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Ask HN: What would you do with $700 Billion?

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Re: Ask HN: What would you do with $700 Billion?

#11

Post by noodle »

yan wrote: post #5
noodle wrote: post #2

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 &…

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 :*-(

Re: Ask HN: What would you do with $700 Billion?

#12

Post by whacked_new »

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?

Re: Ask HN: What would you do with $700 Billion?

#13

Post by yan »

noodle wrote: post #11
yan wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 was just sitting on my hypothetical high horse and giving you a hard time.

Friends?

Re: Ask HN: What would you do with $700 Billion?

#14

Post by iigs »

yan wrote: post #5
noodle wrote: post #2

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 &…

Taking an entire giant island for one person would make the world a better place?

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.

Re: Ask HN: What would you do with $700 Billion?

#15

Post by ph0rque »

no_body wrote: post #6

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.

Re: Ask HN: What would you do with $700 Billion?

#16

Post by potatolicious »

sfamiliar wrote: post #4

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.

Re: Ask HN: What would you do with $700 Billion?

#19

Post by noodle »

yan wrote: post #13
noodle wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 was just sitting on my hypothetical high horse and giving you a hard time. Friends?

sure, no hard feelings :)

Re: Ask HN: What would you do with $700 Billion?

#20

Post by nostrademons »

potatolicious wrote: post #16
sfamiliar wrote: post #4

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…

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?

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