The Curious Cat is a journey where I aim to reconnect with my inner-child and explore my curiosity. I pinpoint themes & topics I’ve been interested in recently, ask myself questions about them and then write about them. I hope you find value within this issue and have a fantastic day doing what you love.
TLDR: Countries are starting to compete, employing different strategies and bait, to attract (1) top talent (2) highest tax-contributors to their jurisdiction. Residency becomes a free-market & free-markets tend to be more efficient than their monopolised predecessors.
While this post will NOT be centred around Bitcoin, earlier this week El Salvador became the first nation in the world to make Bitcoin legal currency tender; the first time a natively digital currency is granted this blessing.
In summary, the bill concludes that:
BTC can be used to settle any debt (including taxes)
BTC will be added to the nation’s capital reserves
BTC can be used as payment in any store or service. Merchants MUST accept it.
It will make it easier, cheaper and faster for overseas Salvadorans to send money back home. A whopping 20% of the nation’s GDP comes from these remittance payments.
70% of El Salvador’s population doesn’t have a bank account, yet more than 50% have access to the internet. These discriminated-upon individuals will be granted a vehicle in which they can safely receive, send, store and borrow money. Bitcoin wallets make bank accounts obsolete.
The open-source Lightning network will be integral to the plan’s rollout
"It will bring financial inclusion, investment, tourism, innovation and economic development for our country," President Bukele of El Salvador claimed after 62/84 votes signalled in favour of the move.
But above all, what caught my interest was the mention of:
(1) No capital gains tax when cashing out crypto investments
(2) People can acquire Salvadoran residency by investing 3 BTC into the economy
Why do I find this fascinating? Because its evidence that nation-states are entering the free market, having to compete with one another to attract demand, which in this case is citizens of earth. Up until the 21st-century nation-states held a monopoly over their citizens as geographical mobility was low; but now with explosions in globalisation, transportation and communication, it is both easier and less daunting to move to another country.
None of these abilities existed 100 years ago.
Speak to anyone in the world, instantaneously
Send and receive items to/from anywhere in the world
Purchase goods from anywhere in the world
Travel anywhere in the world
Send money to anyone, anywhere in the world
Eat food from anywhere in the world
Earn from anywhere in the world
These newfound abilities have allowed us apes to rip down the barriers inhibiting us from venturing overseas. Just look at how many people across the globe decided to move to ‘the land of the free’ once the majority of the above-listed abilities were unlocked.
Vagabonders, quality talent & anyone who wants to pay fewer taxes will be enticed, both by the downfall of their own society and by the grass being greener on the other side, to move abroad in seek of a better life. If they aren’t happy with what they have at home, they can now vote with their feet. Voting with one’s feet is infinitely more powerful to incite change than a meaningless ballot because it means that governments lose the most precious thing they have & depend on - tax revenue. We now have an ace up our sleeve which we can use as leverage as the river is dealt.
The Cold World War that awaits will see countries compete primarily for two things (1) Talent (2) Tax Revenue. Hey, some hippie countries may even go full-on ‘Walking Dead’ and only admit people with rich morals to build their utopia. We can expect battles to be fought on multiple fronts. Things like increased rights & liberty, lower taxes, attractive weather, high government spending and how creator-friendly their economy is could all tempt people to emigrate to a country. You can bet dorks like myself would gladly move to the first cities that adopt revolutionary technologies like Hyperloop and drone transportation, whilst others will chase environments that are perfectly suited to host their lifestyle and passions. We’re seeing surfers move to Indonesia, tech folk move to Dubai & Miami, Crypto money flow into places like El Salvador, whilst fashion enthusiasts flock to Paris.
It doesn't stop at individuals; jurisdictions are going to try and draw in businesses and corporations too. They can do this by:
(1) Pinpointing a sector where their region holds a USP and can grow upon it (eg: Spain has the most olive trees in the world and Ireland is a tax-haven within the eurozone. Both have the potential to grow exponentially)
(2) Supporting technologically progressive policies (eg: Stem Cells in Japan, Hydropower in Brazil & Cannabis in Amsterdam).
(3) Let the word out online so that you can recruit founders and their enterprises.
A great example of this is in Nevada, where earlier in 2021 they passed a bill granting tech companies the power to forge their own local, independent government (network state). The idea is that inviting tech firms to create self-governed company towns will increase innovation, tax revenue and job prospects in the region.
Incentives could not only be built around infrastructure and financial benefits, but also by carefully selecting the right leaders. In the case of Rajneesh Puram in Oregon, it was Osho that seduced thousands of people from all over the world to move there. The same is happening now in Miami, where Mayor Francis Suarez has successfully reeled in talent via his popular Tweets. Conversely, politicians (like Governor Gavin Newsome of California) can lose constituents with their Tweets, it’s a free market.
The game of luring tax revenue to your jurisdiction has begun. Us individuals can wield our new weapon, the ability to move abroad, and use it as leverage when deciding where we want to live our best life. Perhaps it works and we get an even better world than what we have today. For the first time ever, governments are going to be held accountable for their actions.
🎉 3 Great Bits of News
500-million people got a COVID vaccination jab in the first 15 days of June. Now 21% of the world population have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine
The state-owned electric company of El Salvador have started recycling the geothermal energy from their volcanoes, to mine BTC, making the wall of encryption even stronger & cleaner.
By 1960, we were killing 80000 whales a year, dangerously running the animal into extinction. Since then, serious consideration over the future of whale existence and policy changes has reversed this trend.
🔝 Best of the Week
🎵 Song of the Week
Been in a big LoTR mood recently and this song is just the epitome of euphoria for me (particularly 2:10 or 3:26)
🧠 Wisdom of the Week
News is to the mind, what sugar is to the body.
✔️Random Fact
Netflix is responsible for 15% of the entire world's internet traffic.
🔀Random Resource
Something to think about: On YouTube, you had to come up with your own idea for a video. TikTok feeds you that inspiration, encouraging you to copy and join in on buzzing trends, making creation frictionless.
🔥 Also this week
👜 US producer price inflation is up 6.6% compared to May of last year - The prices suppliers charge to businesses has increased more this year than any other on record, reinforcing the fact that life is becoming increasingly more expensive, despite the inaccuracies of CPI. Meanwhile, the US minimum wage has been at almost the same price for the past decade. If you’re going to have it, at least make it efficient and current.
✈️ The first supersonic passenger plane since Concord will go airborne within 8 years - Last year I reported on Boom technologies and how they’ve built a plane that can go from London to NYC in 3.5hrs. They have received their first order from United, who intend to add 15 supersonic planes to their arsenal and host commercial flights by 2029.
⚽ The greatest defender in Football history leaves my club, Real Madrid, after 16 historic years - Yes. Without a doubt. Sergio Ramos is indeed the greatest defender in football history. No one even comes close. If you think differently, you’re just wrong, it’s just not true (shoutout Ed for the words of wisdom). I might even dedicate next week’s issue to Ramos’ extraordinary brilliance. Sergio Ramos and his beautiful forehead are the cause of one of the happiest moments of my life- when he scored that goal in the 93rd minute. I’ll forever be indebted & thankful to the great Sevillano. It’s not often I feel genuinely upset; maybe it happens a few times a year, and this is certainly one of them.
🚿 Shower Thoughts
Why hasn’t Amazon figured out a way to address all the insane waste from their packaging? If they can build spaceships and delivery drones, why not some collection system for all the boxes I throw out?