If Milan are really serious about building a title contender, they would double down on prime-age and young talent, not keep re-cycling old legends like Modric and Walker because of experience. We have been here before: bringing in the big names after they have passed their physical prime rarely achieves much in the long run, especially in a league that is getting faster and faster

What makes it worse, Milan's management has been all over the place since the Scudetto. Three coaches in 14 months? That is scrambling. The squad value has tanked by almost €50 million this year alone, mostly because they are stuck with high-wage, zero resale guys (your Modrics and Florenzis) while young players are left fighting for minutes behind them. Youth like Musah or Jimenez are supposed to be appreciating assets, but if you do not trust them in the big matches, their value (and confidence) stagnates

You are right about stamina and activity. There is clear data showing midfielders nosedive after 30. Modrić's football IQ is top class, but you cannot defy biology. Milan is just hoping his brain compensates for the legs, which feels desperate

Time obsessed? You are right . Scarcity of time is the real equalizer, but you are sliding dangerously close to the "optimize everything" pitfall. We have all been conditioned to think that any minute that is not spent in some sort of productive activity is essentially stealing out of your own future. But this obsessive need to squeeze every moment of time in fact reduces life to a spreadsheet for value extraction. Why do we assume improving status is the ultimate ROI for a lived hour? When did lazy get to be immoral?

What is improvement anyway? What version of me is better, the one where I learned a new skill in an hour or the one where I decompressed in the hour? Of course, theoretically, the more you put in, the more you get out, the classic economic trade. But in real, human time, we have to price in things like burnout, boredom, and existential malaise. And why is time only valuable if it pays in money, muscle, or mental upgrades? The only truly scarce thing about time is its unpredictability. You could grind ten years and still lose due to luck, genetics or algorithms being on the other side

Wanting a better life is natural, and I agree that sometimes this desire can make people take risks they are not able to cope with or pursue images that are not even real. I have seen friends jump into crypto because they saw someone on YouTube showing a nice car with no idea that behind every success story, there are 100 people who lost money that they could not afford to lose. Crypto is a tool and tools can be used to build or destroy, it depends on how you use it and what you know

But I also get why people want to "walk with the rich". When the whole world is showing off, and you feel like you are stuck, it is easy to feel pressure. Social media only makes it stronger. But sometimes, the real strength is in knowing yourself, knowing your limits, and being okay with moving at your own pace



Not every country is forced into crypto. Most are adopting it because they want an alternative to old, broken systems. But I wou;d argue the core point is still about incentives, just with a different flavor. People flock to crypto not because of a government handout, but because the existing incentives in their own economies are failing them. That is why Bitcoin adoption is up in places like Nigeria or Argentina

On climate and policy, though, I think there is more grey. Sometimes the "battle" is real, and sometimes it ss a box-ticking game. The Northern Ireland example, yeah, it is a classic facepalm, but sadly, "stupid" programs are not left or right. They are just what happens when leaders forget that people are smarter than the system

Respect!! Running your own business is the real freedom. Nobody can take your time except your customers and your own ambition. If you can outwork and outsmart the system, that is winning, and not everyone has that option. Why complain if it does not cut into your pocket?

But, this is exactly how governments and old systems get away with dumping pain on everyone else. They count on people who "are not affected" to stay silent. It is divide and rule. Freelancers, business owners, and workers are all kept in their own lanes, so the politicians keep shifting the burden while everyone thinks, "Not my problem". Today it is holidays for public workers. Tomorrow it is another "small" thing: higher VAT, more regulation, or suddenly your customers have less cash to spend. The pain always trickles sideways. If we all shrug and say "not my issue", eventually the squeeze gets everyone, just not at the same time



Why do we always have to just "follow the law" when it makes no sense for regular people? If a government can take back time that is already part of our lives, what is stopping them from stealing away more next year, or every year after that?

