Is Cryptocurrency Regulation Giving Rise to a New Brand of Candidate?
To say that Congress has now found itself a candidate from an unlikely source would have been a good teaser line a decade ago. Not today. Not in 2019. The last decade has started to produce a distinct shift in the types of people we vote for and the values and policies we vote on. One thing we haven’t seen much of is Congressional candidates that truly have a future embracing, tech centered platform. Blockchain technology is still in its early days. We hesitate to say “infancy” as it’s cliche and not entirely true. More like its “toddler years”. The tech itself isn’t necessarily scary, but the implications have been known to strike fear into the hearts of leadership. Mainly because it has the capability of leveling the playing field. A field that has, for years, had those on top tipping the scales in their favor to create larger and larger divide of power and resources away from the majority.
To say that we found a New York native political candidate that wanted to embrace technology to help the people take back some of their power and influence (and more importantly their economic stability) a few names might come to mind… the most obvious of which is probably Schenectady born Math Messiah, Andrew Yang. Not exactly. Think about 3 hours southeast, in Long Island. We’re talking about 2020 NY 1st District Congressional candidate, David Gokhshtein.
David Gokhshtein is many things. Financial professional, blockchain technology enthusiast, and marketing specialist are probably the first things that come to mind. David is also a major figure in the field of nascent technologies. Known by many as the “anti-hero of the blockchain world”, DG is known for not pulling punches and telling it like it is. In similar fashion as well known business motivators like Gary Vaynerchuk & Grant Cardone, David is helping take entrepreneurs and emerging businesses to the next level- not by telling these greenhorn startups and High Net-Worth individuals what they want to hear, but rather what they need to hear.
The industry is taking notice. In the current landscape of the world of tech and finance, businesses are struggling to do two things:
“I got involved with Blockchain technology first by reading about it and doing quite a bit of research, after I had fallen in love with the idea of how useful this can be and understanding the fundamentals of how it worked, I started digging deeper into startups and ICOs that are trying to develop this tech. I'm passionate about it because this is going to be the technology of the future that we are laying the foundation for. Much like the internet’s foundation was laid before us.”
This is where many industry leaders are now turning to David Gokhshtein as their new secret weapon. As the market grows, so does the pile of Non Disclosure Agreements on his desk in Long Island. Many a stymied project have turned to David as their last hope to help carve their name into the quickly growing tree that is the fintech industry. His name has become synonymous as a whispered code among entrepreneurs… “Better call Gokhshtein”.
David has built this reputation and passion for cutting edge technology into a burgeoning media empire and is branching out into the esports industry, recently being named CMO for Mazer Gaming.
One would be forgiven for thinking that the quickly growing media platform, consulting, and eSports endeavors would be enough for David Gokhshtein. One would be wrong. David’s passion extends to many fields, chief among them aiding in the shaping of the world we live in… for the better. He spearheads the Youth Entrepreneurship Movement.
“When we think about the future, we often get trapped in this mindset of what the current generation is doing to fix things. While that’s helpful, the real future is our youth. If given the option to consult for an established billionaire or big name company and a young aspiring entrepreneur just getting his or her feet wet, I’m always going to choose the latter. They aren’t jaded yet. They are more apt to be open to creative solutions to accomplish their goals. They aren't set in their ways. I get tired of people thumbing their nose at millennials. This is the generation building a brighter tomorrow, and I’m going to do everything in my power to help.”
With that goal in mind, David has now announced he is running for New York’s 1st Congressional District. As an independent with an open world view and a focus on building an environment where innovation can thrive, David is a stark contrast to those politicians that are complacent with the status quo.
A quote from one of David’s recent articles in Forbes sums up his mindset perfectly:
“Sometimes, after a long and stressful days work, I just have to clear my head. I take a drive. I usually end up going somewhere to think. Reflect. I like Gantry Plaza in the off season. No tourists. Just me and that gorgeous view of the FDR skyline across the water. Just me, breathing my thoughts into the cold night air. And that view. Lately I look and I think -How can the same America that built these giants that defy gravity...these wonders of concrete and steel... these monuments to true American innovation... still be so backward in accepting the biggest innovation of the modern age? The America I love is afraid of the future. I’m not that old, but I can still remember an America that wasn’t afraid of anything. Blockchain technology is as the foundations of these buildings. Building a base to reach for the sky. Some shout, some troll, some trade, some cower. I stand... I think... I write... I hope. Hope for a tomorrow when America is no longer afraid.”
We met with David’s team to ask to elaborate on this quote, and on him running, in general.
Politicians today shy away from innovation and prefer the status quo. Like they're afraid. When I say- ‘I'm not that old, but I can remember an America that wasn't afraid of anything’. I want to help bring us back to that. I'm running because of the apparent lack of knowledge in leadership about the types of technologies we should be implementing to add quality of life for our citizens. I care about my district. My country. I want to see us move forward, not backward.
