Ask HN: What would you do with $700 Billion?
173 comments
Create an alternative, multi-tiered research funding organization and proceed to turn the education system upside down.
In fact, $700b is more than enough to do this several times over, so the surplus will probably go to funding a century of other programs related to exploration, bioengineering, green technology, and other sustainable development projects.
Seriously, what could it be other than this?
In fact, $700b is more than enough to do this several times over, so the surplus will probably go to funding a century of other programs related to exploration, bioengineering, green technology, and other sustainable development projects.
Seriously, what could it be other than this?
Agreed. I would establish an organization that will essentially usurp the position of the NSF. It will be non-partisan, be free from political influence, and non-ideologically driven. It will be available to all academics everywhere.
My brother is a researcher in evolutionary biology. I have seen how the Bush administration has been sabotaging funding into this area over the last few years. Science should be a free for all of ideas, not influenced by politics, religion, or anything else except good hard science.
My brother is a researcher in evolutionary biology. I have seen how the Bush administration has been sabotaging funding into this area over the last few years. Science should be a free for all of ideas, not influenced by politics, religion, or anything else except good hard science.
It will be non-partisan, be free from political influence, and non-ideologically driven.
How much of the $700b will be left over after you've developed the sentient robots needed to staff this place? ;)
How much of the $700b will be left over after you've developed the sentient robots needed to staff this place? ;)
It's nice to talk about being non-partisan, non-political, non-ideological, etc., but it's a lot easier said than done. One way might be to fund a series of huge prizes for the company that first achieves one of your goals.
I'd start with a couple billion to the first company to achieve sustainable low-cost access to low Earth orbit.
I'd also hand out lesser amounts to p+B11 fusion projects (EMC2 and there's another one I can't remember right now), to fund their research, with maybe $5B to the first to get a 1GW commercial plant on-line.
I'd start with a couple billion to the first company to achieve sustainable low-cost access to low Earth orbit.
I'd also hand out lesser amounts to p+B11 fusion projects (EMC2 and there's another one I can't remember right now), to fund their research, with maybe $5B to the first to get a 1GW commercial plant on-line.
It will be non-partisan, be free from political influence, and non-ideologically driven.
Really? No bias? How about this: you'd be a sucker. People apply for grant money and are rejected because the grants are often terrible. Sure, sometimes good grants get rejected, but, overall, the review system is pretty functional. I don't know much about NSF in particular, but if they reviewed grant proposals and then gave out money without passing judgement on quality, they'd be wasting a whole lot of money. And you'd really have to remove all judgement if you wanted a system where all academics are equal. So, judgement is back. Now, tell me this: now that we're judging, can we really keep ideological bias out?
You have to remember that grant money can pay salaries. If you give it out to anyone, people will abuse it.
You make a valid point about the Bush administration, though.
Really? No bias? How about this: you'd be a sucker. People apply for grant money and are rejected because the grants are often terrible. Sure, sometimes good grants get rejected, but, overall, the review system is pretty functional. I don't know much about NSF in particular, but if they reviewed grant proposals and then gave out money without passing judgement on quality, they'd be wasting a whole lot of money. And you'd really have to remove all judgement if you wanted a system where all academics are equal. So, judgement is back. Now, tell me this: now that we're judging, can we really keep ideological bias out?
You have to remember that grant money can pay salaries. If you give it out to anyone, people will abuse it.
You make a valid point about the Bush administration, though.
Two chicks at the same time.
Seriously, I have no idea what I'd do with that amount of money. If I was completely selfish maybe I'd buy an island somewhere. I sure as hell wouldn't use it to bail out a bunch of failed businesses whose executives have been giving themselves multi-million dollar bonuses.
Seriously, I have no idea what I'd do with that amount of money. If I was completely selfish maybe I'd buy an island somewhere. I sure as hell wouldn't use it to bail out a bunch of failed businesses whose executives have been giving themselves multi-million dollar bonuses.
hehe
I would invest it. I would buy most of wall street and wait for it to bounce back. Turn that 700b to 10 trillion.
I would invest it. I would buy most of wall street and wait for it to bounce back. Turn that 700b to 10 trillion.
Yeah cause you're gonna notice the difference between 700b and 10trillion..
And then what?
A person can do a lot for the world with 10 trillion.
Could you give an example? :)
I think it would actually be pretty hard to find ways to spend that much money. 10 trillion is an awful lot.