You might be right, the law might say benefits cannot be taken back, but now they want to change the law when it is convenient for them, not for us. It is always "for the good of the economy", but most of the time, the benefits never actually reach us. Workers are told to do their part, while big bosses and politicians barely feel a thing. It is always the little guy who pays, and families lose out the most

If everyone just goes along because it is "the law", then nothing ever changes. You see, people in France out on the streets or making noise online. If there is one thing I have learned from crypto, it is that rules are only as strong as the people who accept them. When rules get too unfair, people will eventually push back, and it can be hard



People always joke about the "lazy French" but anyone calling the French soft has never worked a real grind in half the world. Most people out there are breaking their backs for nothing close to a 35-hour week or proper weekends. The French earned their rights through years of fighting, not because the government handed it out for free. Politicians know all this, yet they still try to take away the few protections people have left. If you push French workers too far, you get riots, not quiet acceptance. That is a lesson a lot of governments refuse to learn, probably because in most places, protest gets crushed or ignored

And yeah, "work like animals" is not even an exaggeration. I know people working 10, 12, even 14-hour days, no break, just so they can afford rent and food. No holidays, no respect, no time for family. Meanwhile, those at the top treat time off like a luxury for "rich" countries only. What a joke!



It is easy to say when you're not the one losing them, and when your country never had them in the first place. But to most French people, those are the way life structured. They are tied to family, tradition, and, yeah, mental health. You cut that, and you are telling millions that their time isn't valuable

And about "budget deficit logic", the government's plan is always about making a show for markets and ratings agencies, not really fixing the roots of the problem. The numbers even say so: the money saved from these two holidays is less than 10% of what they need, and it is almost cancelled out by increased military spending. How does that make sense? If it is just numbers, then why does almost 90% of the population say "no". Are they all dumb, or is there something deeper you are missing?

It is not about "Holy Thursday" or "Easter Monday" in isolation. When the state starts with small things, something you call "no big deal", that is how people learn their voice does not count. You might not care about a Monday off, but for a single parent, a low-wage worker, or someone who plans their whole year around rare family time, it matters a lot. If you do not see it, maybe it is not about overreacting. Maybe it is about having a different life experience



It is easy to say when you're not the one losing them, and when your country never had them in the first place. But to most French people, those are the way life structured. They are tied to family, tradition, and, yeah, mental health. You cut that, and you are telling millions that their time isn't valuable

And about "budget deficit logic", the government's plan is always about making a show for markets and ratings agencies, not really fixing the roots of the problem. The numbers even say so: the money saved from these two holidays is less than 10% of what they need, and it is almost cancelled out by increased military spending. How does that make sense? If it is just numbers, then why does almost 90% of the population say "no". Are they all dumb, or is there something deeper you are missing?

It is not about "Holy Thursday" or "Easter Monday" in isolation. When the state starts with small things, something you call "no big deal", that is how people learn their voice does not count. You might not care about a Monday off, but for a single parent, a low-wage worker, or someone who plans their whole year around rare family time, it matters a lot. If you do not see it, maybe it is not about overreacting. Maybe it is about having a different life experience

Excellent observation on how all this world debt is just money going in and out of pockets. It is almost as though we are all just writing IOUs and saying that it is "wealth". I have been considering this as well: the money of the world is essentially numbers and the more debt, the more money in the system. That is one big balancing act, and yeah, when governments go into more debt, it usually means more money is printed



Taxes are necessary for any country to work well. There is no way we get roads, hospitals, security, or even fair courts without people paying in. I agree, in theory, taxes should be for everyone, and everyone should get something back. That is the dream

But, like you said, the problem is the system is rarely fair. It is not just in one country. Almost everywhere, the richest find ways to avoid taxes. They have teams of lawyers, complicated companies, offshore accounts. Meanwhile, regular people cannot do this, so they pay what is asked, and even more, just to survive

I see the same thing: Big companies say they "create jobs", so they need lower taxes. But this is just an excuse. Jobs matter, but so does everyone paying their part. If only workers pay, and the richest do not, the country cannot be strong for long. The gap just gets wider

What makes it harder is, people lose trust in the system. “Why should I pay if the big guys do not?”, they asked. And when government is not sincere by wasting money or making shady deals, trust goes down even more. It turns into a cycle: more tax dodging, more debt, more frustration

real change has to come from both sides. People need to see where their money goes, and governments need to close loopholes and treat all citizens fairly, rich or poor. If we ever get that, maybe people will actually feel good about paying taxes

