are already getting smarter and many places interest rates are already going negative. So you really pay bank to keep your money.

Nance: So you would not be able to lend money and live on based on someone else back just because that person did not had money when he started working. This sounds fair to me. If you have money you can exchange it for goods fair transaction. You cannot keep getting new money just because you already have money.

Me: Right now interest keep a check on borrowing, if no interest what would stop me to borrow high amounts?

Sid: This would not be a big issue. Banks can check pay-ability same way they do now just no interest and as always pool of money would be same so no over borrowing.

Me:  It sounds so simple when you say it. I don’t know why this simple concept is not implemented yet.

Sid:  As Eva put before, our elders tricked us and we just keep giving them our hard earned income for no reason. They can just give us money because they are anyways not doing anything with it and we can pay them back later same amount no extra please.

Nance: Yes I think this extra seems main reason behind income gap and social divide. People who got money will continue to get more and more even if they will do nothing.

Me: Hmm Interesting. So what about real old people. They would never able to retire. Oh no. They would by saving similar way and retire and use money but they would just not get interest. No interest, no inbuilt inflation, all prices depends on real demand and supply. I think this can work.

Sid: Yes money was invented to have a simple exchange mechanism instead of hauling goods for exchange. Interest was never intended part of it.

Nance: I still have a question. If I am not getting anything back why would I give you my money anyways?

Eva: You would not give me money. You would pool money in some social place just like today in Bank. They would handle lending and recovery just like they do today. Any difference will be offset by inflation in long run but with supply side and human social efficiency improvements inflation will still be close to zero or negative.

Me: So it would be like you work, you buy whatever you need save some for future. If you want to buy or do something extra for which you need money, you can borrow, buy that and return money no interest, sounds simple.

Sid: Yup this will remove lot of unnecessary uncertainty about future and also handle income inequality to some extent.

Nance: Maybe we are heading that way, who knows!

Eva: So future will remain uncertain no matter what 😄

Sid: Yeah who know we would also able to get away by kicking this can down the road for our next generation to handle 😃

Me: Yeah with the same message we got “We love you and we care about you!”

All laughed. Paid for our overpriced coffee hoping this chain would remain here tomorrow because we love it, no matter if it even cost our retirement income!

I Am Sorry!

I want to say this from long but somehow was not able to muster enough courage. Somehow I felt it would impact you deep. Our relationship may not be same and you might hate me forever but I think its time and we need to have this conversation.

I remember last Saturday it was long hectic day but still we were having amazing time together. Suddenly you started behaving erratic. I tried to cheer you up but you kept shutting yourself from me. Its just like you were saying "leave me alone, I don't want to be with you anymore". Many times I share my simple problems with and just kept waiting for your response. I feel stupid. It feel like you just don't get me anymore. It depressed and disappointed me at times but somehow I held myself together thinking you would understand me someday and we can share same emotions as before.

I know, I may be over-demanding at times and may not listen to you at times when you need most but I want to let you know I still care for you "A Lot". I even tried to appease you with whatever I could find in my reasonable budget and you also looked happy for while but again in few days your mood turned sour. It feel like nothing I could do to please you anymore and believe me its not a good feeling. At this moment I have no clue what would make you happy or maybe I don't care anymore. I am sorry.

I would always cherish our lovely memories of time we spent together but don't worry I will help you to forget everything so you can start a new life without any baggage from the past. I hope this time you will understand and not misunderstand me.Oh my Dear Laptop I have to replace you. Sorry!

The Tolerant Debate

Rationalist: Hey I am not well today and also bored to death. Something interesting going on?

Mango Man: Nothing interesting but big boss new session on the air. Care to watch?

Rationalist: I don’t want those stupid stuff. I want to do something meaningful, something which makes impact on society as a whole.

Mango Man: Oh really and how are you planning to do it?

Rationalist: Let me start with putting out a tweet first and updated my facebook with latest headline in newspaper today.

Mango Man: Oh that’s nice what you want to post. Is something really bad happened today?

Rationalist: Yeah I saw today in news that my nation is becoming more intolerant. I am really not feeling good about it.

Mango Man: Intolerant? Oh really what happened.

Rationalist: Good question. I am not really sure let me read a little more. Oh yes see in last month itself a group of people attacked a person’s house because he tried to consume something which was illegal and they killed that person. On top of it there is multiple politicians are making statement that whoever don’t believe in the philosophy of nation according to them, should leave the country.

Mango Man:  I never care for what politician speak but A man got killed by a mob? Where was that?

Rationalist: It was in a small town some part of east.

Mango Man: Yeah I heard about it but that is some backward place and don’t reflect nation. You know what, in those places you would probably get killed just for sending love letter to an upper cast girl. I remember two girls was hanged in similar part with a tree and still no one have any clue who did it.

Rationalist: You don’t know this incident is a larger part of conspiracy by a political party to disrupt cultural fabric of nation.

Mango Man: I am not sure what are you taking about. The religious conflicts are part of our everyday life but in general I don’t see what you refer as growing intolerance. Maybe my friend NRI can explain you better.

NRI: I was listening your conversation but did not interject but as my friend drawn me into this conversation I would object your terminology. We are more tolerant then we should be. I latest state election a convict joined hands with a cornered politician and consolidated one community vote to win election and we show tolerance. Few people tried to create a reservation based on religion in Secular country and we show tolerance. For how long you want us to show tolerance?

