GAT's Mission

The GAT tokens Mission is singular. The world of tomorrow will present many challenges for which our existing structures of governance and macro economic management, are not optimally equipped to deal with. The risks in not researching additional means by which our global economic system could be managed may give rise to social discord and increasing inequality.


The mission of this project is to explore ways of harnessing technology, to provide new governance structures that are targeted at providing solutions to these underlying issues (a high-level summary of which follows).



It is the overarching ambition of this project to provide a basis upon which further research can be conducted, in the field of social innovation and development studies. With an ultimate objective to define a blueprint for national governments, outlining how the technical solutions defined could be used to future proof our economic system, to reduce inequality, and to restore faith in institutions.


Overview
The below section talks at a high-level about a number of challenges many of which have been documented by academics in the field. For a more in-depth understanding of some of the topics discussed, please refer to the blog section. The purpose of the following is to provide as comprehensive an outline of four underlying challenges (we promote) our generation faces, and the risks associated with not providing a glide path to resolution.


The global asset token has been commissioned to find solutions to the following four problems :

1) The rise of technology, replacing workers with automated systems and processes.

2) A lack of global leadership on monitary policy, leading to a precipitous rise in the use of debt to fund government expenditures.

3) The rise of inequality, and the resulting social dissonance.

4) The nature of Legacy institutions, that were not built for the time of globalisation.
Taking each point in turn

The rise of technology, replacing workers with automated systems and processes.

Technology has delivered unparalleled progress for humankind. It is optimised and alleviated humans from much of the frustration and angst associated with performing tasks repetitively. These gains initially solved mechanical limitations, allowing for the manufacture of goods at a mass-market scale. From here technology evolved, with the advent of the transistor and the personal computer revolution, to ultimately define a completely new way of working, which could largely be touted as responsible for the growth of the middle class, and the service sector as a whole.

Internet enabled technologies have delivered us to the present day. We are able to collaborate and communicate far more effectively than any other generation in our history. Notwithstanding, that the rise of technology has, in its wake, taken many jobs, work that was historically done by hundreds of people, is now achieved with ever increasing levels of efficiency by automated processes, leveraging increasingly less human resource.

The trajectory of technology, has always been to alleviate our requirements to expel energy, whether that be physical or mental. This is concomitant with the underlying pursuit shared by all living things to expel as little energy as possible, to survive and thrive.

We have created technology with the sole purpose of furthering this initiative, and with the promises of future development, technology may ultimately lead to a fundamental shift in the value of humanity. Many commentators have already remarked on the role we as a species will play when we reach a juncture, in the not too distant future, where the line share of value adding activities, can be performed through computerised means. The GAT project is a proponent of the idea that the rise of technology must be offset by policy, specifically targeted to ensuring that with technological advances, democratisation of that technology is also assured.

Without having these safeguards in place in advance of this advent, we may face a level of economic, political, and social unrest, that may be unparalleled in our history. For the first time in our existence, there will be an existential threat posed to our relevance as a species, and for this eventuality to have been entirely self-imposed.

A lack of global leadership on monitary policy, leading to a precipitous rise in the use of debt to fund government expenditures.

Debt forms the basis for economic growth. Without the ability to create debt/credit, the pace of economic development and with it the growth of living standards is slowed significantly. Debt, has been used as a mechanism, to grow productivity, invest in infrastructure, and tackle global crises.


 However, the last hundred years has seen a significant rise in the use of debt, to not only resolve market failures, and world wars, but more as a means to sustain growth and government expenditures on services for the general public. This in short means, that governments, fearful of introducing higher tax legislation, are prepared to award additional IOUs, as the most politically expedient way to ensure the support of the electorate. 

It may be said that this is a worryingly convergent trend, as, viewed at a higher level, across nations around the world, this tendency gives rise to an increased readiness to issue debt to alleviate short-term political challenges. This, we can disproportionately see is most visible in developed economies, where as a means to stimulate growth, and to ensure living standards tangibly improve, more debt is required to assuage citizens of their expectations. 

From a markets perspective, the advent of fractional reserve banking, has significantly outsourced monetary policy to the banking sector. This has given power to banking institutions to create credit while holding only a fraction of the value in cash reserves.

It may be argued that this represents a systematic failure of our monetary system, as this approach will continue to work, up until the debt is too great to be serviced, or as has previously been observed, confidence in an economy wanes, and as a result, the central bank must intervene to backstop cash requirements.

Coupled to this, some of the largest gainers from this increase in liquidity, and the overall efficiency of capital markets, have been individuals and institutions that have been most readily placed to take advantage of this glut. With interest rates in developed economies remaining near zero, the price of borrowing, for those that can, has never been cheaper, and with that enhanced buying power, individuals with the access to the credit available (on an institutional level) have been able to invest and grow, heightening profits, and affording significant returns for those best placed to take advantage.

