If you became wealthy, not just rich, what would you do?

[DainBramaged]

I mean winning the lottery after taxes walkin away $100,000,000.00/ ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS WEALTHY.

Knowing how so many of us live and have lived, that would create a tremendous strain on us. But it would be fun to know. And even the (what you may think) silliest thing matters, because it matters to you.

Me, Nationwide chain of no-kill animal shelters, all 50 states. And free pet care to the indigent who have pets. I know who they are. The person who needs food stamps living in that one room flat or studio, sharing a place with friends or otherwise, people who couldn't afford the care they need for their best friends and companions. Stash money for my kid for college, she'd work the closest shelter, couple of cars, and a small house. Helpin the food kitchens, and a restaurant for my best friend to cook in. It's what he does.

That's all I want. Too old to play the games, and I can't take it with me. I'm sure I'd think of lots of real charities to give some to, but the need for the pet shelters is great.

[philosophie_en_rose]

1. I'd start up a true "payday" loan place.

I'd set up a foundation to help people with living expenses, but also a loan system that doesn't depend on outrageous 700% interest rates. Just enough to keep the system going. Nonprofit.

I like your idea about shelters too.

I'd also like to buy a newspaper.

[DainBramaged]

5. Buying a newspaper. You can get one cheap nowadays

Gannet is closing up and consolidating a bunch of theirs.

A newspaper that tells the truth, from a PROGRESSIVE point of view, lots of commentary, lots of color and kitch to get the kids attention.

I like that. Maybe I'd buy one too, JUST to be a reporter to ask REAL questions of these scum fucks in Washington.

[Oeditpus Rex]

34. Define 'cheap'

The smallest daily newspapers sell for upwards of $10 million.

Gannett is neither closing nor consolidating its news holdings. It is getting more into what's called "convergence" in the industry — news-sharing partnerships between newspapers and teevee news operations.

Gannett, Knight-Ridder and the Tribune Co. completed a three-way deal in August in which six newspapers changed hands, among them the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press. Gannett and K-R also purchased controlling interest in online news aggregator Topix.net this year.

It's a dream of mine, too, to own a newspaper — preferably a small-town weekly or an alt-weekly. But a newspaper is a business, and it has to be operated as one, unless you want it to tank.

[DainBramaged]

43. $10 million out of $100 million, good start

yea, it sure would piss of some Corrupt Cons a real Liberal newspaper. Maybe not the NY Times, but I'd ONLY hire registered Democrats. Yeah, a Political arm of me. Sure to raise the ire of the biggest and most huffin and puffin stuffed suits Washington DC can offer.

[GCP]

2. Start the Godlesscommieprevert Foundation Against Factory Farming

GFAFF. I'd get workers to secretly film what actually happens at those monstrous factory hog-farms, pregnant sows in crates they can't turn around in, pigs forced to live their whole lives in metal crates so that their droppings can be efficiently collected and swilled into huge sewage lagoons that leak into water systems.
Then I'd pay for TV time and show the great American public what it really means to eat the other white meat.

[DainBramaged]

8. I am eating my twice weekly veggie burritos from Costco

Big ass Cedarlane organic fat boy spliff burritos, 8 for $4.99. About 6 months ago before I stopped smoking, my beautiful daughter got me to stop with the red meat, and we're working on the rest. I eat fish and dairy. And I feel great.

For her.

[shanti]

49. kudos to you

and your daughter, especially with the smoking. quitting smoking is probably the most important thing you could do for your health!

[flvegan]

19. My hero!

When you do, hire me. I'll work for this for next to nothing...

[Mutley]

3. I'd like to do the shelter thing, too.

I'd donate to all sorts of animal rescues and shelters, homeless shelters, kids programs, democrats. I'd keep a big lump of money put aside for whenever disasters happen so I can donate to help with that. Whatever charities and things come to my attention that interest me.

Give out grants to scientific research projects that interest me. Set up scholarships and grant programs to send kids to college, and inner city kids to private schools.

I'd have to get myself a decent house, but nothing like a McMansion or anything. Decent car. Hook up all my family members and good friends. Travel. That's about it.

[LeftyMom]

4. I'd write a huge check to SafeKids

They install carseats properly and give them to families in need them when funds allow. I'd fund approximately a shitload of seats and fund training for potential volunteers who can't afford it.

Then I'd set up a low/no-cost diaper service and breastpump rental service. It's a shame but a lot of families get stuck wasting a ton of money on dipsosable diapers because they can't afford the start-up costs for cloth or don't have reliable laundry facilities. Babies deserve better than tinned milk and a diaper thier parents can't afford to change until it's dragging about thier knees, but that's what a lot of them get. :(

[tallahasseedem]

6. St. Judes Hospital

would get a mighty big payday. Also, no member of my family would ever have to work again.

[GoneOffShore]

7. Set up an arts education fund

for schools.
Something that would encourage people to do theater, music, painting. And before anyone jumps on me, it has been found that kids in art programs have a higher level of involvement in their school government, lower rates of discipline infractions and better self discipline. (added on edit) And the arts do a far better job of teaching teamwork and cooperation than sports ever will. Take a look at any theater program.
Quote from a Marine Corps colonel - The Corps didn't teach me discipline, my french horn teacher did.
And then I'd move to France.

