21. Predictions for 2022

2022 Predictions

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Usually each episode answers a question that you might be thinking about as well, but today we will do something a little different. As we start a new year, it can be fun to try to predict what will happen. On this podcast we talk about how to line up what you’re doing with your money and your personal values in terms of the world you’d like to see. So let’s talk about predictions for 2022.

In no particular order, here are three predictions for the year:

First, I think that more Americans will grapple with how well they did financially during the pandemic. As a result of the way our systems are set up, rich people got richer and poor people got poorer. I think there will be a growing sense of wealth guilt among some whose investment portfolios just skyrocketed during the covid crisis.

Second, I think that cryptocurrency philanthropy is going to grow. I think that the culture of the crypto community is a culture of pioneers, of people who feel empowered and activated to build the financial world they want to see and I think that will naturally flow into rethinking philanthropy and donating away from traditional cash and into giving crypto- so that’s the first part of that, I think it will become easier and easier to donate crypto, and the second part of that is I predict that a focus will emerge on empowering people not traditionally served well by financial institutions to be able to receive crypto.

Third, I think that big donations from the megarich will be scrutinized a little more. I think that the days of celebrating rich business founders with their names on the sides of buildings and museums will continue but there will be more questioning of whether or not these donations are acting as a distraction from the harm that was done to build that wealth. I predict that we will hear more discussion about the hypocrisy that goes into a founder spending millions to lobby the government so that they don’t have to pay their fair share of taxes to fund schools, roads, hospitals, and environmental clean up to then turn around and donate money to those same causes, I think the hypocrisy is buzzing just under the surface and will become a louder conversation.

Which goes hand in hand with a fourth prediction that there will be more direct giving to those who are financially insecure. Five years before the pandemic, I could not have predicted that there would be a widespread effort to just cut checks to people who were having a hard time paying rent or buying food. Traditionally we have spent a lot of money on middle men because of a culture of mistrust of the poor. Rather than giving hungry families money to go buy groceries, we have set up elaborate processes to collect and buy food to then require them to follow a bunch of steps within designated time slots that might coincide with when they need to work or care for their kids, so that they can collect the food that we think they should have. Same thing for other types of aid as well. I think that the widespread positive coverage of the stimulus checks are going to lead to more acceptance of the common sense logic of giving people money to bring them out of poverty.

And a final prediction, more people are going to pressure their employers to offer socially responsible 401k options, starting with fossil free funds. Typically employers only offer diversified funds that own the whole market, including companies involved in all kinds of stuff like deforestation, growing the prison industrial complex, gun manufacturers, all kinds of stuff. Your 401k at your job probably includes the whole market, without any options for funds that align with your values. I think there will be some pushback on that this year as younger employees start to question why other funds can’t be offered as options, especially as the number of socially responsible funds being offered starts to grow.

So those are my 5 predictions for 2022:
Wealth guilt will grow among the 1%
It will become easier to donate crypto and easier for financially insecure families to receive donations of crypto
Donations from the megarich will be scrutinized a little more
Direct financial assistance will grow in popularity as a practical way to provide faster, more efficient help to those who need it
Employees are going to push their employers to offer socially responsible 401k plans

What do you think is going to happen in 2022 in terms of how our money and our values are going to evolve this year? And if you have made any new year’s resolutions in terms of better aligning your money and your personal values, please do share!

Click on the show notes to find out how to get in touch, join the newsletter. There are lots of episodes to choose from if you’re taking stock of your money and your motivation this year to walk the talk in terms of your own values.

Good luck this year and let’s go forward!

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