I have heard those tales as well: rivers running dry, scenery destroyed, the locals displaced as the "green" technology is awarded a new badge in the headlines. It is a shot in the stomach . and we cannot shut our eyes on it. It is frustrating how the story repeats: a company promises "progress" and "sustainability , but the people actually living near the mine pay the highest price. They end up with a couple of temporary jobs or handouts and someone in a far-off office tallies the actual profits

What really hits home for me is the double standard. We say we want a clean future, but we are willing to "outsource" the mess to places we do not see on TV, like deserts in Chile or villages in Africa. And when the water has gone, or the food chain has broken, it is not the CEOs or shareholders who suffer

The big question is, I suppose, how do we ensure that the communities, who are on the front line, get more than the leftovers? I do not mean money, but real control over what goes on their land and water. Perhaps data and technology might even be useful in this case, such as allowing locals to monitor what is going on, report abuses, or even insist on a fair share in some form of a resource contract on the blockchain. However, only when they are really in control, not merely observed

You are right to point this out. If we keep repeating the same mistakes, “green” tech is just another color for the same old story. So, what do you think would be a fair way to balance what the world needs and what these communities deserve?

Chips.gg Username: Slapper
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we grew up programmed to believe housing is adulthood's achievement badge, but the math does not add up for most people under 40. Anyone who has tried to "run the numbers" lately already knows: the numbers run you. Sure, wages are static, but property has become vessel for generational wealth transfer, social stability, even dating value

This is not just a cyclical market swing. It is a shift in how young people assign meaning to their choices. Is this a tragedy, or actually a rare form of freedom? You cannot lose the home lottery if you never buy a ticket. So, we see alternatives: digital nomadism, micro-investments, group living. They are adapting in real time, because who says a nuclear family needs a nuclear mortgage? The old system handed people a single template for adulthood. Now, at least, there is the variety of options. Most of which probably freak out politicians, banks, and anyone with a pension

And if this is a bubble, what is the asset being inflated? Dreams? Land? Or just the illusion that owning something gives you control? Maybe the problem is thinking that ownership equals stability at all. As for "structural change", it has already here, just messier and lonelier than the textbooks said. Owning, renting, bouncing, none of it feels like winning, but at least now the script's open for edits

You can have all these countries ranked at the top, but people on the ground still do not feel safe or truly free. Then, what is the use of being a millionaire if you cannot walk outside at night, or if you spend most of your life anxious about someone taking it all away? I relate a lot to what you said about enjoying time with family. That is probably the only "wealth" that matters when you zoom out. We see the same thing in the stats: the places where people actually have more free time and trust (places like Norway or Denmark) tend to have better lives overall, even if the salaries are not always sky-high

To me, chasing the highest GDP or stacking cash for the sake of it just turns us into targets, or even isolates us from real community. There is this silent trade-off happening between feeling rich and feeling at peace. The older I get, the more I think it is the second one that actually matters

I read about these “debates” in Europe and I just think, wow, at least people there can argue and maybe win a little ground. Where you are, it is even worse. Just orders from the top, and everyone's supposed to swallow it. That is tough. do you think people have stopped fighting because nothing changes, or was there never really any culture of pushing back to start with?

I honestly do not know what is worse: a government that pretends to listen, or one that does not even bother. Either way, regular people end up losing their time and energy, right?



Many would feel that same stress if the government tried this in our own countries. Losing time with family (especially for parents) would hit hard. We all know that people making these decisions never had to choose between their job and being there for their kids. And yes, if there is no real benefit and just more pain for everyone, it only makes people angrier. Governments seem to forget that most folks are not just numbers or data point. We are real people with lives and relationships and emotion. When they take away the little free time we have, it is like they are taking away the last bit of breathing room we get in a busy world

There are always smarter ways to fix economic problems than just demanding people work more and live less. Maybe if leaders started by fixing waste, or by really listening to what people need, things would not blow up into street protests and mistrust



France (and indeed, most of Europe) has lived large off a heavy state, easy money, and yes, some questionable foreign policies in Africa and elsewhere. But I believe what is actually collapsing is not just the French state, it is the whole linear idea that "work more = always win", no matter the cost to normie.