So then, why Blockchain technology specifically?
So many problems facing the world can be solved by implementing blockchain technology. The systems that create poverty, hunger, and exploitation are all but completely remedied by blockchain. I’d go into way more detail here, but we’d get derailed for days. Suffice it to say, there is a plethora of information online, and I always encourage people to do their own research.
What is you political persuasion?
I look at politics the same way I look at investment. Where’s the value proposition? I can see value props with both sides. I agree with a lot of the points progressives make and a lot of the points libertarians make. Honestly, it comes down to innovation. What policies are going to progress us forward as a nation? A happy, healthy base of citizens that aren't struggling every day to make ends meet. Too many politicians in the past have served their own interests. I’m only interested in what helps everyone. That’s why I'm running as an independent. Independent of corporate funds or partisan bias. In the blockchain space we value research based conclusions, not just trading policy for favors.
How would politics benefit from blockchain tech?
Voting itself is probably the biggest thing blockchain can solve for American politics. A trustless, copy proof, immutable system. Our current system is archaic, at best. Honestly, it would be best if we got rid of the electoral college entirely. This is the 21st century and we're still adhering to these outdated practices. Blockchain works on consensus. America should, too.
What’s your take on Capitalism vs. Socialism?
Capitalism shouldn't be a dirty word, but when capitalism comes at the price of human rights, a drastic change is needed. But that change should be based on the will of the people. I respect individual rights. We aren't truly free if we aren't willing to fight for our rights. Nobody is better than you. Some people are smarter than others or have different talents, but not more worthy. I put my pants on one leg at a time. I’m no better than anyone else. My parents were entrepreneurs. They ran a successful jewelry company for 20 years. They taught me to value hard work, but they also taught me to value people. A government that helps people help themselves is a win-win situation. I look at it critically, just like I would a business. Everyone always asks “What’s this program going to cost?” when it comes to things like Medicare or other beneficial programs. But they never ask that about out of control government spending on the military. Don’t get me wrong, I support the proud men and women in uniform that serve in our nation’s armed forces. But the majority of the money isn’t going to them -while they are serving, or afterwards. It doesn’t even really go into bolstering military infrastructure. It goes to big budget monopolistic government contractors that price gouge simple parts and overfund failed experiments. R&D is good, but untold billions have gone into these failed avenues. If it were a business, I’d have cut them off years ago. Conversely, a program that may cost a lot , but the ROI is huge is when you invest in the well being of your citizens. Just like your workforce. If you pay your employees well and offer them impressive benefits, they WANT to work for you, and you get the best output. Part of “Making America great again” is investing in the citizens that make it so great to begin with. It’s not some silly catchphrase; actions speak louder than words.
Well then what about Medicare for All?
Again, this is a numbers game. And again we say in the Blockchain biz- DYOR (Do your own research). And I have. How does an insurance company work? An insurance company remains profitable when they have a good actuarial value. When you are getting more in premiums than you are paying out in claims and overhead. In this model, the more healthy people you have in a group, the less likely you are to lose profits. Take that and move it into a macroeconomic scale. If the entire nation is one big group, then the numbers scale up. If the majority of people are paying in through their taxes (albeit far less than they would in premiums and copays) and they aren’t actually using it, the program pays for itself at less than the current model. Nobody likes to be told they HAVE to enroll in something. Trust me, I’ve had to have this conversation with buyers in the auto industry countless times- you always think you don’t want it until you need it.
Take a recent situation a friend of mine was in. He got Viral Pneumonia. He went into the emergency room. He was there for hours, but when he was finally seen he was pushed through in less than 45 minutes. In that time, they took vitals, filled out a couple of forms, asked some questions, and did some bloodwork and a chest x-ray. He hadn’t been to the hospital all year so he hadn’t touched his deductible. 45 minutes of time cost him $6200! That’s on top of the week of missed work. The hospital gets their cut, of course, and the nurse practitioner who asked the questions and wrote the Rx has to be paid, but the median income in America is $32000! That’s 20% of an average yearly salary burned in less than an hour. It’s a numbers game for the hospitals, too. If a low percentage of people are able to pay, then the prices have to be higher to account for debts unfulfilled- to keep the facility above operating costs. If there were a system that was likely to pay out almost 100% of the time, the hospitals and facilities wouldn’t have to do this. And, rather than having this huge deductible to pay, my friend just pays the same percentage as everyone else into the tax program. Everybody wins.
