If You Were Rich What Would You Spend Your Money On?

[orleans]

let's see...

i think i'd buy a newspaper in a red county (and alter the editorial content so it leans left--and see how long it takes me to sink the business but maybe i'd get a few people thinking first)

buy a radio station (can there ever be too many liberal talk shows?)

send more support to environmental causes, animal/wildlife causes, more support for the hungry & homeless. open a food pantry.

open a theater/arts school

(& the usual: new car, child's college, house big enough to get lost in)

support a democratic candidate

[leftofthedial]

1. getting off the grid

[yurbud]

9. ditto--and spend the rest promoting ENERGY INTERNET

hooking up a lot of small-scale home-grown renewable power generation instead of large scale power plants that can be used by corporations to blackmail us as happened in CA.

Hillbilly Hitler art:



Blog:

[Lannes]

22. Yeah Ive been thinking about that too

That and a big house in the country with plenty of acreage.Not sure where yet.

[leftofthedial]

41. I'm thinking small house

more of a Thoreau thing

[noamnety]

25. That was the first thing I thought of as well

greasecar, solar panels, geothermal furnace.

[Lannes]

40. I was thinking of wind power

In addition to solar but I hear those things can get pretty noisy.Wouldnt want to piss of the neighbors nearby.

[proud patriot]

2. Going to Crawford

That would be my immediate plan

[Swamp Rat]

12. You gave me an idea... I'd buy up sections of Texas and then GIVE IT AWAY

to Mexican immigrants until the entire state was seeded with non-English speakers or bilinguals. Then I'd fund a movement to annex Texas to Mexico. :)

¡Viva México! :D

[AllyCat]

3. Open a real ranch with real live animals on it for at-risk inner city kids

You know, a ranch. One that produces a product for sale to the agricultural community like grain, hay, or food. A ranch that has animals on it besides the dog (and I like dogs--I'd have a lot of those, probably from the pound).

I'd hire people to work there and pay them a living wage with benefits and provide training for the job. Gee, maybe I could then hire people later who had come to the camp and could speak to the new generations of campers.

Have drug and alcohol treatment on site. Psychological counseling. Relationship skills teaching and team building.

Have an organic vegetable garden on the premises and teach campers sustainable farming and environmental stewardship.

Teach people to read. Write. Do math that will apply to their lives.

Gotta stop...it could go on and on...

[TX-RAT]

28. I thought you meant a real ranch

Not to sure what you'd call this thing, you're talking about.

Old not so untrue joke.
If you were given 2 million dollars, what would you do?
Answer.
I'd just keep on ranching until it was all gone.

[AllyCat]

35. I mean real ranch as opposed to what * calls "a ranch"

Like another DU poster pointed out, * lives in a country estate, not a ranch and we should call it as such. A ranch produces commodities and whether it makes a profit or not, it is for the purpose of business.

My "camping ranch" would be there to help kids learn a trade, believe in themselves by doing things with their hands, learning animal care, and participating in a team.

[TX-RAT]

37. How ya going to pay the bills, tax's insurance?

How many acres in a ranch?
How many in a country estate?

[AllyCat]

42. OP asked what we would do if rich

That's what I would do. Have not drawn up a business plan for this since I am NOT rich.

Why don't you ask Bush how HE pays the bills, TAXES, and insurance? He doesn't even produce anything there. That place has no income. Wonder how he affords it?

I don't think the number of acres defines a ranch or country estate. It's the operation of the place that determines its designation.

[TX-RAT]

50. Not defending Bush's operation

Just defending Ranchers.


(I don't think the number of acres defines a ranch or country estate. It's the operation of the place that determines its designation.)

Raising cows is one thing, making a living at it is another. It takes acreage to raise cows, lots of it. Where i live (west Tx) it takes 1 section ( 1 square mile ) for 18 to 22 head of cattle, without supplemental feeding. I have 3 sections and i lease 3 more. It takes all of that to make a living (on a good year).

[AllyCat]

52. Okay TX-RAT. Next time someone asks for what I wish for, I'll make

sure I reason the whole thing out first. Jeez.

Not trying to make some negative comment on ranching or get you so defensive about it. Just looking for a great way to help others and enjoy my love of animals and the outdoors at the same time, given the OP's original guidelines of what we would do if rich.

Have you picked apart anyone else's wishes? Doesn't look like it.

Good God.

[orleans]

55. hey ally--i loved your ranch idea. that was exactly my question

what you would do if you were rich--let's say an unlimited amount of money--no limits--just big dreams.

and you had a great idea.

(i like working with kids and drama--i saw the movie "camp" and thought it was so wonderful and fun--i'd love to open up a summer drama camp for kids in the country--lot of trees and green and a stream, a good place for teens to contemplate life and nature with some peace and quiet.)

