By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning A City broker’s outburst this week branded the UK Treasury “detached, ignorant, and selfish,” accusing policymakers of strangling enterprise and misunderstanding the very nature of economic growth. It’s a strong statement — but one that echoes a deeper truth we at the Academy of Life Planning (AoLP) … Continue reading Detached, Ignorant, and Selfish? The Real Crisis Isn’t in the Treasury — It’s in Our Thinking
Tag: politics
The Paradox of Progress: What the Data on Human Capital Teaches Holistic Wealth Planners
“When education becomes privilege, progress turns to paradox.” For decades, we’ve been told that education and upskilling are the keys to prosperity. Economists, politicians, and business leaders have repeated the same story — invest in human capital, and inequality will fall. But a recent study by Onur Ozdemir (2020), “Distributional Effects of Human Capital in … Continue reading The Paradox of Progress: What the Data on Human Capital Teaches Holistic Wealth Planners
Lessons from Adam Smith for Holistic Wealth Planners
Human Capital is the Seed of Prosperity, and Moral Capital is the Soil it Grows In When most people hear the name Adam Smith, they think of the “invisible hand,” free markets, and the birth of capitalism. Yet few recall that the same man who wrote The Wealth of Nations (1776) also wrote The Theory … Continue reading Lessons from Adam Smith for Holistic Wealth Planners
💡 Why Equal Access to Human Capital Is the New Engine of Growth
Lessons from global research on education, inequality, and empowerment In 2002, economists Amparo Castelló and Rafael Doménech published a groundbreaking study, Human Capital Inequality and Economic Growth, examining data from over a hundred countries between 1960 and 2000. Their findings carry profound implications not just for policymakers — but for us as Holistic Wealth Planners … Continue reading 💡 Why Equal Access to Human Capital Is the New Engine of Growth
Litigant in Person: How to Survive and Succeed When the System Leaves You on Your Own
By Steve Conley, Founder of the Academy of Life Planning & Get SAFE “He who represents himself has a fool for a client.”— Abraham Lincoln Perhaps that was true in the 19th century.But in 2025, with AI, open knowledge, and solidarity between citizen investigators, that saying is being rewritten. ⚖️ A David vs Goliath Battle … Continue reading Litigant in Person: How to Survive and Succeed When the System Leaves You on Your Own
Get SAFE Community Briefing: Government Review of Opt-Out Collective Actions
Open call for evidence: Opt-out collective actions regime reviewFrom: Department for Business and TradePublished: 6 August 2025Deadline for responses: 11:59pm on 14 October 2025 Why This Matters for Get SAFE For too long, victims of financial exploitation have been forced to battle alone. Individual complaints to regulators, ombudsmen, or the courts can be exhausting, expensive, … Continue reading Get SAFE Community Briefing: Government Review of Opt-Out Collective Actions
When Bankers Betray Trust: Why Structural Change is Needed
Sometimes I’m accused of being disingenuous when I say, “bankers in general can’t be trusted.” People hear it as a sweeping statement, unfair to the many good people working in finance. Then stories like this one come along. This week, former Co-operative Bank chairman Paul Flowers was ordered by the CPS to repay £184,862 to … Continue reading When Bankers Betray Trust: Why Structural Change is Needed
London’s Dirty Money Problem: Why Deregulation Is No Growth Strategy
For centuries, London has been the beating heart of global finance. Its history is tied to empire, trade, and innovation. But behind the gleaming towers of the City lies another story—one of greed, capture, and complicity in the flow of dirty money. A recent article by Jochen Ressel traces how London became the world’s dirty … Continue reading London’s Dirty Money Problem: Why Deregulation Is No Growth Strategy
The Hillsborough Law: What It Means for Survivors and Citizen Investigators
David Lammy told MPs yesterday that he was introducing a “groundbreaking law to ensure that victims and survivors never again have to wait decades for truth and justice” For decades, survivors of state failure—whether Hillsborough, Grenfell, the Post Office Horizon scandal, or pension fraud—have shared a common burden: being lied to, silenced, and abandoned by … Continue reading The Hillsborough Law: What It Means for Survivors and Citizen Investigators
🌱 Introducing The Empowerment Cohort: Turning Human Capital into Sovereign Living
At the Academy of Life Planning, we’ve always believed that real wealth is not measured in money alone, but in human capital — our skills, passions, networks, creativity, and purpose. Yet too often, financial systems and even “planning” conversations strip people of agency, leaving them dependent, isolated, or defined by what they lack. It doesn’t … Continue reading 🌱 Introducing The Empowerment Cohort: Turning Human Capital into Sovereign Living
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