The poor alignment of the value timeline

I am pretty lucky in this world, I have a pantry and a fridge that generally has something edible in it and, a freezer of food cooked and frozen for my daughter. It is a luxury many don't have. Many do though.

How much is a can of tuna worth? At the shops here it is about 1.50€ or ~6 Steem at today's prices. Tomorrow, who knows.

That is the size of the current inflation pool and its approximate value in USD. Not very much is it? Or is it a massive amount? Well, it depends when you look at it as there value of something is currently always tied to a time for example, that can of tuna worth 1.50 now could be worth a gold coin to a starving person in wartime but, be near valueless to someone as they sit down to a steak dinner at a Michelin star restaurant.

Some people want to live off of stem yet do not factor in the time line value of the currency and expect to have a steady stream of USD equivalent income. This year there is 26 million Steem in the inflation pool meaning, 26 million new Steem will be printed.

That is ~500,000 Steem a week or at current price, 150,000 dollars a week. Let's say that everyone wanted on average 100 USD worth of Steem a week to live, how many people does the pool support? 1500. That is it. Now, that doesn't factor in the witness costs, the interest payments or anything else. What a scam!

However, that is the timeline issue and, the investment of it. People who look at earning fiat here are confused and citing "get paid to write" as a lie is not a good position. I get paid to write on Steem, I get paid in Steem, the native currency, not USD.

I am happy with being paid in Steem because of the future opportunity of the currency, not the fiat value of the currency at this moment of time. This place is not a place to earn USD on consistently because if the fluctuations in the Steem price but, earning Steem here is possible.

Then there is the question of that future value as no matter what amount if Steem one has, the future is uncertain and it could all go to zero. This is risk and again, people don't tend to factor timelines into their mental risk models as we are generally instant gratification driven by immediate needs. For most here, if someone wants to live off a certain amount of USD equivalent value each week, get a salaried job that covers needs. Anyone is able to try to do it on Steem of course but, complaining about failing to do so without factoring in the timeline is again, a poor position.

Let's say someone earned 50 Steem this week which has a current value of 15 USD. Not much is it? But, instead of spending it now on the timeline, they took the risk and held it for a later point down the line. If Steem goes to 10 dollars in the future, that same 50 Steem is worth 500 dollars USD, which is likely seen as a very good result for writing a blog. It could also go to zero.

Again, people suffer mental alignment issues in both reality and their expectations of that reality, especially those who do not consider value of things across time. The lie on Steem isn't Steem, it is the expectations of users who feel that they are entitled to a certain value in a currency that is unstable and immature.

Will you buy a can of tuna from me for an ounce of gold? Why not? Afterall, in the advent of a war you might do how about you just pony it up now? Oh, you can buy many cans of tuna right now yourself with that coin and store them just in case the war arrives? Do that then.

How did you get that gold coin by the way? How did you get that money in your bank that paid for a cup of coffee or, your rent?

The crypto life is one of risk and uncertainty at this time, not consistency. Again, of one wants consistency of USD value on a 7 day schedule, go work at McDonald's or use whatever skills you may possess to get a job. If one wants to have a chance at turning the equivalent USD value into a few magnitudes of value higher, take the risk on some crypto. If one is satisfied earning that same amount forever, keep the job and take the risk they will keep you.

When it comes to value, timeline had to pay a role and this includes the value of information. Anyone born in the 70s or earlier could have bought into Apple and made themselves relatively wealthy. How many did? Microsoft? Ah, in hindsight it is risk-free but of course, useless as investment information. Timeline matters. If only we all had time machines... What a fucking mess that would be.

Steem pays out rewards in local Steem currencies and if someone wants to get paid in something else, they have to convert it themselves to that form. The value of anything is discovered at the point of sale, not the expectation of sale. Steem can be sold at 1 cent or 100 dollars of USD, it may just come down to when one chooses to sell.

Steem can however be earned in multiple ways and bought also. And while some people are complaining they can't live off a startup company that generates funds from Blockchain industry that is in total 10 years old, others are happy earning the various currencies to take up a future position in an industry that will one day be 30, 40, 50 years old.

People like to express their displeasure as Steem doesn't fulfil their needs while others are absolutely having their needs fulfilled on the same Blockchain as their need is taking a risky position on the future but, the risk is on the prize of Steem, not the earning of it.

There is no risk in earning Steem, but once you own it, the risk is in what you choose to do with that Steem. Your needs are yours, mine are mine and while there can be relationships between, assuming equality of result without factoring in timeline of life is a poor position for anyone to hold.

I know why I struggle financially in this life at this moment because in many past moments, I didn't provide for my future needs.

People should start looking at the timelines of their own lives and find all the missed opportunities that for one reason or another didn't take. One could say "I am poor but I lived a colourful life" and that is fine, but don't complain when that life has left you needing funds to cover your immediate needs and expecting those who lived different lives with different sacrifices made to provide for you.

There is risk in every decision, opportunity cost and uncertainty andd while someone might say, "I could earn more working at a fast food place", why aren't they of they need money to live, why are they wasting their time on Steem? Perhaps because they are hoping that sooner rather than later, the point in the timeline where Steem is worth enough will come. Seems like a risky position to me, but to each their own.

I have a family to provide for, bills and debt to service. There is no way I am going to rely on Steem to put a roof over my head or food in the mouth of my child unless there really is no other way right now.

One day, I do hold the hope that Steem can provide me with more opportunity than a point of hope in the moment but, that is not at this point on the timeline. So, I work hard across several currencies now but, I will only exchange one way now, fiat to crypto.

Your motives on earning on Steem might be the same as mine but, the alignment of when could be vastly different. Due to this time difference in approach, our results can vary wildly. Hindsight is 20/20 they say, yet what is the point of looking back at life of one doesn't learn the lessons taught? I have made many errors that have led me to today and many good decisions. I predict that holding Steem is going to be of a much higher value to me in the future than the value of me spending it now. For now, I can satisfy my daily needs in other ways.

Those that can't rarely question why but instead blame the current situation they find themselves in. Each decision we make has a cost in the future and sometimes, it can be a cost we are unwilling to pay - but pay we must.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
_{(posted from phone)}