I think it would actually be pretty hard to find ways to spend that much money. 10 trillion is an awful lot.
Supposedly eliminate poverty worldwide:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=315521
I'm not convinced that we can solve the worlds big problems like poverty just by spending money.
I don't claim to have the answers.. but I think it will take a lot more than money to solve these problems. That's assuming they can even be solved at all.
I don't claim to have the answers.. but I think it will take a lot more than money to solve these problems. That's assuming they can even be solved at all.
That's probably true, there are always evil people around.
Two chicks? Must be like Bill Gates' sister and mom.
Seriously, since the moon base was pretty selfish, I should give a serious answer. I think a series of X-Prize ideas, in the $10-20 Billion range, would transform our society in ways we can barely imagine. Fusion, solar power, field propulsion -- it would be like having a war and pushing for new technology without going through all the death and destruction.
Seriously, since the moon base was pretty selfish, I should give a serious answer. I think a series of X-Prize ideas, in the $10-20 Billion range, would transform our society in ways we can barely imagine. Fusion, solar power, field propulsion -- it would be like having a war and pushing for new technology without going through all the death and destruction.
lmfao... office space ftw
the correct answer is 70 million chicks at the same time.
and that represents the majority of attractive women alive today.
[deleted]
700B dollars... Well given the odds of me obtaining that amount of money is just shy of being pure fantasy, I figure the only real answer to this would be in the realm of fantasy too.
So, 700B - here's my shopping list.
Next stupid question please!
So, 700B - here's my shopping list.
Create Jurassic Park
Army of Super Oompa Loompas - perhaps with bionic implants
Moon based Laser "Defense" system
Universal Optional Breast Enhancement Surgery
Giant Robot of Doom
Another Giant Robot (so the first one never feels lonely)
Build an even bigger supercollider, just to scare the bejeezus out of the irrational people
Terraform Mars
Create a religion based around the works of Bruce Campbell
Next stupid question please!
Can I administer the breast enhancement program?
I'd buy a sovereign country and break it up into city-states, and allow them to compete with each other as an experiment to see which policies and forms of government are the most effective. It would be kind of like Pokemon for social science geeks. You could have libertaritopia, commietopia, fascistopia, etc, and you'd get to see what happens. For motivational purposes, after 50 years I would have barbarian hordes burn and pillage the unsuccessful ones.
If I couldn't find somebody to sell me a country I would build large offshore platforms or rafts that would fulfill the same function.
If I couldn't find somebody to sell me a country I would build large offshore platforms or rafts that would fulfill the same function.
Don't we already have a bunch of states competing with each other as an experiment to see what form is the most effective?
I know you're trying to be cute, but our current situation has too many confounding variables: cultural makeup, history, terrain advantages, economic baggage... We'd need a more laboratory like situation where the city-states are more alike, save for the variables we want to test.
yes, we only need the barbaric hordes every 50 years
Spoiler Alert: Fascism wins unless they are lead by a retard.
Spoiler Alert: If you wait long enough, all fascist countries are eventually run by retards.
protip: It takes one to be led by one.
On the contrary; an incompetent leader is easier to manipulate, and therefore more likely to be favored by whatever secondary powers arise as the fascist nation stagnates.
I think I would buy an uninhabited island and make it a research facility where top scientists can work together and find a way to optimize solar power and batteries.
If I have those I will start a production company that makes those inventions and sells them at the price (or below) it costs to make the goods so everyone can use them. I would also invest in agriculture in dry area's (africa for example). What I would NOT do is waste it on politics, that's why I want the uninhabited island. If you build a facility/production company with that goal there will be government regulations about it and as most of us know, they tend to screw things up and only care for their wallet.
Also a part of that money will go to education and proper sports centers. I'm a bit overweight myself and I want people to know better then always go to McDonalds and have the option to do any sport they like, as it should be.
If I have those I will start a production company that makes those inventions and sells them at the price (or below) it costs to make the goods so everyone can use them. I would also invest in agriculture in dry area's (africa for example). What I would NOT do is waste it on politics, that's why I want the uninhabited island. If you build a facility/production company with that goal there will be government regulations about it and as most of us know, they tend to screw things up and only care for their wallet.
Also a part of that money will go to education and proper sports centers. I'm a bit overweight myself and I want people to know better then always go to McDonalds and have the option to do any sport they like, as it should be.