Rationalist: It’s not consolidation. Its people mandate. People has rejected communal practices of one party.

NRI: So now it’s all about communal-ism. When majority consolidates it is not communal-ism but when majority does, it would damage secular fabric. If people who did not clear even high school become important minister in a state we are strengthening the social fabric but if some person who have required credentials become head of a college its damage to social fabric due to his affiliation to a community. Is this your logic?

Rationalist: You are not even in the country what you would know? This country has gone to dogs.

Mango Man: Hey what are you talking about. I live a good life here. I have access to good education, good jobs, safe neighborhood. Even I work with people of all religion but I don’t see any issues.

NRI: Exactly. County is doing good in all indicators. Inflation is in control. GDP growth is stable. Country rating up a notch and you just picked this time to toss a word intolerance.

Rationalist: If one feel unsafe these economic indicators would not help. The head of the state must act against anyone who is making these statements. As he is not doing it means he is supporting it.

Mango Man: Hey this is unreasonable. On other day you were not able to convince your neighbor about reducing the volume of loudspeaker and you expect one man to pull up control everyone in entire country.

NRI: Exactly my point. In US if one speaks about sending Mexican out or doing communal profiling, his party debate with him but no one fires him. Democracy is about having a debate. If you stop one side from even questioning your belief that would be intolerance.

Rationalist: Hey I don’t agree with you. You don’t know the issues of the country. It’s because of you guys, we are in trouble.

NRI: Country is fine and it’s because of you Rationalist my country is always in bad press worldwide. You shame every countryman abroad.

Mango Man: Hey I live here. I don’t see any problem related to tolerance but I want a better job, better education, affordable housing, clear air to breath and good roads to drive. I want my family to feel safe and also expedited and affordable grievance redressal system if something goes wrong. I want better and affordable healthcare and for sake food availability for everyone.

Rationalist & NRI in chorus: This is off the topic. Let’s discuss intolerance first!!

Mango Man: I am bored. I am going to watch Big boss.

Rationalist: Yeah you are good for nothing let me tweet. Who knows, I maybe on TV tomorrow due to this.

NRI: Yeah Mango Man you wasted my time. I need to go and see a new residential project. This would be great deal if I can buy it now. This area is going to sky rocket in next few years.

Mango Man: It looks like you both are doing very good in this intolerant environment but I am not doing bad as well. You know the new movie is out. I might be able to get a good pirated print over internet. 

Rationalist & NRI in chorus again: Yeah whatever!!

Better Deals for Holidays

The consumerism is all around you. This is an era of great deals and thanksgiving is round the corner this would make more sense to you than ever before. No matter which deal you sign-up for, there would be always a tickling feeling in your heart that somewhere somebody must be getting a better deal and 90% of the cases your fear is real.

We spend hours and hours of our time searching for that 10% exclusive deal and feel better about buying something at better price and to be fair most of time end up getting something which we never thought we really need. Some quick examples to clarify the idea…

- Laptop with much better configuration, though we never understand how hardware upgrade will   impact software performance which we would be running on it.

 - Camera with better megapixel configuration and zoom capability without knowing what kind of pictures we would like to shoot with it.
- Some exclusive movie merchandise without understanding what is relative worth without the branding
- Kitchen appliances without understanding the usability and impact on our current kitchen layout

Though I am saying all this but I understand the importance of buying new product

- It provide a fresh look to your surrounding
- It give many people a high just by buying new stuff which no doubt required to motivate us
- It keep you updated with technological improvements etc etc 

So when you compare positives with negatives and look back, you would realize deals never help in our plans to upgrade our lifestyle on contrary it push us to make instant decision which alter any plans we had in mind to begin with and also we end up paying more than what we planned anyways.

On other end it is not only take away our time which we could have used to enjoy some real good deals we got in past but it also waste those deals in many ways..

- Clean air. By driving miles and miles to get a good deal
- Healthy environment which we destroy by not recycling because we don’t have time
- Our great friends and families with whom we could have spent quality time but due to time shortage unable to connect
- Celebrating the concept of festival in true spirit which we no longer feel or pay attention to
- Our body and soul which is already fatigued by everyday hectic schedule and need some quick attention

I have nothing against getting good deal but please pay little attention this festival session on all the good deals you already got in life and  how you can cherish it longer. This would make our wallet and our life much more prosper and happy in true sense of holiday session.

Happy Holidays!!

Elucidation

Sensitive but not over emotional, understanding but also expressive. Fear for not only God but lot of other species but still work around way to achieve desired results. Know your limitations but still push to get some additional pie whenever possible. Persuasive about self understanding but do not shut the door for other good ideas to sneak in. Astonish counter arguments by rare high temper but quick to realize situation and control self. Open to accept all mistakes done with lots of hesitation of course but also sincere in saying sorry without fault to save important relationships.

Being lazy most of the times but work overtime for stuff of interest. Make friends randomly considering their behaviour not specialization or success story and also being supportive to all of them even if feel afflicted in the process. Love to dress up in style. Like to join public functions and behave properly but easily get bored by formal social chit chat. Not very impressed by luxury but care to cherish important moments in style.Surprise others by showing rare ambitious attitude and achieve targets overcoming most dreadful challenges.

Oh yes I am impressed from you!!