Exactly! If billionaires were put in a a position where they need to stop being billionaires and distribute their wealth or else people will kill them, they’d distribute their wealth real fucking fast
I was thinking about this the other day. If I had half a trillion dollars (like the guy who just bought the presidency) I would spend it building a city from scratch. A walkable/bikeable city with free public transportation. I don’t have enough expertise to speak about affordable housing ideas, but with that amount of money I can pay someone to come up with some good regulations. Don’t know why but that’d be my passion project.
Better use of the money is to strong arm cities into adjusting into better land uses. Building a city from scratch you’re probably taking farm land from making food to instead be a new city, and if you can attract enough businesses to attract enough residents you’ve only helped by creating walkability for a few hundred or thousand people while the rest of the country remains car dependant.
Honestly I was on a walk recently and had the thought cross my mind of “what if this road were ripped up, the newly reclaimed land was sold for housing and small quiet businesses and the sidewalks widened into first class bike/walking paths just wide enough for an emergency/utility vehicle to drive down?” and I got a little sad that such a utopian vision just isn’t politically palatable.
I agree with you, that would be a much more effective use of resources. It’s a fantasy though, and it’s way more fun for me to daydream about design than manipulating public policy.
All that said it’s not a fruitless endeavor to think about how you would build something from scratch even if you can’t. It is a good way to hash out ideas without getting bogged down by the resistance to change.
Fun fact, if I were to inherit the wealth of a billionaire family member who was shot in public I’d get philanthropic real fast!
Many people say this. However of those who talk the talk, barely any ever walk the walk.
However I think if you are born an heir to a billionaire, you’d lack the perspective which might foster selfless philanthropy.
I’d like to think that if someone from the working class would randomly get such money they would. But it still seems unlikely.
self preservation isn’t a selfless motive, but if it results in philanthropy then that’s a win.
Exactly! If billionaires were put in a a position where they need to stop being billionaires and distribute their wealth or else people will kill them, they’d distribute their wealth real fucking fast
Not before trying to buy their way out of it.
“What if I uh, personally kill 1000 millionaires to offset each billion reducing my greedy hoarding footprint.”
I would assume most of Elon Musk’s kids are not a fan of Billionaires.
Really one only ever heard his one daughter speak out against him, since she’s been a frequent target for his anti-trans bullshit.
I haven’t heard any of the other kids speak up against him on any topic.
Almost all big lottery winners are working class. Look at what they do with their winnings on average, you don’t need to guess.
I feel like that depends too. There’s a ton of working class that dream of somehow becoming billionaires which is why they don’t want to tax them.
They’re certainly not all fans.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/25/elon-musks-transgender-daughter-in-first-interview-says-he-berated-her-for-being-queer-as-a-child.html
I was thinking about this the other day. If I had half a trillion dollars (like the guy who just bought the presidency) I would spend it building a city from scratch. A walkable/bikeable city with free public transportation. I don’t have enough expertise to speak about affordable housing ideas, but with that amount of money I can pay someone to come up with some good regulations. Don’t know why but that’d be my passion project.
Better use of the money is to strong arm cities into adjusting into better land uses. Building a city from scratch you’re probably taking farm land from making food to instead be a new city, and if you can attract enough businesses to attract enough residents you’ve only helped by creating walkability for a few hundred or thousand people while the rest of the country remains car dependant.
Honestly I was on a walk recently and had the thought cross my mind of “what if this road were ripped up, the newly reclaimed land was sold for housing and small quiet businesses and the sidewalks widened into first class bike/walking paths just wide enough for an emergency/utility vehicle to drive down?” and I got a little sad that such a utopian vision just isn’t politically palatable.
I agree with you, that would be a much more effective use of resources. It’s a fantasy though, and it’s way more fun for me to daydream about design than manipulating public policy.
All that said it’s not a fruitless endeavor to think about how you would build something from scratch even if you can’t. It is a good way to hash out ideas without getting bogged down by the resistance to change.
Hells yeah! [email protected], [email protected].
That is why MacKenzie Scott is the best living billionaire.
She did just that before all this mess started.