Build a space elevator and start mining the asteroids. This involves a robot army that would need to be built as well. No, I'm not joking
Yes! Mining the Sky was an amazing book. http://www.amazon.com/Mining-Sky-Untold-Asteroids-Planets/dp...
$700 b is not nearly enough to make a space elevator with existing technology; you're off by about a factor of 1000.
Of course, if you're willing to wait ten years for the cost to produce carbon nanotubes to drop...
Of course, if you're willing to wait ten years for the cost to produce carbon nanotubes to drop...
Actually my brother and a good friend recently attended a conference on the subject, and I'm not pulling numbers out of the air. Clearly there is room for dispute, but between 10B and 1000B is a most reasonable range. I also disagree in principle that anything could cost $700T dollars. Are you telling me that the whole of the US working for 50 years couldn't build it? Because US GDP is ~$14T.
Also, you don't launch a company and next year make an elevator. There is a lot of tech to develop. You don't just sit on that tech. Materials made cheap enough to build a earth bound tether would have plenty of other applications. As would the automated or teleoperated construction robots.
Also, the first elevator on the moon wouldn't require much innovation in materials at all.
But I do have a very armchair understanding of the topic.
Also, you don't launch a company and next year make an elevator. There is a lot of tech to develop. You don't just sit on that tech. Materials made cheap enough to build a earth bound tether would have plenty of other applications. As would the automated or teleoperated construction robots.
Also, the first elevator on the moon wouldn't require much innovation in materials at all.
But I do have a very armchair understanding of the topic.
In spring of 2005 I did a back of the envelope calculation on the total cost to produce the mass of carbon nanotubes needed for an elevator with cross-section of 1 cm^2 using the methods available then and got a result of about 1.25 quadrillion dollars--a sum truly large enough to be meaningless. It appears there have been several significant advances since then, including the revision of the intended cross-sectional area downward, and improvements in the production costs.
And my estimate on costs was precisely in the vein of "next year make an elevator"--I do not doubt that there will be a space elevator long before the next 50 years pass, I merely doubt that $700b is sufficient that a feasible short term effort could be made.
A lunar elevator, while a nice proof of concept for a terrestrial space elevator, has two major problems: (1) There isn't really a point; the moon's gravity well is too weak for it to be worth it to construct an elevator any time soon. (2) Getting the material there without an existing terrestrial space elevator (and possibly even with one) is a prohibitively expensive exercise.
Research into the construction of a space elevator is a worthwhile pursuit likely to result in many useful technological advances. But $700b is not enough to construct one in the short term from existing technology, and is too much to be usefully applied to further research.
And my estimate on costs was precisely in the vein of "next year make an elevator"--I do not doubt that there will be a space elevator long before the next 50 years pass, I merely doubt that $700b is sufficient that a feasible short term effort could be made.
A lunar elevator, while a nice proof of concept for a terrestrial space elevator, has two major problems: (1) There isn't really a point; the moon's gravity well is too weak for it to be worth it to construct an elevator any time soon. (2) Getting the material there without an existing terrestrial space elevator (and possibly even with one) is a prohibitively expensive exercise.
Research into the construction of a space elevator is a worthwhile pursuit likely to result in many useful technological advances. But $700b is not enough to construct one in the short term from existing technology, and is too much to be usefully applied to further research.
I think you're thinking like NASA. I'm thinking like a startup founder.
Also, a lunar elevator might not be the best choice. Perhaps a mass driver or sky hook on the moon would be better. I would still start on the moon before constructing the first inch of tether around earth.
construction of a space elevator is a worthwhile pursuit likely to result in many useful technological advanceAlso, a lunar elevator might not be the best choice. Perhaps a mass driver or sky hook on the moon would be better. I would still start on the moon before constructing the first inch of tether around earth.
I would agree - and combine solar panels on the moon that is beamed back to earth.
Ideally if you could figure out how to build a factory on the moon to mine and produce the first wave of robots/solar power too.
Ideally if you could figure out how to build a factory on the moon to mine and produce the first wave of robots/solar power too.
I would probably build a moon elevator first to get the materials to build the earth elevator. One of the most important things to mine is materials for power generation. Solar in some form or another, for sure.
Wow I was thinking the exact same thing. Put the money into an Apollo-scale project to perfect the 1st gen space elevator. Most of the money would go to research. The price of building it once you have the know-how is a trivially small amount of the total $700 billion.
