For the middle class and above it’s called multiple income streams. For the poor and working-class it’s called “hustle”.
In recent years globalisation and capitalism have come under populist criticism for widening the economic inequality gap. No geographic region has been spared the consequences.
Different solutions have been put forward by the political class with profound implications as hardline politics have made inroads. Why is economic inequality such an irrefutable reality for many? While academics and intellectuals have argued that more people have been lifted out of poverty than at any time in the history of mankind, there are those who say that is a theoretical argument. On the ground, the hard, cold reality is lived everyday by thousands of people.
It’s not a case of perception it is real. People are catching their “nennen”. As the world economy struggles to address the various issues. The impact is debilitating for many communities and societies.
Some make the point that technology has levelled the playing field and made the world smaller and more accessible.
Technology has been both a blessing and a curse. As small island states such as T&T try to cope and stabilise. There is an increasing sense of being overwhelmed.
Unless there is a change in individual and collective attitude, finding a way out of our current economic and financial situation is likely to be unsuccessful. We cannot narrow the gap if we believe it can’t be done.
Some people believe their situation is dire and a government must solve it. T&T has many powerful positives and possibilities to create sustainable wealth-generation and to bridge the economic gap between the so-called haves and have nots. Sports have carried the T&T name around the world.
On Thursday, the fifth T&T Olympic Committee Sports Industry T&T conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain and the purpose of the conference is to educate, advocate and provide thought leadership for the vision of a sustainable, entrepreneurial multi-billion sports industry which T&T is part of—like it or not.
Digging out of the negative economic situation is a task for everyone. Help isn’t on the way. Either get up and get or roll over and die. The T&T Sport Industry is a sleeping giant and no one will awaken the giant if we all sit on our hands and moan and complain.
T&T has always been a creative, cultural and sporting hub. It is unique. It is laid back. It combines a fun-loving lifestyle with an aesthetic diversity that is exciting. Our spontaneity is reflected in positive ways. Creativity is historically our defining attribute and attraction. A change in attitude will unearth unexpected appreciation for the potential inherent within T&T to create a better standard of living for those who may have felt either left behind and or left out of the oil and gas have driven a boom. Money isn’t the problem our attitude is.
T&T is on the rise. An entrepreneurial attitude offers a counterpoint to the myths of economic and income inequality. We have the intellectual capacity, the skills to innovate, to be entrepreneurs, to be inventors in our communities.”
Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer and do not reflect the views of any organisation of which he is a stakeholder.