Investing: FOMO or the Food Chain?
I’d like to compare two types of people I know about. They don’t know each other but are both in their 20s. They both have smartphones with WhatsApp installed and I am in contact with them mainly in this way.
Mark is an English university mathematics graduate, now approaching 30, who afterwards worked a short time in England. He then took time out, taught English as a Foreign Language in Japan. He then got a job as a software developer/engineer in a blue-chip company.
When the Gamestop company was promoted on Reddit, Mark wanted to set up a stockbroker account to do some trading. He couldn’t arrange it in time to participate in the pump and dump brigade. But he has enough income to rent a basic flat, feed himself and live a comfortable life.
Eric is a farmer in Mbale, Uganda, Africa in his uncle’s field which they rent. He grows green peppers and other vegetables and is being hassled by the landlord for rent, while he waits for crops to ripen to take them to market. It is a worrying time for him. Borrowing on credit may not be an option for him.
Ask him what his dream is. He will say to own enough land to grow enough crops. His focus on life is so different. But he has a smartphone. He lives off the grid because that is all that he knows locally and is comfortable with it. He has a mobile number, email address and access to the internet. But how much does he understand about making money online?
Infrastructure is sadly lacking in Uganda. Water isn’t on tap but pumped up from local wells. Someone he knows has solar panels for electricity on their property and he goes there to charge up his phone to keep in touch with people. This is the only life he knows. His wish is to own some goats for milk and occasional meat, for products he can eat or sell to pay the rent.
There is also a charity called Kids for Kids. The people in the charity fund the means for people to support themselves in Darfur, Africa. Just as in Mbale, there is no water on tap, no infrastructure. They have to set up wells to draw or pump water to the surface.
The charity supplies 5 kids for kids (children) for a family which they look after for at least two years. The herd grows and after two years they pass on 5 kids to another family. Older people may look after chickens for eggs and occasional meat. So they can eat, support themselves and become less dependent on charity.
And what about you?