You mentioned Apollo, others mentioned the space shuttle.
NASA is a horrible organization to actually get things done. I wouldn't emulate them. Burt Rutan is a hero.
NASA is a horrible organization to actually get things done. I wouldn't emulate them. Burt Rutan is a hero.
Yeah, cause every other space agency actually got off their asses and put men on the moon, deployed and operated a space lab, deployed and operated a largely reuseable launch vehicle that hardly ever blows up, drove rc cars around mars for months, etc.
Going to the moon was a horrible idea. It was a very poor use of resources. That's why we haven't been back in 40 years.
The Mars rovers are the exception the proves the rule. Operational for years after a few hundred million dollars spent, while each shuttle mission eats over $1B.
Any reasonable manager would have scrapped the shuttle long ago.
The reason NASA does more is that we have more money than others, not because they are better.
The goal after all is long term benefit to the human race (or profit). Nasa hasn't done all that much towards that end. If anything, they were a good excuse to design ICBMs.
The Mars rovers are the exception the proves the rule. Operational for years after a few hundred million dollars spent, while each shuttle mission eats over $1B.
Any reasonable manager would have scrapped the shuttle long ago.
The reason NASA does more is that we have more money than others, not because they are better.
The goal after all is long term benefit to the human race (or profit). Nasa hasn't done all that much towards that end. If anything, they were a good excuse to design ICBMs.
A hero that has not even reached orbit yet.
Given the $1B spent on each shuttle launch, I'm sure he could make it.
Remember, 700B pays for around 400 space shuttles.
Just to give a sense of scale.
Just to give a sense of scale.
Space shuttle demolition derby, then?
Better yet - 612B is what Pentagon is getting in 2009.
400 space shuttles would be awesome :)
I can see it now, synchronized space shuttles in the space olympics (http://www.hulu.com/watch/34464/saturday-night-live-digital-...)
Or, for other means of comparison, $700b is about:
87 next generation aircraft carriers (or about 155 current-generation aircraft carriers)
500 stealth bombers (or 5000 stealth fighters)
10 years of federal education spending in the US
1.1% of the worldwide annual GDP
2/5 of the combined net worth of the 100 wealthiest people (or, if you prefer, 12 times the net worth of Bill Gates, or about 1/6 of the combined net worth of the 1000 wealthiest people)
23 times the total annual income tax collected from the lower 50% of filers with positive adjusted gross income in 2006 (see http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html)
87 next generation aircraft carriers (or about 155 current-generation aircraft carriers)
500 stealth bombers (or 5000 stealth fighters)
10 years of federal education spending in the US
1.1% of the worldwide annual GDP
2/5 of the combined net worth of the 100 wealthiest people (or, if you prefer, 12 times the net worth of Bill Gates, or about 1/6 of the combined net worth of the 1000 wealthiest people)
23 times the total annual income tax collected from the lower 50% of filers with positive adjusted gross income in 2006 (see http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html)
Or about 4 more rounds of stimulus checks.
Yeah I'd have to race them then.
Hookers and RAM.
When I've got a good rate with a few of the girls, and my DIMM banks are filled, I'd probably start building a loyal robot army to help fight the evil ones that come with the inevitable robot apocalypse.
Each of which, incidentally, will require RAM.
When I've got a good rate with a few of the girls, and my DIMM banks are filled, I'd probably start building a loyal robot army to help fight the evil ones that come with the inevitable robot apocalypse.
Each of which, incidentally, will require RAM.
I would bootstrap the asteroid mining economy, invest in micro-terraforming and nano-technology so that each asteroid could become it's own self sufficient republic.
Yay Anarchy !
>...each asteroid could become it's own self sufficient republic. Yay Anarchy!
That's not anarchy, since each republic would presumably have its own government.
That's not anarchy, since each republic would presumably have its own government.
A "Federation" if you will.
If you'll settle for Zimbabwe dollars, that shouldn't be too hard to arrange.
It's fun to read these, but I feel compelled to point out that the 700 Billion is not going to be spent, but rather it's the amount the US is on the hook for.
The last time the US did this they not only got all the money back, they even made a small profit.
To join along: if I had the money I'd spend all of it on as many nuclear reactors, to generate electricity, as I could. I'd standardize the design to keep the costs as low as possible.