[AllyCat]

43. So, is this a ranch?

http://www.rawhide.org/

[TX-RAT]

46. NO

[sandnsea]

4. airplane tickets

Lots and lots of airplane tickets. Criss-crossing the country thunking the heads of the biggest ignoramus of the day. Today would actually be Bill Clinton and "hangin' around" in Iraq. Another day would be reserved for Bill Shrum and Mary Beth Cahill, to get to the bottom of a few questions I've got there, one being who the fuck put JK in camos. And John McCain, oh he's got more than a few thunks in the head coming.

Airplane tickets. That's what I'd buy.

[BlueIris]

5. Dental care, new car, grad school.

In pretty much that order. After that...well, I need to finish my novel. Oh, and of course, our state food bank needs some money. And we have this cool lesbian that wants to be mayor of my city, so maybe I'd help her out. Maybe get a pug dog.

[nookiemonster]

6. A really, really, REALLY fat sack!

:silly:

eom

[Gabi Hayes]

19. fat enough to sink the current ship of state, or what, bra?

party ON!

[DanCa]

7. Let see

1) start a liberal left religion network
2) buy out die bold
3) fund stem cell myself
4) go to crawford
5) Buy all the stations that hannity works for and fire hannity
6) Id buy the world a coke,
fund general clark clealand ticket.

[DanCa]

8. Oh and I'd treat DU to

a night of Pizza and a combination concert featuring elton john and bruce springsteen.

[oscar111]

10. AAR: expand it ... eom

ccc

[roguevalley]

11. pay off my bills. travel when I wanted to. support lib causes. help

with charities I support now: Hunger, animals and the environment.

[LosinIt]

13. Well, after the Tilt-a-Whirl and the trust funds for the kids I guess

it would be supporting my pet causes like finding a candidate who could/would run against Walsh in my Congressional district (I hate that asshole), and helping out a few people who are a bit down on their luck that have helped me out in the past while I was a single mom.

[Heddi]

14. Drugs. And I'd buy some friends

then, when the gossamer gilt of those two things wore off, I'd spend a few million to upgrade the nursing school and community college I go to so that they can have increased enrollment in the nursing program and churn out 4x's as many RN's each year than they currently do.


I'd follow the lead of a guy in Seattle---he talked with some homeless folks and they said the biggest obstacle to being able to get a job was their lack of phone numbers. So this guy bought a bank of local numbers so these people could put the number on their application. The numbers went directly to a voice mail that the participants could access via a charge-free 1-800 call from a payphone. It was (and is) a tremendous success and many people have been helped directly because of that. I would continue his efforts and add P.O. Boxes for the homeless where they could have an actual address and get mail like REAL people can, you know.

I would do job training of REAL skills for people. Masonry, carpentry, cosmetology, health-professions, typing, computer skills...ANYTHING that will help the unskilled get jobs.


I'd set up some kind of fund for people. Poor people. Like a co-op where they could pool together resources and finances and have a well-worked commune.

I'd persuade businesses to hire the generally un-hireable, like the uneducated poor, the unskilled poor, and the mentally and physically handicapped. I knew of a restaurant whose owner only hired mentally retarded people to work in the kitchen. She taught them how to cook and bake and gave real meaning to their lives, letting them earn money for the first time in their lives. Alot of them were hired by competing bakers and restaurants because they had such great skills. That's a good thing.

If I had enough (which I never would), I'd do my part to implement a national healthcare system where all people could get quality health coverage without going broke. Like, a Canadian system.

I'd build houses for the working poor that they could afford, or even get for free. I'm thinking about the people that generally slip through the cracks--the ones without families, or with families but make $100 too much a year to qualify for any programs, etc.

Free daycare for anyone who wants it.

that's just off the top of my head

[punpirate]

15. I have thought about this, actually...

... since I have a lot of time while unemployed :) and I'd hire a research staff, put about a dozen private investigators, lawyers and investigative journalists on retainer, buy a second- or third-hand Cray and satellite time to serve news to the world and just wail on the liars of aaaaaaaalllll persuasions.

If Bush farted at a public event, I'd have a chemical analysis of what he ate for lunch in an hour. :P

[superconnected]

16. movies, I'm an indie filmmaker

and stopping the humane society and kill-shelters from killing animals.

[koopie57]

17. I would start a scholarship program

for middle income kids. Low income kids have scholarships to explore, and rich kids don't need to worry, but us folks in the middle incomes have no where to turn and it is scary to see how quickly the numbers add up. I would gear it towards those kids who show up to school everyday, work hard and do the very best they can but who are not getting the great grades that get them scholarships.

