Return on investment awaits for paying respects to future

Simple solutions to complex problems are seldom useful, but it is an irony that fairly elementary explanations often hold the key to complex economic outcomes.

For example, inflation is solely caused by an excess supply of money, and economic growth can only occur through greater efficiencies. But drawing easy prescriptions from these truths is frustrating.

One example is that economic outcomes for individuals are largely determined by the rate at which they discount the future.

More simply, the world appears to treat more kindly those who value the future more highly than the present. It has ever been thus.

As a thought experiment, suppose we have two teenage girls of equal talent and opportunity. Both have dreams and hopes for the future along with immediate interests in those things teenage girls seem to like.

This is normal fare, that our abundant society encourages, and it is a delight to watch (but not necessarily listen). Now we cannot know directly how much each girl values the future.

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