The last time the US did this they not only got all the money back, they even made a small profit.
To join along: if I had the money I'd spend all of it on as many nuclear reactors, to generate electricity, as I could. I'd standardize the design to keep the costs as low as possible.
Hire a mercenary army to conquer some third world sh*t hole, then give it a modern infrastructure, education system, etc., and turn it into a capitalist/libertarian utopia.
With some of the profits, I'd pick another country and iterate.
With some of the profits, I'd pick another country and iterate.
i'd probably take one or two billion and buy myself a giant island to live on and forever take care of my personal needs. and fly into space a few times, too.
after that, i'd take the half of the remaining and invest it in technology and fields that i'd like to see improved (i.e. space travel, science, alternative energy, etc etc)
i'd take the other half and invest/give it to more charitable devices (poverty relief & research, disease research, land preservation funds, etc etc)
basically, try and make the world a better place.
after that, i'd take the half of the remaining and invest it in technology and fields that i'd like to see improved (i.e. space travel, science, alternative energy, etc etc)
i'd take the other half and invest/give it to more charitable devices (poverty relief & research, disease research, land preservation funds, etc etc)
basically, try and make the world a better place.
Taking an entire giant island for one person would make the world a better place?
would you like me to say "i'd give it all up to charity"? i'd be lying if i said that, and so would anyone else.
i've always wanted to live on an island, thanks for shitting on my dreams in a hypothetical thread :*-(
i've always wanted to live on an island, thanks for shitting on my dreams in a hypothetical thread :*-(
Giving $698 billion to tech research and charity probably would.
Yep, sure would make the world a better place for that guy, at least!
I'd take a small amount of it ($2-3 million if i could be sure of good interest returns over time, more commensurate with inability to do same) and return the rest to the taxpayers.
Alternatively I'd use that money to buy/start a small nation with a refortified constitution and the freedoms we've lost over the last century.
I'd take a small amount of it ($2-3 million if i could be sure of good interest returns over time, more commensurate with inability to do same) and return the rest to the taxpayers.
Alternatively I'd use that money to buy/start a small nation with a refortified constitution and the freedoms we've lost over the last century.
I'd take two billion too, set up the rest of the money as a trust to fund four specific areas:
1. get people in the developing world clean water, access to enough food, and healthcare
2. give people money to get themselves out of debt (with accountability)
3. lobby the US government for various tax (simplicity is needed), healthcare, and humanitarian laws
4. funding for major energy research results
1. get people in the developing world clean water, access to enough food, and healthcare
2. give people money to get themselves out of debt (with accountability)
3. lobby the US government for various tax (simplicity is needed), healthcare, and humanitarian laws
4. funding for major energy research results
give $11,000 to each of the 62 million households in the u.s. making under $50,000. watch the ensuing chaos with glee.
... Give $11,000 to each household making under $50,000, and you're in essence paying all of that towards households making over $50,000.
Some people are poor because they're honestly down on their luck, and need a helping hand. The majority on the other hand are simply unemployable, or horrible with their finances. Give them a handout and the money will simply end up in richer people's hands. That's not helping them.
Some people are poor because they're honestly down on their luck, and need a helping hand. The majority on the other hand are simply unemployable, or horrible with their finances. Give them a handout and the money will simply end up in richer people's hands. That's not helping them.
However, if you gave $11K in seed capital to anyone making under $50k who has a viable plan for a business with the promise of a few hundred K more if they started showing traction, then you might shake things up a bit.
...wait, isn't that YCombinator?
...wait, isn't that YCombinator?
I don't think the yC model would scale up to 700B.
I think it would be a great experiment, though.
I think it would be a great experiment, though.
Grameen bank?
Hey, I was working with a college degree for 3 years before I broke 50k. At the time I was investing 8% of my income and I was still eating out all the time etc.
I think the bar for poor needs to be a little lower than 50k/year.
I think the bar for poor needs to be a little lower than 50k/year.
Is a collage degree made up of other degrees that are cut apart and then pasted back together to form pretty pictures? (couldn't resist).
I wasn't shooting for the poor. I was shooting for a bunch of people. It's roughly half of the households in the country. That's a lot of liquid capital to inject into the economy at once -- around 5% of our GNP.
I wasn't shooting for the poor. I was shooting for a bunch of people. It's roughly half of the households in the country. That's a lot of liquid capital to inject into the economy at once -- around 5% of our GNP.
