Have you seen the headlines for this news story?
NASA Asteroid Tracker Eyes Giant Golden Asteroid, Could Make All Humans Billionaires
NASA to explore heavy metal asteroid 16 Psyche that could make everyone rich
Golden Asteroid Could Make Everyone on Earth Wealthy
Who? Who believes this? First of all, who thinks that anyone, corporate or government entity, is going to spend the money to capture a distant asteroid, haul it back to Earth, then distribute the asteroid’s contents to all people on the planet, making everyone rich instantly? Like they will do it out of the kindness of their hearts? Just trying to make everyone’s life better, you know.
Then there’s the simple economic reality that gets in the way. Let’s say that this crazy idea is implemented. Is everyone rich now? Of course not. Everyone is exactly where they were before, because all that happened was the floor was raised. Your net worth increased by two billion dollars – you’re rich, bitch! But your neighbor’s increased by the same amount. Are you both rich? You’re richer than everyone you were richer than before. Good job!
The sad reality is that the one(s) that will be rich beyond comprehension will be those in possession of the asteroid. And even then, will they be rich? Kind of. Because wealth is really just an illusion. Maybe you’ve read some fringe articles that express disbelief that our world economy even functions. How does it function? It’s all on faith. We all agree a dollar is worth so much. What makes it worth that much? Agreement. That’s it.
Value is determined by scarcity. If there is less of something and with the assumption that demand for that something remains equal, the value rises. If supply increases or demand falls, the value falls. It’s simple supply and demand equations we all should have learned in school. Now, take a mega-millionaire like Bezos, Gates, or Zuck. They are mega rich because they have tons and tons of stock in their respective companies. Yeah, they’re rich, but what if they wanted it all in cash, right now? If they sold all their stock, the supply of stock for the company would explode and because it’s not scarce anymore, the value falls. They aren’t as rich as they are on paper, when they control the supply.
And that’s what would happen to the golden asteroid owner. They can’t cash all the gold in right away, because the price of gold would plummet. Even if they dole out the gold over a period of time, it’s still going to affect the quantity available, reducing scarcity, reducing value. Just like a company owner, it’s a stockpile of wealth that can’t really be utilized directly.
I could go on about this, but my only real point was the stupidity of the headline suggesting that everyone on Earth could be made a billionaire. While it may technically be true, it doesn’t mean that anyone would be wealthy as a result.
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