[jmm]

18. This idea is inspired by my mom who is desperate for grandkids

There needs to be a program kind of like big brothers and big sisters but for people who have experience with children especially people who have already raised families. Instead of harassing their children for grand babies they could sublimate those feelings by mentoring parents who actually want someone in their life giving them ideas on how to raise children. The parents who want help and their children can benefit from the free guidance and occasional babysitter.

[sandnsea]

57. There's mentoring programs

Most cities have them. Respite programs, AIDS and crack babies that need cuddling, teen parent programs. There's also Green Thumbs, which is for seniors who need jobs but they tend to be community oriented too.

Kerry proposed your mother's idea as part of his national service. Seniors would do so many hours of community service, specifically designed to build community, in exchange for credits to help send a grandchild or other child to college.

[Dogmudgeon]

20. Macaroni and Cheese, and robot Hookers

I'd also buy a new clock-radio.

--p!
A Man of Very Simple Tastes.

[losdiablosgato]

27. BUY BEER, LOTS OF BEER!!!!!!!

[xchrom]

21. ok -- maybe i'm boring -- get an apartment in paris.

i can't think of anything more lovely, heavenly, perfect than to be in paris and ''doing'' my abode there.

[ObaMania]

23. Depends on how rich.

But if it was a great sum of money, like a Mega Lottery, then:

1. Pay off house and cars
2. Open a small business
3. Revitalize a bad part of town in any given town (DC in particular) by gutting and converting old, historic buildings, abandoned houses
4. Keep a small amount to pad my wife and my retirements, then give the rest to charity, focusing it mainly on housing and feeding people.

[msrbly]

24. Paying off every debt of everyone I could

No more credit cards, mortgages, car loans, student loans etc.

[Gormy Cuss]

26. Micro loans to low income Americans

A small hand up to people with an idea for self-sufficiency but no means.
If I were Bill Gates or Warren Buffett rich, I'd simply give everyone who wanted one a job. Not a high paying job, but a job with opportunities and fringe benefits.

[GreenArrow]

29. Give me land, give me land, lots of land

under starry skies above,
don't fence me in.

Nature preserves. No real estate developer scum allowed, baby!

[Ganja Ninja]

30. A plane ticket to Amsterdam.

:smoke:

[blm]

31. Expose the GOP control of most media and voting machines.

.

[meow2u3]

32. Free vet care for poor households with pets

Instead of making people give up their cats and/or dogs because they can't afford to take them to a vet, I'd set up free or sliding-scale fee clinics so people can afford to get their pets their shots, spayed or neutered, and care when the animal's sick.

I believe in the healing power of pets. If animals give people unconditional love, then why can't poor people enjoy that right, too?

[Maru Kitteh]

33. The biggest damn animal sanctuary you've EVER seen

I don't care much about cars and don't really need much in the way of a house, beyond what I already have.

I would make it a point to employ people who need a hand up like non-violent offenders, people in recovery and single moms working on their education.

Then I would fund scholarships for the children of single moms interested in pursuing a degree in political science.

Can you tell I've been a single mom? Noooooooooooo.

That's where I would start anyway.

[LWolf]

34. This:

I'd pay off the mortgage. Then I'd have this old trailer hauled off, and build a real house on the place. I'd fix the barn, repair the shop, replace all the rotten old fences with good fences, and buy a tractor with lots of implements to clean up all the pastures.

I'd dig a good well and get off the grid.

I'd pay for my 2 sons to finish their college education, and I'd invest in some sort of family health insurance plan. I'd put enough aside to live on, and quit my job.

I'd see some of the world.

I'd invest in organizations working for peace, social and economic justice, civil rights, and environmental concerns. I'd invest heavily in campaign and election reform for the U.S..

I'd open some schools, pre-K through high school, and provide them with a trust fund to run on, open and free to all, and free of NCLB and standardized testing.

Anything left? I'd start my own non-profit satellite tv company, providing independent, non-corporate or PAC sponsored programming.

Still have some left? I'd buy farmland and open land right and left. I'd keep the farmland in trust for small organic family farms, I'd keep most of the rest open and undeveloped. Then I might start my own "smart" non-profit development company for a few small developments with high-density housing, jobs, shopping, schools, cultural amenities, and a great transportation system all together, supported by sustainable energy.

Still have some left? How about a non-profit news-gathering agency organized on the principles of honesty, integrity, and neutrality? They'd probably have to have their own newspapers, radio, & tv stations to report on, since corporate-owned media probably wouldn't allow news gathered or reported that way.

Still have some left? I'd publicly offer to pay off the national debt if all republicans resigned and were replaced in a special election by non-republicans.

[dryan]

36. Start a scholarshiup program

[VOX]

38. Retire & establish a foundation to support progressive causes...

I would use the $$$ to get off the daily grind, and would then establish a foundation that would contribute solely to progressive and animal rights causes.