How many kids were you trying to support?
Family size for $50k to qualify under the federally mandated definition of poverty is 12.
In fact, $50k is approximately the median household income (for 2007), with mean household sizes in that income bracket at about 2.6.
In fact, $50k is approximately the median household income (for 2007), with mean household sizes in that income bracket at about 2.6.
$50K is a lot of money! Can any household still be considered poor with $49K a year?
Yeah it's a lot of money if your still living at home and paying no expenses. I make 120K a year and barely get by. It's all about the debt I'm afraid and the fact that prior to 2 years ago I was making on average 20-30k. My life sucks.
I make 120K a year and barely get by
American, meet the reason for your economic crisis.
American, meet the reason for your economic crisis.
actually, people like him are good for the economy. all that money immediately returning to circulation is better than it being saved. the fact that he is mentally unfit for survival is another issue.
Not that much. $50K after tax is what, $40K? Just a tad over? Rent? Food? That's all assuming you're young and single. Have kids? Good friggin' luck. You can't even afford a mortgage on $50K a year.
I've got a $100K job offer pending my graduation, and even with that I still have to be aware of my budget to even save something.
I've got a $100K job offer pending my graduation, and even with that I still have to be aware of my budget to even save something.
I think that depends on where you live...
Remember - most of america is not SF!!!
Get a mortgage on something like this: http://www.househunterbob.com/Listing/ViewListingDetails.asp... and for $50K per year - you can buy 500 houses!
Remember - most of america is not SF!!!
Get a mortgage on something like this: http://www.househunterbob.com/Listing/ViewListingDetails.asp... and for $50K per year - you can buy 500 houses!
Stop buying so much shit.
you people are retarded.
the things you think are necessary to live are clearly not.
[deleted]
I'd get a crew of volunteers together and torch the The World Bank & The International Monetary Fund.. just burn it to the ground. That might cost a couple hundred grand tops. With them out of the way it would be easy to implement a true Meritocracy in all governments. Presidents will get a paycheck on a sliding scale, the more wealth they are responsible for creating for their people, the better off they will do personally. I'd then use crowdsourcing to dictate what investments were made with the remaining 699 1/2 billion. We would then use the interest created by the these investments to fund all of the projects previously mentioned by the HackerNews Community.
edit I'd make sure all of the employee's were out of the buildings, of course...
edit I'd make sure all of the employee's were out of the buildings, of course...
World's biggest gravity bong; it'd take the place of Ohio.
I can't imagine the logistics of such a thing, but it's intriguing enough that I'd visit home to try it!
Invest 50 billion and spend each years profit trying to build a real working fusion power plant, (~1 new ITER style plant design per year pick the best one and build it every 5.) when that's working invest the 50billion in power plants and keep growing till all the worlds energy needs are met. I expect 20 - 30 years till first one works and then massive ramp up.
50 billion 3rd world sweat shops to jump start the worlds economy.
100 billion, retro fit a lane on all US highway's with electric grids / contacts so there is no need for battery systems and we can go electric now. I would start by targeting the commercial trucking industry and then move to cars.
1billion fun money for me.
And I don't know about the rest.
50 billion 3rd world sweat shops to jump start the worlds economy.
100 billion, retro fit a lane on all US highway's with electric grids / contacts so there is no need for battery systems and we can go electric now. I would start by targeting the commercial trucking industry and then move to cars.
1billion fun money for me.
And I don't know about the rest.
Try and fix poverty, hunger, clean drinking water in a sustainable way.
A few years ago I attended a talk by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, professor at Columbia University who was commissioned by the UN to develop a program to end worldwide poverty with sustainable, long-term initiatives -- Note this is not the standard aid, but stuff like microcredit and micro-entrepreneurship.
He traveled the world and came back with the price tag: $1 trillion. That is not to relief, but to END poverty worldwide.
He traveled the world and came back with the price tag: $1 trillion. That is not to relief, but to END poverty worldwide.
Sounds about right. This is something worth adding a trillion to the US Debt for.
What kind of guarantee did that have?
Probably a better one than anything that Paulson is giving!
Nation-wide high-speed wireless. Computers for schools. Spend the rest on paying down our debt.
I wouldn't do anything. You would, because I will own you.
Buy microsoft and open source it.
Buy google and open source it.
Buy apple and open source it.