There are those that would argue that the insurance companies lose out. Still doubtful. The insurance companies have the one thing drastically needed to make this thing work…. The infrastructure. When the ACA rolled out, they had nothing but the existing CMS contractor infrastructure. So they brought in General Dynamics. GD haphazardly threw together a half dozen call centers in middle and low income areas and trained everyone as quickly as they could in a few months. The website sucked. The customer service sucked. Why? Because the program was handed to a company that didn’t know the first thing about the insurance business. If instead of flying by the seat of your pants, you were to employ the insurance companies (that are already doing this, and fairly well) as government subcontractors, you’d have very little job loss and give yourself the best chance of success at the outset. Then those companies aren’t tied to the profitability of the claims process, they are judged by how well they do the job. I don’t know if the answer is Medicare for All, per se, but the numbers support the idea- if it is implemented correctly.
I’d add here that blockchain tech solves so many of the failings and inefficiencies in the medical industry that adoption here would alleviate the pain points, making it a less stressful topic for everyone involved.
What are your thoughts on the economy?
Our economic future depends on adaptation. In the competitive global market, we are being left behind. The country needs real leaders that have the knowledge and courage to embrace the future. The current leadership doesn't seem to understand this generation. The gig economy is the new economy. Things evolve. We should evolve with it.
So many of the stresses on a system boil down to mismanagement. The economy is no different. I do outreach through the youth entrepreneurship movement. We touched on that earlier. The problem is that much of leadership and so called “top economists” have their heads so far up their own behinds that they can’t see how the world really is out here. The world is changing to such a degree that our economic models are years behind. Shared workspaces are developing. People aren’t so much making careers as they are stringing together work experiences to try to best utilize their passions and talents. UBI sounds like a big hard problem to solve unless you take the current track that work is on and extend it to its most logical conclusion. If there is a government program that goes about supplementing the work of citizens, the workflow never stagnates. Innovation accelerates. Good businesses remain competitive and small businesses have a better chance in getting to market. This is how the future of working alongside automation is going to play out. Like it or not, we need to prepare for an adaptive workflow economy. This whole concept puzzles current leadership. They can’t see the forest for the trees.
Speaking of trees, what are your thoughts on the environment?
Same thing, look at it as a forward thinking business. I’ve caught a lot of flack from folks thinking that I am solely a progressive when they hear me talk about this. I don’t necessarily agree with all the tenets of the so called “Green New Deal”, but (as I understand it) it isn’t exactly set in stone. It is put together as an initiative. An attempt to combat climate change by putting all the brightest ideas that work together into one massive endeavor. I get that. A lot of my Republican friends and colleagues “don’t believe in climate change”. That tells me one thing- whoever is profiting most from climate denial is great at marketing. Good job, but the data will always win over good marketing in the end.
If I have a product… say a candy bar with a special sweetener called… I dunno…”Goktic Acid”. This sweetener is amazing. It tastes great, it’s super cheap to produce, it’s practically addictive, zero calories... and the best part is I own all the factories that produce it. Pretty soon every major food producer wants Goktic Acid in their products. I start raking it in. I open more factories. I make lots of jobs. Magazines and television shows lawd my nascent industry for revolutionizing food as we know it. Oprah talks about it. It gets so ubiquitous that people are seriously thinking of adding it to the water supply. There’s only one problem. Goktic Acid causes cancer. Legitimately. I know it. I knew it from the start, or very soon thereafter. But I’m a trillionaire. How hard is it for me to pay off some scientists to cast doubt on the studies? Losing my business that I built would be devastating. Hundreds of thousands of people would lose their jobs… all because what? A hundred or so extra people a year get diagnosed with cancer? I’ll just put a few billion into cancer research to develop good treatments. Right? Wrong!
This is not what a forward thinking business does. Thinking to the next quarter or the next shareholders meeting is not forward thinking. Forward thinking is doing all you can to adapt to change. To combat the law of diminishing returns. If your business “The planet” gets short term profits by burning up all of your resources and effectively killing your customer base, the time to find a better business model is yesterday! You don’t have to be a Democrat to believe this. I definitely wouldn’t call myself a Dem (but I don’t really like labels). These are just facts. If I was a fossil fuel company, an auto-manufacturer, a giant agribusiness, I’d be focused right now on how to shift my entire focus to sustainability. The amount of jobs and profit available in the green economy is astronomical. The lives it would save. The further damage to the planet it would mitigate. The benefits far outweigh the costs. That’s just smart money.
Any last thoughts?
Look, I have no idea if I’ll actually win. I’d be remiss if I didn’t follow the old adage I tell my clients all the time- “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Our country is moving backwards. I want to help change that. I see 2020 as a turning point. I want to be on the right side of history. I want to know that, at the end of the day, I did what I could to help serve my community, my country, and the world. A vote for me means a vote for change. It means being able to go to sleep at night, knowing you’ll wake up to a brighter tomorrow.