If you were in a position to receive $150 billion a year for the rest of your life, as long as you used $140 billion for charitable purposes, what would you do with it?

To give you the benefit of hindsight, and limit the game a little, assume that you are given the money on 9/12/01 and cannot donate your money to politicians or political parties.

No takers? That's alot of money. Just give it to Congress and tell them what you want done with it, is that easier? What would you tell them to do?

That's a pretty broad question. It would take months, if not years and a sizeable staff to decide how to best use that money.

But if your point is to say, "See? Nobody gives it to government, but to private charities!" we can skip ahead to that point if you like.

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But if your point is to say, "See? Nobody gives it to government, but to private charities!" we can skip ahead to that point if you like.

Not my point at all. In fact, limit it only to government if you like. You can spend it however you want, as long as it is done through government programs, new or pre-existing.

I'd probably set something up like the Gates Foundation. In fact, I'd probably give a lot of it to the Gates Foundation.

I'm not really sure what you're looking for, though. Priorities?

My short list would be domestic education, third world poverty/development/democratic initiatives, environmental issues. ...Trophy wife.

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My short list would be domestic education, third world poverty/development/democratic initiatives, environmental issues. ...Trophy wife.

Trophy wife is a little low on that list, but it's otherwise pretty solid.

I would probably focus alot on education as well, pre K-college. I would also get some laws passed to get the Browns on TV more often. There are some priorities in between those two, also.

Given the benefit of hindsight, I would also focus a good chunk of it on infrastructure - bridges in Minnesota for example.

Ha. Yeah, you'd think it'd be one of those thing that you could simply leave to government, but...

I think the best spent education money is probably right where you're talking about: pre-K, and the few years after that.

I'd have to quit my job and start studying up on this stuff before I'd spend a dime.

Speaking of, did you happen to see Nova on the cars of the future the other night? Awesome stuff.

Also had a nice swipe at corn ethanol, which always makes me happy. (****ing Iowa primary.)

And I get to keep $10 billion a year?

Well, for one, we'd be balling our faces off in my new re-designed owner's box @ CBS every Sunday in the fall.

I'd be able to fit enough of you guys in there that we could surely come up with ideas on how to launder donate the other $140 billion.

Here are some clips from that special:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/car/program.html

Talk about a lot of scratch......


Dat's ada spicey meatball!


Seriously though, I would give a shit load of it away to those around me, I would put the money in the hands of as many responsible people I know.

However I have to say, I know some pretty irresponsible people as well.

As far as government programs and whatnot, I really don't know. I do know I would give a lot of money for Autism research, at this point it's an epidemic, and soon we will have a whole generation of adults who cannot take care of themselves at all.


What's really sad is that I can come up with a lot of shit I would buy/do for myself and my family, but have a harder time coming up with where exactly the money would go to help other people.

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Originally posted by heckofajobBrownie:
Here are some clips from that special:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/car/program.html

Thanks heck-
Hadn't heard "Click & Clack" in a long time. That used to be a real treat/priveledge of riding around with my Dad in the car on Saturday mornings.

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Originally posted by Legacy Fan:
Thanks heck-
Hadn't heard "Click & Clack" in a long time. That used to be a real treat/priveledge of riding around with my Dad in the car on Saturday mornings.

With that kind of money, you could buy Click and Clack. Come to think of it, as an avid NPR listener, one of the things I would do would be to fully fund them, for a couple of reasons. First, even though the cost-per-taxpayer is something like a quarter a year, I am slightly uncomfortable with other people paying for something I like to listen to, even if they should listen to it as well. From a purely selfish perspective, it would also mean that they wouldn't have to waste two weeks of programming a year for fundraisers. Apparently the people of Knoxville are a little slow on the uptake, so the local hosts are particularly annoying when it comes time to cut a check. Plus, I'm always on the lookout for coffee cups and tote bags.

Let's see...what would I do after funding NPR, buying the Browns, and getting extra malt in my UDF shake?

I would focus on education reforms. Unfortunately the biggest factor in kids succeeding in school--the parents--is out of our control (at least until Congress passes some sort of license program for breeding), but there are still things that can be done. A lot of public schools have done good work with outside grants for innovative teaching (a sort of back door way into performance-based pay), and I would definitely fund some charter schools and scholarship programs for kids to get into private schools (even with theological differences, you can't beat Catholic schools for quality education) and colleges.

I'd definitely look to fund research into curing AIDS, cancer, lactose intolerance, left-handedness, the big ones.

Dennis

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Originally posted by Dencyguy:
I'd definitely look to fund research into curing AIDS, cancer, lactose intolerance, left-handedness, the big ones.

Dennis

Hey wait. "Standing on the wrong side of the ball" is the only excuse I have after launching a tee shot into the woods.

p.s. and since I apparently can't hold a conversation on the Browns Board without these gay emoticons, I'd purchase a few thousand more so my vocabulary wouldnt seem so limited.

one quarter would go to a constant national marketing campaign to promote american consumers to buy american made goods and shun international products, a quarter would be allocated to giving our grants to domestic manufacturing startups. Another quarter used to lobby senator and reps to pass tariff equalization policies with china. The rest would be used to lobby for a movement to make health care company providers either non profit or government based.

Give $140 billion to the Roman Catholics, and spend the other $10 billion partying until I died.

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The rest would be used to lobby for a movement to make health care company providers either non profit or government based.

That much money is more than the Dems claim their plans will cost. Why not use it all and provide universal care?

>>I guess I'm getting old. I remember when a hundred and fifty billion dollars was considered a lot of money!>>

Wasn't it Everitt Dirkson who said something like, " A billion dollars here, a billion dollars there and you begin talking about a lot of money".

PS Was the $150 Billion before or after taxes?