Spend the rest on hookers and beer for all programmers.
A monocle, a cape and a vizier. Then I'll do whatever he tells me to do with it.
Use it to somehow dismantle all organized religion, probably. Likely the quickest way to save the world.
$700b is almost certainly insufficient to do this; the Catholic church has around 4 times this amount by itself (most of it is illiquid, though--a large fraction is in real estate).
Whoa - are you serious? Are these documents public? I want to see them. What about the Deferred Liability on their balance sheet for "Child Molestation"?
The problem with estimating the net worth of the Catholic church is that an overwhelmingly large fraction of its wealth is in buildings (the many churches it owns throughout the world), real estate (the land those churches are built on, plus the Vatican), and art. That said, this article (http://www.zenit.org/article-1900?l=english) gives some indication of the magnitude of their income/expenditures.
Note: Most of the figures in the attached article are in lire, with a conversion rate of 2000 lire to 1$US--the annual in and outflow of the Catholic church is on the order of hundreds of millions of $US; it is only their total assets that are on the order of trillions.
Note: Most of the figures in the attached article are in lire, with a conversion rate of 2000 lire to 1$US--the annual in and outflow of the Catholic church is on the order of hundreds of millions of $US; it is only their total assets that are on the order of trillions.
I would start my own aircraft company, all my planes would have lisp based auto pilot AI's.
Build the world's largest super computer. Then ask it what the meaning of life is.
You should ask it:
"Will mankind one day without the net expenditure of energy be able to restore the sun to its full youthfulness even after it had died of old age?"
Long-term, that would be the most useful possible way to spend the money.
(Source: http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html)
"Will mankind one day without the net expenditure of energy be able to restore the sun to its full youthfulness even after it had died of old age?"
Long-term, that would be the most useful possible way to spend the money.
(Source: http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html)
"You aren't going to like it..."
42
LSC: "Life has no meaning, you have the choice of giving it one, or let others give it for you."
BSOD
BSOD
I would create a commercially viable, extremely useful version (versus just plastic doodads) of the self-replicating fabricator ( http://reprap.org ), design a decent computer & solar cell that could be easily manufactured by this fabricator and is easy to make into a cluster system (and have semi decent performance). And create some fabrication programs that can manufacture buildings, farming equipment and other such essentials.
Then I would fund a bunch of funding into cures for third world evils like malaria and such.
Then I would fund a bunch of funding into cures for third world evils like malaria and such.
It would be pretty easy to knock off all water-borne diseases. Distribute existing technology to clean water where it's needed, or use that newfangled thing that Dean Kamen has.
Bribe all genociding warmongers (e.g. in Sudan) into retirement. Pay for relocation and land redistribution of affected ethnic groups.
Immunize all children in the USA.
Then, with the other 600 billion, I guess you could throw an awesome party.
Bribe all genociding warmongers (e.g. in Sudan) into retirement. Pay for relocation and land redistribution of affected ethnic groups.
Immunize all children in the USA.
Then, with the other 600 billion, I guess you could throw an awesome party.
Since it seems like defaulting mortgages are the cause of the situation, why not use the money to pay off those mortgages?. If it took $50,000 on average to save an individual mortgage, then you could rescue 14 million mortgages. Some would say that presents a moral hazard, but it seems like that cat is way out of the bag already.
probably something like this: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/gallery/251007war_costs?pg...
i mean, no more poverty and educating every child on earth for 7 years seems like a good idea...
i mean, no more poverty and educating every child on earth for 7 years seems like a good idea...
I would buy massive amounts of gold and start a anonymous, secure digital currency backed by gold :)
Build nuclear power plants, and fund fusion research. Permanently end our addiction to oil.
build my own university - maybe university on a ship, no a university on a ship with its own navy, wait - a university on a ship with its own navy, its own private islands and a jet plane and a space shuttle. Damn, it got crazy so quickly!
You know what I would do if I had seven hundred million dollars? I would invest half of it in low risk mutual funds, and then take the other half over to my friend Asadura who works over in Securities...
money doesn't solve problems, smart people do. money is just a way of freeing smart people of distractions.
and i think 70 billion in todays dollars is a lot more realistic than 700 billion.
that said:
10 billion for space elevator research
10 billion for terraforming mars research
10 billion in scholarships available to anyone in the world as well as the money needed to pull strings to get the smartest kids into the best colleges.
