Why is it practically impossible for a Brazilian maid to travel to Disney World? The answer, to put it bluntly, is that Brazil’s elite wants low exchange rates in order to travel, but doesn’t want to let go of having housekeepers and maids.
But how exactly does one thing relate to the other?
It’s simple: a strong currency implies an economy that is strong, solid, stable. Arriving at this scenario, however, presupposes a stable social foundation, robust infrastructure and the celebration of labor. True: there are other economic variables that impact the exchange rate, but when it comes to the long term and to sketching a general outline, no country can expect to have a solid currency if its economic foundations are fragile, vulnerable: it’s that simple.
I often see ministers talking about things such as the inflation rate, the inflation curve and the uptick in exports, resorting to all that economic jargon used to keep laymen at bay. But the reality is that our economy is weak and unequal, its foundations are completely precarious and our tax system is completely unfair. What’s worse is that these issues are seldom discussed.
From an economic point of view, there’s no such thing as a country that has, at once, a strong, reliable currency and significant social disparities. In developed countries, there is such a thing as infrastructure and labor is celebrated. In countries with solid, developed economies, there’s no such thing as a worker whose only job is to press a button that validates parking coupons at a shopping mall. People who have maids and servants are rich: extremely rich. Maids’ quarters and housekeepers are considered social aberrations. Examples of this sort abound and I could go on and on listing them.
But I suggest we take a pause.
Just think of how absurd it is to have a housekeeper.
Take another pause.
Now think of how absurd it is that we’ve naturalized the term (make sure to read it carefully) “maid’s quarters”.
It is long overdue that we recognize the absurd state in which our social model finds itself. So why is it that we have barely budged? Because as a society, we are under the spell of cultural normopathy and those who are at the top of the social pyramid subconsciously won’t let go of the perks that come along with hoarding all the servants and maids. If there is no desire to improve, then there will be no improvements. What’s even more instilled in the culture is a mentality in which people just want to take without giving back.
I don’t want to abolish services, but I would like to point out that complaining, on the one hand, that we don’t have high end products while forgetting, on the other, that services are extremely cheap, simply doesn’t add up.
Let me reiterate: this mentality does not add up.
Brazil is merely a colony that is still an aristocracy dressed up as a democracy where the do-you-know-who-you’re-talking-to attitude is prevalent among those at the top of the social pyramid. And the uneducated masses are always to blame. But what kind of education are we talking about here? If the masses are uneducated, it’s because our leaders lack social awareness.
If we really want a strong currency – in other words, a stable economy – then we need to expand our perspective and look at the bigger picture. Social stability is not the same thing as social equality. I could come up with a whole list of reforms that I believe would address our economic wounds, but before doing so, it is paramount that we recognize that while a handful of people live like kings and queens, the vast majority of people don’t have anything to eat.
Pointing this out is not a matter of being a leftist, nor is it “whiny”. It’s a matter of clarity: that there can be no economic development without social development and vice-versa.
Originally Published at https://spdiario.com.br/fernando-maskobi-a-verdade-por-tras-do-dolar-alto/