Well, if billionaires are talking about it…

There is a lot of talk about the rapidly widening economic gap between the very very wealthy and the rest of the population. It’s an important conversation and something that needs desperately to be addressed in my opinion. There’s lots of great stuff out there to be read on the subject. One of my favorites is this one from mid-2018 in The Atlantic. Another is this piece from, of all places, Mckinsey & Co, on the impact of the wealth gaps that exist among people of different races in the US. But we’ve reached a whole new level now… because billionaires are talking about.

Two interesting points of view. This interview from Marketwatch with Ray Dalio is interesting. I’m not much of a Ray Dalio fan for a variety of reasons, but he has become an interesting voice in the billionaire wilderness advocating for substantial changes to how the world economy, and capitalism in particular, treats everyone.

Perhaps more interesting though, is this interview with entrepreneur and investor Nick Hanauer. Nick has been flying the inequality flag for some time, but in this episode of The Ted Radio Hour, he speaks about how we begin to rewrite our contracts with each other and with capitalism to the benefit of all. It starts at the 40:15 mark (though this whole episode is great).

It’s my belief that the widening gap between those that have and those that don’t is one of the most challenging we face in the near future. And if billionaires are talking about it…

The Return of the Blog

Against my better judgment, but with the encouragement of others (you know who you are and you are to blame), I’ve decided to revive the Mountain Palaver! And so we shall proceed with some semi-regular musings about venture capital, start-ups, entrepreneurs, a dabbling of (GASP!) politics and frequent recommendations for things to read, listen to or watch.

We’ll start small this week and go with a listening recommendation – the “Motive” podcast. “Motive” is produced by WBEZ Chicago. I highly recommend Season 3 which tracks in detail the rebirth of the White Supremacist movement in the 1980s and 1990s in the form of neo-Nazi skinheads. I find this story important context for some of the things we are hearing and seeing today. It can be difficult to listen to, so be advised. You can find Motive lots of places, like the NPR website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Episodes are released weekly.