10 billion for a clean water research
30 billion in free contraception/medical for every country.
10 billion for space elevator research
10 billion for terraforming mars research
10 billion in scholarships available to anyone in the world as well as the money needed to pull strings to get the smartest kids into the best colleges.
10 billion for a clean water research
30 billion in free contraception/medical for every country.
Invest in the stock market.
Solar electric for, back of the envelope, maybe 1/3rd of the US total electricity supply. I'm not an electric power expert - maybe someone with actual expertise will correct me.
Find the 299 most influential people in the world and pay them 10m a year for twenty years to do my bidding. Hold on the last 2 billion for reserves in case they turn on me.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned buying Microsoft or Apple and "open source"-ing them. That would be $300b if you buy them at market cap value.
Replace the US auto fleet with Better Place cars http://www.betterplace.com/ .
I don't see how this is different than any of the other "Non Hacker News" stories yet this one gets approval. What's up?
this is not a story, this is a legitimate question.
Legitimate? That's debatable.
It would be debatable if they weren't ready to put someone in this exact position.
Free renewable energy. Probably geothermal. About 100bn on research to develop the system, the rest to roll it out.
Probably keep enough to retire on, and give the rest to my alma mater and have a football stadium named after me :)
Energy development (fusion and solar).
Compact self-contained hydroponic gardens (think shipping container).
Compact self-contained hydroponic gardens (think shipping container).
700 billion is 1400 times the operating budget of Harvard Medical. So I might do that a couple times.
Short the dollar into capitulation :)
Cure cancer
Cure HIV
Eliminate hunger
Eliminate thirst
Take over Equatorial Guinea
Cure HIV
Eliminate hunger
Eliminate thirst
Take over Equatorial Guinea
The only one of these you could afford for $700b is Equatorial Guinea... :P
1B is enough to take over Equatorial Guinea... the failed 2004 coup attempt was financed with a pathetic 20M. This says that the military budget of EG is 150M/year (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/spending.htm) and I suspect that is a very high estimate.
It would be easy to invest in modern pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in African nations with generous IP laws and then start making modern HIV medications available for practically nothing.
Curing cancer is more of a crapshoot, but throwing several hundred billion at the problem would be a good start, if nothing else.
Proper distribution of the money remaining could go a long way towards eliminating extreme poverty.
It would be easy to invest in modern pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in African nations with generous IP laws and then start making modern HIV medications available for practically nothing.
Curing cancer is more of a crapshoot, but throwing several hundred billion at the problem would be a good start, if nothing else.
Proper distribution of the money remaining could go a long way towards eliminating extreme poverty.
I would sponsor a manned mission to Mars. It's roughly the same amount of money.
Death Star.
surfing-equipment + house on hawaii ~ 6million$
baller-life-style-money: 10$million.
my own scientific/tech projects, 1billion.
rest i would donate to various scientifc rpoject sand charity.
baller-life-style-money: 10$million.
my own scientific/tech projects, 1billion.
rest i would donate to various scientifc rpoject sand charity.
Maybe you should also invest in a spell checker...
Dude, with ten million you'd barely be able to get off the damn island after a couple of years. Jets cost at least $50M.
Create a new space station and possibly try to go to mars.
I would use it to pay back the loan from which it came.
Longevity. Hook me up with some new organs.
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Release the hundreds of drugs some people will not approve because that will hurt their financial interest.
research in space travel, terraform Mars, build cheaper space shuttles
Microsoft just bought back stock with its cash. How about a down-payment on our national debt?
Super Crack Party.
Shift 3rd/4th world countries to 1st/2nd world.
Rest
Go to war with IRAQ!
A very large truck of cigarettes, enough to last my family for the rest of our lives. Then scream "I'm rich biatch!" and honk my truck's horn a couple times.
100 billion goes to speeding up immortality and cryonics research a lot. i don't want to die, and i'd rather you didn't die either. 10 million (or whatever) pays for aubrey de grey, and anyone he recommends, to be my advisors for using the 100 billion effectively.
Buy off the government. Mostly dismantle it.
What will you do with the rest? If they pass this bill, apparently it costs less than $700B to buy them out...
Put it in the bank.
A non-failing bank, I hope.
With a $700b loan, it wouldn't exactly be failing any more...that's sort of the point of this whole exercise.
Me? It's got to be a lunar base. Always wanted one.