Thursday, 3 September 2026

HOW DO PEOPLE BECOME WEALTHY

It is worthwhile to think about possessing money, property, companies, and wealth in general. It can be viewed as either an excessive accumulation or a stroke of good luck.
Perhaps the best approach is to examine the people around you—those you are in close contact with, including family members with whom you share part of your life.
One of my friends, was not a good student at school. We were in the same class in secondary school. He was always very funny, humble, helpful, and modest. He married a very clever girl from a poor family who has always been very industrious.
A.S. hardly finished high school. His father was a commission agent for raisins. He grew up in a middle-class family surrounded by good people.
He used to be very interested in electronics. He started producing very small, simple circuits for the electronic industry, mainly for TV manufacturers. An electronic engineer joined him a few years later, which expanded their production and developed their products. They were the first to adapt to TV remote controllers. They had not invented the mechanism, but they were able to produce various models for many TV manufacturers. Their business flourished very fast. They built many factories and started exporting to the entire world.
In two decades, they became very rich. I assume that they made more than 100 to 200 million dollars.
He invited us twice to his luxurious sailboat and catamaran. They hosted us like kings. I never had the opportunity to reciprocate. During one of these trips, I heard him speaking Italian very fluently.
We were once on a trip to Israel together. To my astonishment and admiration, I heard him speaking fluent Hebrew as well. We had graduated from a French school; hence, his French was good. I assume that with such a big business, his English must have been perfect as well. But how on earth and when did he learn Italian and Hebrew!


Thursday, 23 July 2026

EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW AND THE LIMITS OF COMPASSION

The law must treat everyone equally. Judges must administer justice impartially, without regard to a person’s wealth, social status, ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs. At the same time, society has a moral obligation to support vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, the elderly, and those living in poverty. However, such support must be provided wisely and in a balanced manner.

Most citizens do not fully understand the long-term consequences of public policies. Instead, they tend to focus on the immediate benefits they receive. This creates a temptation for politicians to promise generous benefits in exchange for votes, even when those promises are economically unsustainable.

A striking example occurred recently in Turkey. In an effort to win an election, the previous government reversed the retirement reform and reinstated the old retirement rules, even though they no longer reflected the country’s demographic and economic realities. As a result, approximately 1.5 million people became eligible to retire at around the age of 45. It was evident that such a system could not remain financially sustainable for long. Inflation gradually eroded the value of pensions, and today many retirees—and often their families as well—struggle to make ends meet.

Compassion is an admirable virtue, but when it ignores economic reality, it may ultimately harm the very people it intends to help.

AVRAM AJİ
24.07.2026