The scenario that could arise if borrowing is not managed at a global level, may see an increasing gap between those that have access to credit, who can intern grow fortunes for themselves, and those that do not.  Hence, a sound and robust system that insures debt is used prudently along with access to it, is one of the largest, and most effective safeguards we have to ensure equality can be managed in the years ahead.

With that being said there are two primary challenges with making amendments to our existing system. The first is the difficulties in making a transition towards a more sustainable model, while the existing system is in place. And secondly, monetary policy orchestrated at the national level provides fine grain control of the local economic environment, the drawbacks of not having tools to manage monetary policy at this level were lane bare in the difficulties the European Union faced in handling the financial crisis of 2008. Solutions to these challenges are outlined in the subsequent section.

The rise in inequality, and an increase in social dissonance.

For centuries, there has always been those that have tangibly more than others. This is in and of itself not an unfair, nor and just phenomenon. Individuals, with conviction and drive bring forth inventions, products, and ideas into the world, for which we all benefit. The individuals that are responsible for these creations, shape our daily lives, and to that end, for good or for bad, these inventions, ideas, and concepts, make the world what it is today.

It should also be noted that at the core of every successful product, lies a human want, or desire, products are created to cater for these wants and desires, and the best implementations of those products, are those that we trust. This trust, rightfully commands loyalty, and through that loyalty fortunes are established, the proceeds of which, head back into the economy, from wages to taxation.


 However, there is strong evidence that the world is not set up quite as equitably as this. Individuals and corporations have a myriad of mechanisms at their disposal to ensure that the proceeds of their product or service, are retained, and as little as possible is ultimately afforded as fiscal income.

It would be very easy to assume that this practice, that leverages mechanisms (such as tax havens), have been used out of malice, out of a disregard for other citizens, and a desire not to contribute to society. The reality is that companies at the scale of household brands, are competing against companies based in other jurisdictions who all have a desire to remain competitive, to increase their market share, and grow. If a company, or institution can immediately add a percentage of profits, as revenue, as opposed to a tax liability, then in the interests of ensuring their position in the market is maintained, companies have little choice but to take advantage of these mechanisms to ensure their long-term survival. In addition to this governments around the world are reluctant to intervene as they are all too aware, that if they insured that companies registered within their jurisdiction, payed tax at an appropriate level, those businesses would lose out on the international stage, let alone risk those companies moving overseas.

The net effect of this reality, is that individuals at the tops of multinational corporations, as well as individuals and firms who make investments using funds based in tax havens, coupled with access to credit and the power of technology, all contribute to an increasing disparity between those at the bottom/middle, and the top.

As we have documented in other articles, we have never experienced wealth distribution as unequal as we do today, and without direct intervention, at the global level, we may not be able to bring about, a more just, equal, and prosperous global society.

The nature of legacy institutions, that are ill-equipped to adjust at a sufficient rate for the time of globalisation.

National governments, and organisations that support national governments (central banks) were created at a time well before the present day. The mandates of these institutions have evolved hugely, as global trade, connectivity, and the rise of technology has expanded their remit, to not simply manage an economy, but rather to manage an economy within the context of other economies.

Institutions have evolved to meet this obligation, and many have been set up as mechanisms to share learning, ideas and formulate policy. These institutions also, on the national level are imbued with a nations identity. They are the keepers and the perpetuators of a large proportion of the national conscience. 

However in the globally connected world we now live in coupled with the increasing cross pollination of cultural ideas, it may be said that this mode of managing society, and the economy as a whole, leads to inefficiencies and inequalities. Some of which have already been outlined in our discussions of debt, and the challenging landscape nations operat in, with respect to fiscal policy, and their understandable reluctance in many cases to prevent use of tax havens.

At their core, the challenges facing institutions are that in the fast changing world we now live in, the rate of change the electorate expects from institutions is greater than that which they can consistently deliver. This either infers that the efficiency of our institutions must improve, making them faster to react to change or, there must be an underlying adjustment in the landscape upon which institutions are built. This new landscape must allow citizens to buy into a reality which, while cannot be void of inequality, the belief that the systems ground rules demand that equality is the variable to maximise, as opposed to rather than pure economic performance.

The future

With these points in consideration, a truly global structure could be created (outlined below) that allows for a more equitable financial system to be sustained. This above all else, can ensure greater transparency, and uniformity in the approaches taken toward economic management, which in turn will provide a more credible basis for the governance process to be undertaken, restoring trust in institutions, and breeding greater prosperity for the collective.

It is the objective of The global asset token to provide a glide path from the present day towards this future.