What to do with all that money

tadaman just started a thread on which would you choose : A "for sure" 1 million or take a 50% chance at 100 million and it got me to thinking : What would I do with all that? I've thought about this many times and the answer has always been the same : Help the kids and families in this town. The thing that makes me so sure that's what I'd do is something I saw a couple Winters ago, that just broke my heart and has stuck with me ever since.
I was driving my kids to school one morning and it was cold. I mean cold. The temp was in low single digits and a pretty good wind was blowing, making it that much worse. We had just had about 6 inches of snow, on top of what was already on the ground, plus some ice had came with it. My kids are in high school, but we live just a couple blocks from the elementary and see little kids walking to school every morning.
On this particular morning, I saw a little boy, maybe around 8 - 10 years old, going down the side walk, with shoes obviously hand me downs from an older brother or sister, because they were at least 4 sizes too big. They were flopping around on his feet and he even walked right out of one and had to go back and get it and if that weren't bad enough, I'm sure he got his sock wet too. Now he has to spend the day with cold/wet feet. I couldn't help thinking he would be teased for his giant shoes and made to feel "low class" because his family didn't have the money to buy ones that fit. His coat was thin, wasn't zipped up and he was clutching it around him, no hat or gloves, obviously freezing and trying to get to school as fast as he could. It made me so sad to see him have to walk in that weather. I honestly don't mind admitting it brought a tear to see that little boy struggling to walk through the snow and knowing there was not one damn thing I could do about it. I see kids like this in our town every day and more than anything, I wish I could win the lottery and be able to give them shoes that fit, warm clothes and coats and make sure their families have food on the table. We all dream of having millions and living the high life and I admit, I would pay off all our debts,have a much nicer house, a new truck, a new car for my wife, maybe even an older one for the kids to share. Most people see me as a hard ass. I have no tolerance for stupidity or freeloaders and if you're going to be around me, you better show some common sense or you won't be around for long. But, I'd make damn sure that little boy had a coat.

a reply to: DAVID64

I would produce as much vertical aquaponic farmspace as I possibly could near to large cities to reduce the cost of food and to reduce the distance food has to travel from its source of production. Food supply is a big issue for humankind and our present relationship with the ecosystems of this world has us depleting natural food supplies and diminishing biodiversity with every passing year. Solving our food supply problems even to a very small degree could drastically influence the entire future of this planet and all of the life forms upon it.

a reply to: DAVID64

50% (of the million) to charity...


The other 50% on business ventures that help the community...


It'd be great to be able to give back.

i go for the guaranteed million and spend the hell out of it.
few nice cars...a harley or two
lots of traveling

I have thought about this sometimes; I volunteer at a homeless shelter, and I think about the macro effects of giving aid to the needy. For one thing, on a massive scale ($100 million in a single city), you'd cause an inflation of sorts among supplies and living quarters if you weren't careful.

And unless you set up an "endowed chair" in homelessness, by setting up a trust fund for each homeless person, the money would eventually go away.

Would an endowed fund to house the homeless actually hamper them, by keeping them from making any sort of personal economic progress until your money was running out, and they had "only one more month" to find a new place to live.

Maybe you could start a vocational institution, to teach them a trade. Or perhaps a housing co-op or work farm where they could earn equity in a comunually owned property.

Honestly, there are no easy answers. Part of the problem is that part of poverty is comparative disadvantage, rather than merely the absence of basic necessities. The poor in my country have better nutrition that the poor in many other places. And many countries refuse to tabulate the numbers of need, by excluding "guest workers," etc. from their reports....

a reply to: tovenar

Maybe you could start a vocational institution, to teach them a trade. Or perhaps a housing co-op or work farm where they could earn equity in a comunually owned property.

I was thinking somewhat along that line. A huge community garden, with the unemployed or needy, helping to till, plant and harvest the food, then get experienced help in canning all of it. I can and do put up fruit and vegetables from my garden and trees during the Fall, but on a scale like that, I would obviously need a lot of help. I'm in farm country, so finding folks with that kind of knowledge would be pretty easy and I, along with others, could teach those who wanted to learn. It wouldn't be a completely free ride. I believe people care more for what they have and appreciate it, when they've had to work for it.

I'd buy the old ladies home and throw the old ladies out!

Just a little Yosemite Sam for ya...

The first thing I would do if I came into big money would be to get an unlisted number because every one out there with a good cause would be hounding me. Now, I only get ten calls a week seeking donations.

Take $1 million.

Donate 1/2 to charity.

Invest the rest except for $10k I would use to buy some stuff that I don't quite feel justified purchasing.

I would use 20% to fund a retirement for my employees, after all they got me to where I am. Another 20% to start a foundation for the grand daughters, And then I would spend the rest of my days where it never gets cold. I am thinking, a beach bar, topless of course, great fishing. Finish the book that I started writing 3 years ago, well I think you get the point. Live like Ian Fleming at Golden Eye.
Probable my wife would have a problem with the topless thing, but a man can dream.

a reply to: DAVID64

This is so easy as i have planned this for my big lotto win (when it happens) for a while now . No charity as such but i would build a purpose built facility for people with mental disorders . No bars or rubber but a nice place that they can get the right treatment by the right people at a cost only basis . Done with the help of the right people of course . Second , buy a big assed motor yacht and charter licence .Take my mates for nothing and run it at a loss for tax purposes . 6 24 18 39 dreaming

a reply to: DAVID64

I would take the money and run. I would move to a tropical area to live the rest of my days.I would start an NGO to change the constitution so that the houses would only get 2 terms,no more war chests, a national fund for elections was set up and make it illegal for any other money to be used for campaigns,would make the electoral college illegal,and help set up the data base for voters to use their social security numbers on line to vote with. Thats just to start.