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You get 1 million dollars but...

Kal'Stang

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Here's an idea to cut spending AND take care of the poor population.

Everyone in the US that is a US citizen gets 1 million dollars, payable once you have proven citizenship (have 2 years to prove it). But the catch is that this is a one time deal and most government welfare programs are shut down permanently. If you go broke after that too bad, its your fault, only help you'll be getting is from private charities which is not funded in anyway by the government.

What do you think?
 
I don't have a problem with it in theory but the issue is that there are mentally ill people who can't prove citizenship. Of course it'll be interesting to see liberals and charity groups practice what they preach when it comes to helping those who can't help themselves.

If we had actually done something similar instead of giving the banks bailouts the economy would be in much better shape.
 
LOL

Than the guy selling the riding lawn mower will want 20k for it instead of 400.00
 
volsrock said:
LOL

Than the guy selling the riding lawn mower will want 20k for it instead of 400.00
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I don't think so. Remember, this is a one time deal. Its really no different than any other stimulus package that past Presidents have done.
 

There would probably be some inflation.

And the poor would often need to adjust their spending habits. A lifetime of depravity can foster an intense craving for excess luxury.

What about children/newborns/whatever? Would kids get it when they turn 18?
 
If every citizen had a million dollars than having a million dollars wouldn't be anything special. You would see 50k gallons of milk. Were does the money to give away come from?


If we are just playing make believe why not give every citizen 3 magic beans so they can steal a gold laying goose from a giant and live happily ever after.
 

That'd be 300,000,000,000,000 (300 trillion) dollars give or take a couple billion. I think that's gonna cost us a wee bit more than what we're shelling out for welfare. Actually it's about 20 times our current GDP.


Forgetting that I don't think it's gonna work. While I might not lose too much sleep over some fool who squanders his million and is left cold and hungry I can't say the same for his wife and kids. I expect many people would feel the same.
 

People would go broke and then be destitute and you will be called a heartless bastard because their kids are starving.
 

Everyone that was alive at the time the legislation was signed. So yes, newborns would get it, held in trust by the government until their 18th birthday.

And yeah, inflation might rise a bit. But I don't think it would go hogwild like some seem to think it will.
 

330 Million American Citizens (give or take).

Times 1 Million Dollars

Equals $330 Trillion

Whereyagonna get that money?
 
Gaius46 said:
That'd be 300,000,000,000,000 (300 trillion) dollars give or take a couple billion. I think that's gonna cost us a wee bit more than what we're shelling out for welfare. Actually it's about 20 times our current GDP.
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OTOH, we'll all be as rich as Zimbabweans!
 
150k house would become a 500k house
 
Giving that much money to people all at once who haven't acquired the financial acumen necessary to manage large amounts of money will result in a record number of bankruptcies. Most rich people either earn the money over time or were born into a rich family. Either way, they learn proper money management skills over time. There is a reason so many lottery winners and sports athletes go broke. They never had the opportunity to learn those skills before getting their windfall.
 

wait, you forgot all of the freezer babies. Do they get a cut?:lol:
 

How much money have we spent in welfare programs since 1939? I wouldn't doubt that we've surpassed that by quite a bit.
 
cpwill said:
330 Million American Citizens (give or take).

Times 1 Million Dollars

Equals $330 Trillion

Whereyagonna get that money?
Click to expand...

I suspect it would be printed, which is why i would predict inflation.
 

Well i think it would be a relatively large amount of inflation over a relatively short period of time. As a sudden influx of new dollars begin to compete for the same products, the prices for those products would rise. It would kickstart production to fulfill the need without requiring a price increase, but that reaction would need to be planned for. For example, luxury home builders might want to build up an inventory before the money is distributed.

It's very difficult for me to try to imagine how this would play out across the whole of society. I think i agree with you that it wouldn't change as much as we might think, but i don't know how people would react to the funds.
 
Absentglare said:
I suspect it would be printed, which is why i would predict inflation.
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We need to get one of the "MONETARILY SOVEREIGN" folks in here.

Sent from my XT1526 using Tapatalk
 
Kal'Stang said:
How much money have we spent in welfare programs since 1939? I wouldn't doubt that we've surpassed that by quite a bit.
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You'd be wrong. The biggest numbers I've ever seen for welfare are 1 trillion a year, the smallest 250 billion. The difference being accounted for by what's included in "welfare." The larger number includes things like Medicaid and grants to schools with poor students where the funds don't strictly get spent on just the poor kids and job training programs. But even taking the bigger number you get 77 trillion - a little more than a third of what you're proposing and that's the absolute worst case over 77 years.
 
Kal'Stang said:
How much money have we spent in welfare programs since 1939? I wouldn't doubt that we've surpassed that by quite a bit.
Click to expand...

We have spent $22 trillion since 1964 and very little before that so it's no where close to your near 400 trillion dollar spending spree.
 
Alternative Plausible Version of this plan:

All Infant US Citizens get given $5,000 into an IRA- like account at birth, and $500 a year as they age. At historical returns, every American starting with those born tomorrow retire as millionaires, so we will have made all Americans (over time) into millionaires.

In comparison: ($5K * 4 million babies born a year) + ($500 * 321 million other American citizens) = $180.5 Billion a year. That's doable if it replaces other social spending.
 
I'll take the money please.
 
Kal'Stang said:
I don't think so. Remember, this is a one time deal. Its really no different than any other stimulus package that past Presidents have done.
Click to expand...

...other than being three hundred trillion dollars?
 
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