I do not think anyone here seriously believes you can just chill forever and get paid for nothing. But the total opposite, grinding everyone down with longer hours, less rest, and no vision, that does not make a country stronger. Look at the facts: French workers are already more productive per hour than many countries that brag about "hard work", and still the system hass broken. Why? Because the real issue is never about laziness, it is decades of political avoidance, wasted spending, and leaders buying time by taxing the hell out of normal people while ignoring the real cracks

Let's not pretend the US or China got ahead just by making everyone work more hours. There are a lot to do with innovation, flexibility, actually rewarding effort, not just squeezing people dry. When you turn every problem into "just work harder", you end up with burned out, angry citizens who start looking for something, anything, that can bring different

This whole generational wealth debate is just as much about fear as it is about security. Everybody wants their kids to have it easier, but does that actually mean giving them a bigger safety net or the ability to build their own? Most studies (yeah, the kind everyone scrolls past) show inherited wealth tends to dilute over time, not just because of markets or inflation, but because human psychology is allergic to easy money. It is almost a rule that the third generation spends what the first built

Is it even freedom if you spend your life on defense (hoarding, hedging, tax loopholes optimization) just so nobody "wastes" your inheritance? At what point is generational wealth generational anxiety? The more you try to control the future, the more you turn your own kids into risk-averse portfolio managers rather than people. But the most extreme play is to arm your kids with emotional resilience, critical thinking and the capacity to quit. Because, often the best bet is to fold up the game, not just play it better

Portfolio, sure. Teach compounding, teach curiosity, but do not be shocked if your great-grandkid wants something different from what you built, or burns it all to the ground for reasons you would never understand. Maybe that is not a waste. Maybe that is just a sign you actually gave them freedom. Is not that what we are after, or did we just get hooked on the scoreboard?

I used to think being rich was simple: big salary, nice car, maybe some Bitcoin. But as I grow up, I am not sure anymore

In some countries, the numbers are enormous (such as Singapore, Switzerland), and yet everyday life is stressful: long working hours, high rent, and a lack of free time. Meanwhile, other countries such as Norway and Germany are working on making life easier to ordinary citizens: less work, more leisure time, healthier, more trust

I see more and more people (including me and my friends) wondering: Is all the money worth anything when you are tired, stressed, or anxious about the future? In others, youths are unable to secure decent employment and resort to crypto to stay alive, such as in Nigeria. In Guyana, new oil money is helping some, but only if it is managed well

So I ask you:
- Has your life changed with the "growth" of your country?
- Do you feel more secure, or less?
- If you could choose, would you want more money, more time, or more trust in people?

I would like to discuss something I have read about France, but it seems that it can happen almost everywhere. The government there wants to cut two public holidays so people work more days. They claim it is to assist in resolving their massive debt issue, but when you examine what is actually occurring, it does not sit well

First, most of the French is opposed to it (eventually). Over 70% answered no to the loss of their holidays. The amount of money that the government would save (approximately 4 billion euros) is relatively little in comparison to the total debt of the country, and it is nearly equal to the amount they are spending additionally on the military. Therefore, individuals are being requested to work longer, yet they will not actually earn more

Most of my friends have had jobs where a day off is worth more than a small bonus. It is not even about money. What matters most to them (and me) are the simple things: family dinners, lazy afternoons, and time to read new ideas or work on new projects or just play games with the community (Yeah, I might talk about our bitcointalk Poker events haha). The governments keep asking normal people to sacrifice, while they avoid the real problems, like how work and taxes are set up

What would you do when your country attempted this? Would you work more days for the same money? Do you believe it does any good?

Or is it just another method of old systems to transfer the pain to ordinary people, and to pretend that things will be better soon?

