I don’t know the answer to this question, but I am setting about gathering examples of how a person could be making a lot of money and still live within the Degrowth paradigm.
In the Degrowth movement, one caveat we always give is that in some parts of the world, some economic growth is still needed just to bring the living standard up to basic human standards of livability. Clean drinking water, healthy food, medical care, and so on.
The idea is that those of us in the rich industrialized world will voluntarily reduce our incomes and stop hoarding money and other assets, as a way to alleviate the severe inequality of income and wealth that is driving so much ecological and social destruction around the world.
But, not everybody is going to be willing to voluntarily make a lower income, or voluntarily give up their wealth. Or maybe you have your dream job, you really love it and you are doing good work for people on the planet, but it just happens to make a really high income.
So I started pondering ways that a person could keep making a cushy middle-class first-world salary, and have stored wealth, but ethically distribute it and only use what they need.
Even within the rich industrialized nations such as the USA, there are in fact still people and communities that do not even enjoy a basic humane standard of living. We can be distributing our wealth to those communities in various ways.
There is generational inequity too. Even in solid middle-class families, many times the younger generations are really struggling, and we Boomers can & should use our wealth to help alleviate that as well.
Starting a list, will add to it over time as I think of things.
• One, if possible, we should pay off our own mortgages; not have any mortgage on our own house or our own commercial building.
• Then, if we have adult children (or nieces, nephews, grandchildren, etc.), we can pay off their mortgages, pay off their college debt, and so on.
• If we have extra houses that we are currently either leaving vacant or renting out, we can instead offer them for sale with owner financing. The monthly payment that we get, if we don’t need that cash money we can immediately disperse that money out into the community. And if we do need the cash money, we can spend it on what we need. For example, let’s say you need cataract surgery and it costs $3000, well that would be a perfect use. The idea is to avoid hoarding money in banks or Wall Street accounts.
• If you have acquired or otherwise come into a big lump sum, distribute it out among one or more small local businesses. You be a money partner or a part owner. Do not ask for or accept distribution of profits, unless you actually need the cash money immediately. Otherwise, just keep your money parked in there. If you need a lump sum for something, then cash out and use it.
• Invest your money in education and training — for yourself, and/or for someone else.
• Unless you truly need the cash money, avoid working jobs beyond a certain age. We should leave the jobs open for the younger people who need them. That’s one thing I love about being self-employed; I’m not taking anyone’s job. (I actually only accept new gigs if I need the money; otherwise I send them to younger people, new up-and-coming businesses, etc.)
Nutshell micro-summary of my views on this topic:
• If you don’t have immediate need for cash money, avoid pursuing cash money.
• Keep the minimum amount of money on hand that you feel is essential for basic needs. Seems OK to include a bit for emergency home repairs, car repairs, etc.
• If you come into a big income flow, or a big lump sum of money, distribute it out into the community — either via investments (without seeking interest or other profit), or via donations, or via being a customer of small local businesses.
Update April 9, 2024: One drawback to earning a lot of money is that we end up paying more taxes that support war and other destruction. I just heard from my CPA who has finished preparing my 2023 taxes. In 2023 I earned more than usual because I had an extra gig. So, I will end up having to pay a couple hundred dollars in war tax. Usually my income is low enough that I only end up having to pay Social Security tax. But, I don’t feel too bad about the couple hundred dollars in war tax because I also gave $1000 to Veterans for Peace by becoming a life member, so there! Take that, war-machine!
Further Exploration
Recently two books came into my custody. One is about how to become a millionaire. The other is about how to achieve our wishes and goals through creative visualization. Both of these books have in common that they don’t fall into the hard-edged, greedy tone and fake “positive thinking” of so many other such books I’ve seen.
I have come to believe that a person can in some cases earn $1 million while still being ethical. It’s all in how we distribute it. The hoarding of wealth creates problems. If we look at how nature does things, nature flows. Nothing can be stored up for very long or in very large quantity.
Anyway, here are the book titles for you:
• The Millionaire Booklet: How To Get Super Rich; by Grant Cardone.
• Creative Visualization; by Shakti Gawain.