MountainTops

Technology Moves Ahead, But Will It Leave Many Behind?

Author: Anvil Smith

The September 14, 2009 announcement of Intuit’s purchase of Mint (see link*) is yet another confirmation of the free market’s value for technology. As Dan Sullivan notes in the May 2009 issue of The Global Thinker, “the downturn in the economy is causing an upturn in the use of business intelligence software.” In theory, this is a merger that provides customers/users with a tremendous ability to quickly and accurately know and manage their financial condition.

But it should be very apparent that not everyone is using technology for economic advancement. Call it human nature, the 80-20 rule, or a byproduct of the struggling American education system, but for many people, the primary use of technology is entertainment – it’s a new cell phone with text and picture capabilities, or the latest video console to play the most realistic virtual sports games. Using technology to better manage my finances? That’s boring. Besides, the debit card tells me when I’m overdrawn. What’s the point?

So, while the masses become ever-more amused, the diligent few are applying the same technological advances to amass greater wealth. Don’t think this is true? Consider that stats from the IRS regarding incomes and tax collections reported by the Tax Foundation in a July 30, 2009 summary:

 

In 2007, the top 1 percent of tax returns paid 40.4 percent of all federal income taxes and earned 22.8 percent of adjusted gross income. Both those figures – share of income and share of taxes paid – are significantly higher than they were in 2004 when the top 1 percent earned 19 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI) and paid 36.9percent of federal individual income taxes.

Simply put, a smaller percentage of Americans are increasing their real earnings, and at a faster rate than everyone else. This is not definitive demographic breakdown, but a reasonable empirical conclusion would be that the “accelerated earners” are applying their efforts and capital to growth areas in the economy, and in almost all growth areas, technology is a major player. Technology provides owners with better feedback on sales, production costs and inventory. Technology results in greater precision in manufacturing. Technology delivers real-time reports to help businesses respond to market changes.

Every one of those statements about technology could apply to individual finance as well. And for those truly interested in reaching their financial mountaintop, technology can provide essential tools. But you have to use them!

And for a lot of people, implementation is a problem. Which is where tech-savvy Prosperity Economic Advisors(TM) can help. They either offer proprietary financial management programs, or can help you customize a consumer-based program like Mint to fit your situation. Either way, when you have accurate, automatically updated financial information at your fingertips, you are in a better position to make good financial decisions, no matter how small. And a multitude of wise choices about little things inevitably leads to success on a larger scale.

There are all sorts of reasons why people choose not to use technology to manage their money. But whatever the reason, those who don’t take advantage of technology run the risk of being left behind. They will be too slow, too late, too uninformed to fully capitalize on opportunities or avoid financial loss.

Some social observers see technologies like the Internet, cell phones and personal computers as leveling agents in society, in that these devices allow more people greater access to more of the same things. But technology also serves as a polarizer, causing greater separation among groups that were already distinctly different. Eventually, the advantages accrued to the users of technology make it almost impossible for non-users to be part of the discussion.

Here’s a prediction: Five years from now, if you’re not using some sort of personal financial management program with instant-update capabilities, it means you don’t have a financial program worth managing.

On the other hand, if you’re one of those people who is going to want financial technology five years from now, why not get started on using something today?

 *Link for Mint Merger:

http://www.mint.com/press/intuit-to-acquire-mint-com/?utm_source=mint&utm_medium=email&utm_term=press&utm_campaign=intuit

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 at 11:06 am and is filed under Economics, Money, Prosperity, free market, mixed economy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.