Fiat is engineered for depreciation. Nobody with actual power denies this, they just profit from the churn. Step one, "understand the problem", is honestly the most radical act you can do. Because the minute you see the architecture of inflation, you stop blaming yourself for never "catching up". The hamster wheel was never built to reward hamsters

You say knowledge first, and you are right, but the dark joke is that information itself is now a commodity. Every click is monetized, every "finance tip" recycled. Distinguishing between signal and noise is a skill nobody taught in school. And Bitcoin, love it, hate it, doesn't matter, just the willingness to consider an alternative system is an act of intellectual independence. But Bitcoin is just the loudest signal for a global anxiety: people are exhausted by inflationary regimes and hungry for non-state solutions. How to "diversify" when every asset class is shadowed by politics, algorithms, or collective panic?

Financial discipline? Sure, but most people are forced into "discipline" by necessity, not virtue. Self-help books rarely talk about the fact that in many economies, budgeting is just a fancy word for chronic stress. That is where your last line actually hits home. The system is unstable, but you can reduce chaos at the micro-level: tune your habits, curate your information diet, be radical about risk. The era of passive saving is gone. Active skepticism, active adaptation. That is the only hedge that works in a world where the rules change mid-game

The cult of "start investing now" is everywhere, but nobody talks about the deeper tension: the ideology of access versus the reality of inequality. It is fashionable to say anyone can invest, but can we actually be honest about why most do not? It is not just procrastination. I would call it anxiety. Investing means confronting your own future, which is terrifying if you grew up on economic edge. The people with the most to gain are usually those least prepared to stomach risk or ride out downturns

That said, you are not wrong. The only way you can have any chance of agency in the algorithmic marketplace is to put some skin in the game. Even a little. But the story you told about rural land is not just a fluke of luck. It tell a lot about how wealth is a function of timing, local knowledge, and randomness. No investment influencer talks about the years of nothing happening before that government university showed up. If everyone suddenly followed your advice, would there still be outsized returns for anyone? Or does the system need most people to sit out for a few to win big? Wealth is a zero-sum game only in the short term, but the emotional math feels way more brutal than the financial one

Most companies, even the "modern" ones, still put the business first. Flexibility, hybrid, or not, if it does not improve the bottom line, most bosses will not bother. The 9-5 grind is still king, and yeah, a little "flexibility" often just means you answer emails at home at night and work all day. It is no wonder people are tired. In places where pay is low and hours are long, I completely agree. People have no choice but to look out for themselves. Side hustles, assets, investing, whatever you can do to build something of your own so you are not just another cog



Flexible work is not always a "perk" when companies use it as an excuse to cut your pay. In the big reports, they actually call this "location-based compensation". But for most real people, it feels like getting short-changed just for not showing up in person

A lot of companies save money when people work from home (no commute, no office rent, no snacks, etc.), but instead of sharing those savings, they pass the cost to the employees. That is not progress at all, that is just shifting the burden. And honestly, it creates a new kind of inequality. Someone working in a small town might do exactly the same job as a city worker, but ends up with a much smaller salary, just because of their postcode

It is also a quiet way for companies to push pay lower and lower in places where workers have less power or where jobs are hard to find. That is a big problem, and it is making people more anxious and less loyal to companies



Choice is at the center. Some want to climb as high as possible and are willing to pay with every hour and ounce of energy. Total respect for that grind. Most of the time, the world rewards it

However, not all people love to live like a billionaire CEO, or even have the ability to do so, even when they desire to.  Most rich people work crazy hours, sure, but they also have more backup. Nannies, assistants, trainers, you name it. For a regular person, sometimes "more hours" just means more stress. And a lot of people have responsibilities at home that rich folks can just pay someone to handle

On networking, totally true, being face-to-face can open doors, and I get that.  However, it does not happen automatically. Much of the so-called office networking is simply meetings, politics, or time wasting. Some of the best remote workers I know have found global gigs, built networks online, even started their own thing because they had flexibility



There are millions of jobs where you simply cannot "remote in". No app can milk a cow, fix a car, or do surgery (yet). And it is true, these jobs often get ignored in the big talk about remote work or tech company culture. It feels like society puts less value on hands-on skills, but the whole economy would collapse without them. Maybe that is something we should be debating more: Why do we treat "office work" as the main story, when real life is much bigger? On your AI point, agree, things will shift. Some jobs might get easier, some might disappear, some new ones will pop up. The big risk is that the people doing hands-on work do not get left behind or forced out by tech that does not fit their reality. The best outcome is where tech actually supports people, not just replaces them

