Issues within the society and economy - How Steem can help
So many times I've seen people shrug and walk away not caring, saying "Who gives a crap? I'm living an OK life. Why do I need to worry about these issues in economy?"
But the fact is that you should care. You should care because these issues affects both yourself and your friends, your family, and everyone around you. Not caring about issues in society is just as bad as letting homeless people die away in my opinion.
In this article I'll be talking about how Steem(Yes, the platform you're using right now) can help solve these issues, and create a better place for all Earthlings, if applied appropriately.
1. Unemployment
Possibly one of the biggest concerns right now in society is the unemployment rate. You hear policy makers talk about it every day in the media. Although it's not high, it's still 1 out of around 20 people right now in the US that are unemployed. Might not seem like much, but the unemployment benefits that these people receive comes from the form of either inflation(indirect tax on your savings) or direct taxes. In fact, it's costing the US alone more than 520 billion dollars a year just to pay unemployment welfare. Think about where the money can be better spent.
To tackle unemployment, obviously we will need to solve the problem from its root. We need to create more opportunities for everyone, especially those who doesn't specialize in a certain area. And Steem, in my opinion, is the golden platform for this. You can write about anything, anywhere, anytime and get paid based on your contributions. You don't even need skills. I am already taking up Steem writing as a part time job - and I am benefiting from it greatly. Telling your story about unemployment to the community will probably also get you assistance financially, in the form of upvotes.
2. Homelessness
Similar to unemployment, but these people are worse off. They can't afford to rent a place. So they have to sleep at night elsewhere, and keep their spending to a minimum level. There are more than 1.5 million people in the USA that are homeless.
How Steem can help? Well, there is already a very well known example. @brookdemar has got back into a home after a long struggle with homelessness. Remember Steem isn't a machine. Steem is a community. If people hear from you about your story, they are likely to help you, through the form of upvotes. The Steem community doesn't treat you like numbers like the welfare system does - it treats you as a person.
Conclusion
Steem is a great technology. It will only be a matter of time before the platform takes off on a grand scale, and reward everyone involved in it.
Steem can also be a place where needy people don't need to beg to get what they need. Rather, the system is designed to reward them for what they deserve.
I love this! Steemit is giving us so much power! We can use it to save lives, have a voice and get stuff out there! I can't wait to see what it blossoms into!
Steem is really a lovely platform, it's not enough to decentralize money, you have to decentralize everywhing. Communication is most important. Fecesbook is censoring everybody, time to claim freedom of speech for good!
Great post @jholdsworhty. Freedom of speech and decentralization are great for everyone. Let's hope that Steemit will spread like a plague. :D
Upvoted! I just posted something exactly confirming what you just wrote:
I spent my birthday helping the homeless in Argentina. Upvoting = making a donation for free! https://steemit.com/travel/@budgetbucketlist/an-unforgettable-birthday-party-with-the-homeless-people-of-buenos-aires-made-possible-by-steemit
I really appreciated the line "Steem isn't a machine. Steem is a community." I said something similar recently about the shift from being "a living cell in an organism to a working cog in a machine." I also appreciate your plug on decentralization, and even though they were simple - the images helped for visualization.
I had a long talk with friend the other night regarding the word "anarchy" and our general relationship with (and "fears" around) that word. It's fascinating to hear how peoples minds work when it comes to these issues. It's as if they are locked up. Even my closest friends, who are open hearted and willing to entertain wild ideas, they quickly dismiss "anarchy" but turn around and badmouth government regulations and rule.
As I explore the potential of Blockchain technology and Decentralization, I see how close to the heart of our problem "centralized accounting systems," actually are. But furthermore, I see how the mental schizm between these two (and more) concepts creates barrier for understanding their interplay, and ultimately effects our ideals of a lively hood in very subversive ways. Bridging this gap is vital to the (Steemit etc) enterprises.
I think that once we can simplify with words, and graphs the power of centralization enough to commoners and laymen to understand, there will be a breaking point where the illuminations goes memetic (like the 100th monkey).
I also agree with being radical, ie - getting at the roots. Homelessness and unemployment not only have deep roots, but vast branches - both tree branches that grow fruit for informing our body politic, and river branches that irrigate our thinking like "streams of consciousness."
To a certain degree I feel the nature of the problem informs our diagnosis, which is an ill effect. For instance, "create more jobs" is a credo often passionately proselytized - but it doesn't always address the roots, or heart of the matter.
As we put our attention to these issues, I think we'll start to see the long haul. I think this work is generational, and will need time to wither away. Luckily for us, (I also believe) time is speeding up. So where it may have taken 7 generations to irradiate and epidemic, it might only take 50 years.
Ultimately, I post all these words to say, thank you for your post - good work, and keep up!
Nice article giving problem solving ideas through Steemit.
Steemit.com will go viral! It creates so many new boundless possibilities. Within the next years it'll be one of the greatest sources to share information! We all can help decentralize money and literally everything.
Best wishes
Nice post!
We don't need man in the middle, we can use the social as the middle!
And use math to organize it.
My post with similar thoughts:
https://steemit.com/blockchain/@soomrack/bitcoin-blockchain-steem-middlesociety-and-math-management
THank you for your article.One thing you missed is hidden unemployment,the unemplyment of those not seeking jobs,mostly because they have given up.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/anaswanson/2015/03/31/what-if-americas-unemployment-rate-is-really-wrong/#3fc19a9c2d9a
This great