Does Your Job Create Wealth?

In My Humble Opinion
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Part of my job is writing grant applications. When we get a grant, I turn it into capital . . . sort of. The word I’ve heard used is capitalization.

Someone in accounting keeps a capitalization list. After a project (say, four blocks of sidewalk and eight ADA curb ramps) is complete, I send him the cost of the construction phase of the project and he puts that length of sidewalk with ramps on the list. Capitalization apparently includes staff costs and inspection costs and materials testing costs and whatever else happened during construction that cost us money.

I assume this is because if someone stole the sidewalk, we already have the plans on file and could just build another one.

Closer to home, I’ve been re-planting a few flower beds and things will be growing soon. Some of the things are small plants and some of them are seeds. Some of them will produce flowers and some of them will produce vegetables. A couple of them are there to repel insects.

The groundcover is there to keep the dust down. I’ll feel relatively wealthy this time next year.

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I’m a paediatric oncology nurse. I help children grow up to be adults. I guess that’s creating wealth, albeit a way down the track.

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I’m a manufacturing engineer. I work in a factory in California with assembly lines and testers that make world class high tech products. My job most certainly creates wealth.

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I help young people have better futures than they might without me. Kids who’ve worked with me have (I suspect) a better chance of generating wealth for themselves and for their families later on.

Sometimes, when I work with the kids, I end up helping a family’s overall sense of peace, optimism, and well-being. I’ve had parents of kids I work with tell me that having my help makes it easier for them to focus while they’re at work. My work might, therefore, indirectly help someone else generate wealth, too.