You are seeing the cycle for what it is. Every new government promises to help the middle class, but it is always by borrowing more money that future generations will have to pay back, usually with higher taxes or fewer opportunities. They are handing out short-term relief, while sending the bill to our kids

And yeah, once this cycle starts, it is hard to stop. Each set of leaders just tries to "patch up" the problems for a few years, hoping the next group will deal with the real pain. The debt keeps growing, the interest costs pile up, and the only real option is squeezing ordinary people even harder, whether through taxes, inflation, or cuts to basic services

This is not just an American problem, but it is getting worse in the U.S. because the numbers are now so big, and the willingness to actually change course is so small

Maybe the only way out is for people to see that short-term fixes do not actually solve anything. If we keep asking governments for instant relief, they will keep borrowing and passing the problem down the line. At some point, everyone pays, sometimes without even realizing it



Great point. Everyone wants long-term stability, but when elections are always just around the corner, nobody wants to be the adult in the room and say, "This is going to hurt, but we need to do it". So, yeah, the cycle of short-term thinking continues: tax cuts today, tough reforms postponed until "next time", and the real cost gets bigger for the next generation

Totally agree, democracy is still the best system we have got, but it is almost built to avoid real pain, at least until it is too late to avoid all the pain. In the U.S. now, both sides chase easy votes with promises, and nobody wants to be first to call for sacrifice or real change, because it is political suicide

I would add: The only way out seems to be some kind of political courage, or, like you said, a grown-up agreement across parties. But history shows that usually does not happen until things break, not before. And when they do break, regular people get the worst of it



Some do feel Social Security is basically a contract. You pay in, you get paid back, simple as that. Legally, you are not wrong: it is built like an annuity, and you should have a right to what you contributed. But when the money coming in cannot cover what is going out, that "entitlement" gets political, fast. The trust fund is expected to run out in about eight years. If nothing changes, the law says benefits get cut by about 21% across the board. No real "promise" left to keep, just the numbers

Your point hits at something bigger: a lot of what people feel entitled to (social safety nets, steady jobs, even a stable dollar) just is not as guaranteed as it used to be. Feels like the old contract between people and government is getting rewritten in real time

AI's usefulness is showing up everywhere from cancer diagnosis to finding copper.  It is not hard to understand why so many areas are being reimagined when you see AI processing huge amounts of data and identifying what humans cannot. It really does feel like there are no limits. Being optimistic is okay, too. I am the same way most days. Tech usually finds a way to work around limits, and yeah, energy use might get smarter with it. It is fair to be bullish on AI's upside

But here is the extra bit I keep coming back to: who owns that improvement? The tech is awesome, but if only a few companies control the data and models, the benefits can pile up in one corner, you know? I am not anti-progress. Far from it. However, I would like to ensure that more people have access to it instead of this centralized technology. With everything going on in the world (wars, bad governments, broken systems) tech sometimes feels like the one thing we can believe will push us forward. But maybe our real job is to push for openness and fairness as much as we chase efficiency



I read all the hype about clean tech and AI for good, but when you dig a little deeper, it is just as you described: most data centers are still run on coal and gas, and they consume massive quantities of water. It is a dirty secret. The tech giants talk about renewables, but their growth is so fast that clean energy just can’t keep up. The difference between what they promise and what is the reality is growing

You are also right that, if we would started the transition 20+ years ago, maybe we would be living in a different world now. We are stuck cleaning up a mess we did not make, and no matter how much tech we throw at it, the system is running out of time. On the second problem, you can see that the pattern is old: big companies take, pay little, move profits overseas, and leave the local people with scraps. It is easy for outsiders to say "just don't sell", but when you are facing poverty or a corrupt government, that is not much of a choice

