I got a kind of funny/not funny comment a while ago about the old 30 day payment window. The person has only been here during the 7 day window so I understand that it can be weird to think of waiting 30 days but, it also speaks of the way people and culture handle money around the world.
My first official job was at Burger King (Hungry Jack's in Australia) and my hourly rate was paid every week. This was great as I knew that on a Thursday, a little bit of money would go into my account and even if I spent too much, Thursday's were not too far away. I had a few part-time jobs similar that paid weekly.
When I was at university, the types of jobs changed (I had two jobs, a salaried one in retail and a media one with project work). The Retail position I held paid every two weeks which meant I had to manage my income a little more carefully than previously as spending too much the first, meant a week struggling. The media work paid monthly on a billing cycle which meant that I had to be even more careful with that as it would be a 'long time' before the next.
Comign to Europe, it all went monthly which took away my every two weeks safety net meaning I always had to be more careful. Then, when I started my business, billing works on the grace of large companies who do not care so much about schedules, will wait until the very last day to pay and these (for me) generally sit at 30, 60, 90 day payment terms.
What i wonder is how does the payment gap time change behaviour? My assumption is that those who have shorter payment schedules will be a little more reckless with their money as they know that the next payment is not too far away. Noodles for a few days is tenable. However, i think those with longer schedules are likely to be a little more careful with their finances as 2 or 3 weeks living skint is no fun at all. I know this well enough.
Now, when it comes to Steem, i wonder what would happen if there was a much longer payout period, would people invest more into it thinking that what they do now won't see reward for 30 or 60 days? Will they be more or less consistent with their content? Will newcomers coming onto the platform be more committed knowing that what they do now is setting up a base for their future?
Essentially though, nothing would change in payments as if one is consistently producing, after 30, 60 or 90 days, the payouts will start arriving consistently. Let's say there is a 60 day payout introduced, for the next two months no one would get anything but, after that it will start rolling again. Sure, that will make things difficult for those on here now who need to live off it but, if this was the norm for newbies, they would not know any different, just like those who never saw the 30 day window.
i am not suggesting this as an idea but, around the world there are very different cultural processes on how to manage money and I wonder how much effect it has on whether an individual is likely to plan well or not. I think that if there are longer payment schedules in the real world, people will be forced into learning how to manage their finances better.
Now, I wonder how much of it is planned considering it seems that in lots of lower-paid jobs, the schedule is one week but in higher-paid, 30 days. In Finland though, most jobs are paid on a monthly schedule no matter the level or age of the person doing the job. Does this have an effect on personal fiscal responsibility?
When it comes to managing personal finances, I made lots of early errors and I should be in a much better position than now. As I learned about this, I started to pull things together but since the birth of my daughter and a whole range of unforeseen issues, I am well and truly behind again. I am still learning and have a long way to go.
In general though, most people around the world don't have a very solid economic framework and in most of the world, most people live hand to mouth. When that comes to Steem, it seems to translate into a division between those who Power Up and those who extract constantly. Yes, immediate needs take precedence but many people have been here for many months and are still unsure how the basics of the Steem economy operates. As long as they get their payouts on a post, they don't seem to care.
This also tends to be one of those instant/delayed gratification opportunities where people can be nudged into being better prepared for their own futures. People may complain about this type of 'engineering' but, no matter what the code does, it is going to affect behaviours.
Again, I am not suggesting any changes to this at this point however, it is probably a good idea for every (and especially those who rely on Steem) to review their personal processes and see if their behaviours are creating a better future for them or are they working on the habit that will continually having them live hand-to-mouth?
Cryptocurrency, Steem, blockchain and the coming uses of them are all tied to economy and how it can be manipulated into changing the behaviours we currently live by. I find it interesting how few people are actually interested in discovering what it all does now, potential capabilities and, what that might mean for their experience.
A few Monday thoughts.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]