Who benefits from the economic upside?

As they point out, the measure glosses over serious inequalities. So a new bone of contention emerged. Who benefits from the economic upside —asset owners or labour?

Asset prices must go up for their holders to make money, and inflation hurts labour. The price of the stock has to go up, for me to cash in, Githinji informs us. What about those shorting a stock?, I offer. The rich don’t have to realise the full value of holdings to get by. Further, they can borrow against those holdings. A likely tax loophole he says. Zero in income tax, and live on a luxury yacht!

Acquiring assets is difficult enough, Stevie says. And, with everyone for themselves, it seems to be getting harder.

The relationship between the average salary and housing prices has deteriorated compared to 30 years ago. People’s wages are not growing, and everything feels unaffordable. How much do you need to earn for you to buy a home today? He asks. But real wages have increased!, I counter.

Housing is both a need, and a commodity, Githinji says. Like a commodity trader, I want to speculate. Speculators are frowned upon, I remind the lively discourse. The trading function, however, creates some value, such as bringing the sellers and buyers together, including convenience, I continue. Is it even feasible to own a home right now? wonders Nia.

That depends, says Stevie. People, such as landlords, want to get the most, while doing the least. The whole concept is to own houses, thus make money while doing nothing. That is how trading works, he concludes.

But doesn’t the rent go toward repaying the person who built the house?" I ask.

The demand is there, but you are just taking advantage of the market conditions, counters Nia. Take an artist who creates a painting. Do you get paid for hanging it at the gallery? Some coffee shops display authentic paintings in their restaurants. In a gallery, people pay to come and see the man-made.

The artist is paid a commission.

Today, you see AI created art, disregarding the creative process.

A painting is intellectual property (IP). But, if a five-star hotel displays it in their lobby, and I know I have not given it to them, then I can demand to be paid for it, Maria chimes in.

By way of example, my client photographed a big elephant at Amboseli. Some years after taking the photo, they realised the image was being widely used. A number of the entities using the photo did pay compensation, on demand.

Piracy is everywhere, and it really kills the creative industry, says Maria. Stevie disagrees.

Students copy text books all the time, but does it affect textbook pricing? I’m more likely to pirate a popular than obscure movie. Meaning one attracting lots of attention.

It does kill the creative industry, Maria insists. Before Spotify, people would buy your compact disc (CD). Your song played on radio. You created the music, produced the CD. But if we pirate, and make money selling the pirated CDs, you may get the recognition, but not the money.

I hear you loud and clear, Stevie says. And in my opinion, piracy rarely happens to a small person.

People pirate something with high worth. They do so because access has been made difficult. Tell me that this is not the most anti-consumer thing in the world?

Then we should consolidate content into our own streaming, says Ngure. There is a chance to make money in this thing. Let’s talk segmentation. There is a solution: Tiktok. Create content, put it out there, and make money.

I don’t need to rent cameras and studios to create original content, or be an influencer, Githinji says. It is about technology, because the camera in your phone right now is among the best made in the history of the world.

Asset holders or labour? The debate continues…

*This article summaries a conversation with the writer’s wife Maria and their Gen Zs—Githinji, Stevie, Nia and Ngure.