Is it really "too late" for everything? Maybe some doors have closed, but there is still room for small pushes. For example, if more countries start demanding better contracts, or even team up to negotiate as a block, that’s pressure companies can’t ignore forever. Same with tech. If the community (not just the companies) pushes for real green energy, it can start to move the needle, even if it is slow



AI does help us cut down on waste. When we are going to dig, better dig smart, not blind. I would prefer the land to have fewer scars and less destruction to get the same copper or lithium. In that respect, yes, it is a win. And the world runs on this stuff. We cannot just unplug overnight. Even electric cars, solar panels, all our "green" dreams need huge amounts of metals. That dependency is deep. Sometimes the solution seems to be impossible=

Copying "just because others are doing it" can be risky, especially for countries that have a very different reality on the ground. It is not about rejecting progress or saying "no" to good ideas, but like you said, it is about making sure these ideas actually fit. The strongest incentives are born from understanding people's hopes, struggles, and what truly moves their communities forward

There is a kind of silent expectation hanging in the air: do this if you want to belong. I know folks in Nigeria, Vietnam, and even parts of Eastern Europe who have seen projects "for the future" just end up as unused equipment, wasted money, or worse, new debts.  Why promote electric cars when the economics and everyday reality make it a non-starter to most? Even well-meaning "help" just increases the gap between rich and poor, or city and village, because it is aimed at a lifestyle only a few can afford. Importing technology is one thing, yet importing problems is another

The real development comes when the local voices are listened to and people are free to develop their own solutions, even when it is slower, or when they choose a different route



My own country has watched its oil and minerals flow out, but the wealth never seems to change daily life for most people. I see it is the same in many places: the problem is not just what is in the ground, but who gets the chance to turn it into something meaningful. When governments are more interested in power or personal gain than helping their people, it is always the local communities who lose

You are so right about the human resources. It is not always about the lack of talent or will. People are smart and hard-working. It is the lack of opportunity, access, and sometimes the freedom to innovate without fear or bureaucracy slowing everything down. What would happen, if the same amount of energy that is spent on imitating the so-called global trends was spent on constructing schools, helping small businesses, or allowing local ideas to flourish? If copying worked, we would all be rich by now. But the real challenge is creating space for our own breakthroughs, tailored to our people and reality. Lasting progress comes from building up people's abilities, supporting their dreams, and letting every part of the system encourage growth at every level



Fair call on Northern Ireland. Definitely not a "poor country" in the global sense. Ineed, I should have been clearer. I used it not as an example of poverty, but as proof that perverse incentives do not care about borders or GDP. Even rich places make expensive mistakes. Your Saudi Arabia point (and "The Line") nails that too. Money alone does not guarantee smart decisions, and sometimes it even makes the blunders more dramatic

Some of my first post might have blurred the lines between issues facing poor and rich countries. The bigger point I hoped to get across is that bad incentives and weird market results can (and do) hit everywhere, just in different forms. Maybe in Northern Ireland it is burning pellets for cash. In Malaysia, it is rebranding fresh oil as used. In Saudi, maybe it is building a city in the desert no one asked for. In each case, it is real people, real resources, real opportunity cost being wasted

Yes, tech can be a force for good, especially when it grows organically and solves real, local problems. And you has an important point: change works better when it is bottom-up, not dropped in by politicians chasing headlines or global trends. Maybe the big lesson here is that it is not the tech or the idea, but the way it is introduced and grown. No amount of incentives will help if the roots are not local



You mentioned agriculture, coding, finance… Totally agree, it is not about "being like X country", but about getting the basics right and being the best version of yourself as a nation. Your Singapore example is a good one. they found their own lane and did not get stuck trying to out-farm Malaysia or out-manufacture China

However, I also believe that there is a risk when nations just focus on what they already excel in, and fail to observe the way the world is evolving. In some cases, when people concentrate on the so-called traditional strengths, they may lose new opportunities or be left behind when the rules of the game change. That is what occurred in certain locations that only exported raw materials, failed to invest in processing or technology, and then lost when the prices fell

The sweet spot, in my opinion, is that you continue to get better at what you are good at, but you are also open to what is coming next. Never copy, but never shut the door to innovation. A local variation of a global trend may be a new strength

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