That would be my life's work, and it would be quite gratifying.

[Cats Against Frist]

39. If it was A LOT of money

Well, I'd invest a lot of it in long-term bonds or something. Then, I'd make sure that my parents and brother were taken care of.

Then, I would sell my current house, in Iowa, and buy a large chunk of property on the penninsula in Washington State -- or, hell -- why not just buy Bainbridge or Vashon, or something -- set the whole thing up, as to not be on "the grid," and start a co-op/commune/organic farming/self-sustaining community.

After that, I'd buy a big house in Seattle, and start a city commune for single mothers & their children, with an organic garden.

Then I'd find a ghostwriter -- hey, I'm lazy, and I have a poetry manuscript to finish -- for my political book (top secret -- but let's say it has to do with left-wing libertarianism).

Then, I would found a company that bankrolled experimental film, art, literature and poetry, and give fellowships to the top grads, in experimental work, from the nation's best graduate schools -- and one fellowship that would require no formal education.

Then, I'd set up endowments, from the bonds & investment money, to:

People for the American Way
Emma Goldman Clinic
The Iowa Writers' Workshop
some literary magazines & presses

And I would try to take over the Libertarian party, and make it a true libertarian/minarchist/grass roots party, for both left and right-wing libertarians.

And some of the other worthy causes, that the above people mentioned -- there's a place in Minnesota that has mentally handicapped people weave irregular gloves -- stuff like that. Stuff to help kids.

[4 t 4]

44. I would feed

cloth, house, pay utilities for,help get jobs for,counseling for whatever else they needed, for as many down and out of luck people I could in Chicago.

[Im_Your_Huckleberry]

45. half on wine, women, and song...

the rest i would spend foolishly.

[theboss]

47. Hookers and Mad Dog

If there was any left over, I'd endow a scholarship at my college.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

48. Right now? Sending trucks of water down to Crawford, and supplying

food.

[MsTryska]

49. umm...how rich are we talking about here?

if i had more money than god?


i'd get together with Soros and find us some other liberal billionaires and start funding the machine, baby.


if i'm just sorta rich, i'd become that multi-millionaire that everyone tries to woo for campaign donations. and i'd give em hell.


if all i got is a million or two, well i'll settle for a nice house in hawaii and settling down and letting my money grow while i relax.

[More Than A Feeling]

51. Run for office

[Cleita]

53. I too would do a newspaper. But I would try to

do a national paper like USA Today, but with the journalistic integrity to expose corruption in Washington any chance I get as well and that has everything the ordinary person needs to know to make decisions about whom and what to vote for.

Since a lot of people don't use the internet, I think this is sorely needed as many people will pick up a paper with their coffee. When my late husband and I traveled a lot, we found the USA Today the only paper that we could get no matter where we went because the local paper was often sorely lacking. I think we need a good journalistic version though.

[Dem2theMax]

54. The homeless. nt.

[dorktv]

56. If I had over 27 billion dollars...I would give the Democratic

Party $1 Billion, then the YDs another $100 million, give every left wing think tank as much as they need and then laugh in Richard Mellon Scaife's face.

Oh and of course give tons to charity in the US and outside of the US.

*edit* I forgot...I would also start a REAL liberal tv channel that would even have stories on how to help striking workers and everything on regular air (no need to be balenced now that the Fairness doctrine is gone and with that kind of money, why bother with profitablity?) And Air America would never have to worry about making money again. :D

[Greyhound]

58. Get the fuck out of this cesspool. n/t

[Ladyhawk]

59. I really need to get well and to move away from this town.

I'd spend my money on decent medical care and a one-way ticket out of this town. After that, my money would be spent to dethrone the boy king and to help others. I've discovered I really don't need much. I would like an occasional "toy," but I don't need a lot to be happy--just a place to be with nature and some friends who could accept me for who I am. That's all I want.

[Blue_Tires]

60. cars, a race team...

and retiring in another country

[leftofthedial]

61. I'd start a mega corporation and hire loads of repukes

I'd make sure they ahd piss poor benefits and a wage about $1000 a month less than what they really need.

Then, I'd embezzle their pensions and lay them all off.

I'd spend a year playing tennis at club Fed with the WorldCom guy and then do it all over again.

[AngryAmish]

62. Buy the Chicago Bears

I'd give McCaskey eight seconds to clear out his office.

Plus, free ice cream for every hooker on madison Street.

[William Bloode]

63. I'd put all the money into some type of college trust,

For under privileged youths. That or build a non profit non religious food bank.

I would support myself by naming myself director of either enterprise and draw a decent salary, say $80,000yr would be more than enough.