[Jamastiene]

9. Honestly, I haven't decided on which charities beyond local

charities I would donate to,

I do know that I would move from the south forever and ever. I would make damn sure I got good financial advice so that I wouldn't dwindle that money. I would probably move to the outskirts of San Francisco and buy property. I would build a custom but modest sized home on it with a small personal music studio. I mean a small inexpensive one with no major frills. I would want just enough to get decent sounding recordings. I would also want some kind of workshop for my woodworking hobby.

I would try to figure out how to make the money last, because I would live in constant fear of bankruptcy and a forced return to Richmond County, NC.

I would donate money to 2 local charities before I left here. Womenfolk Unlimited, a domestic abuse/rape counseling service here would get a hefty donation to build on their safe house idea. the Humane Society of Richmond County would get a donation earmarked to create a separate facility just for the purpose of sheltering cats in some peace and quiet. Also, I would strongly recommend that they use another allotment of money I would give them to start a spay/neuter operation for as many strays as they could cover. Because dog fighting and animal abuse is such a problem here, I would have to donate another bit of money to help them hire attorneys to stick it to the people who hurt the animals. In other words, before I left this godawful county, I would try to give back to those I feel have been good to me while I was here, Womenfolk and the animals.

[SOteric]

10. I'd make some sensible investments,

start a business I've been toying with half my life, fund a scholarship program for underpriveledged scholars, fund a reading and tutorship program for the underpriveledged, fund cancer research...and splurge on a few gifts for those I love, -kitty included.

[HEyHEY]

21. Sensible investments? $100 million isn't enough for you?

[SOteric]

22. You mean before or after the IRS takes their chunk out of it?

[HEyHEY]

25. Meh, run to Canada!

Lottery winnings are tax free here!

[SOteric]

27. Of course they are.

Y'all don't have any bullshit wars to finance.

[hfojvt]

30. that really bites

unearned income is untaxed? That just means higher taxes for people unlucky enough to have to work.

[HEyHEY]

41. Hey, you won it - it's only fair

And it's not like Canadian lotto winnings would make a difference in the tax rate

[LostinVA]

11. Buy a house on the harbor in Victoria, BC, and kidnap Kate

Winslet.

Oh, and something about world peace, too....

[jpgray]

12. Spend all or most on myself, family and friends, then die

I can only assume that would be the case--I scarcely spend my extra money in any philanthropic way these days, so it seems a real conceit to assume a huge amount of money would change my irresponsible spending habits. I would only really know if I had the money--anyone know if that's a sociological experiment the gov't might provide a grant for? :P

[WCGreen]

13. Expensive Hookers and really good food....

Then I would establish a center to teach kids about the political process....

And then I might tun for office, Senate or Governor...

[Gato Moteado]

14. if you're gonna run for any office like that.....

....might wanna pass on all the expensive hookers...unless you don't mind that stuff getting plastered across the media.

either way, though, i'd vote for ya.

[WCGreen]

16. Expensive Hookers are discreate......

[jpgray]

17. I wish you would discreate that spelling mistake

:P

Let me adjust my spelling Nazi sash.

[WCGreen]

35. Oh and I sent it through Spell check....

I am an atrocious speller, always have depended on my editors to fix my mistakes...

[TallahasseeGrannie]

15. Oh gosh. Well, first

I'd quit my job. Then I'd get a decent financial advisor.

As far as charity, well... I like to work with a specific family, helping them get their lives together, including work skills, housing, etc. I guess I would try and start some sort of foundation for that.

As far as international help goes, I like Doctors Without Borders.

I'd build a small house with a whole LOT of built ins, and a new car. I would build the taj mahal of chicken coops.

I would also like some sort of foundation that would help women stay home with their children for the first two years of life.

I'd get a full time cook and trainer and get in better physical shape.

[LaurenG]

18. I'd love to buy a piece of land

and grow organic. I'd like to get the community involved in growing their own and would love to start a community garden, own a store down the street and sell organic at a fair price but also have a network so that others in the community could sell through or just have people directed to their places of business.

I would also love to start an after school program that taught older kids to care for younger kids. Like a day care for the little ones and a job for the older ones.

I would like to start a program designed to help those who have to start over- due to circumstances in their lives. Maybe a community for displaced people to live until they could make it on their own again.

Another thing I would want to do would be to start an organization that taught others to "see each other real". A place that brought people together rather than separate them. A place that would empower and support people and in turn they would be given an opportunity to do the same for others. Sort of like a pay it forward deal.

I would work toward alleviating hunger and suicide, two things I think every community should have programs for. Enough food and enough love and acceptance so that no one is hungry and no one feels un-loved.

There are so many things I'd love to do.

[HEyHEY]

20. Start a really good newspaper

[flvegan]

23. Easy. $10 million to self and family to live off forever. The rest

in trust. $90 million in principal in trust, earning 5% interest per year. The interest, $4.5 million, would be doled out to charities. Anything over 5% in earnings would be tacked back onto the principal to grow the fund. As I stated previously, my trust will give out $270 million before I die, and then live on forever to give forever. Rough estimates on amounts, taxes and whatnot will chip away, though writing much of it off might be possible.

[XemaSab]

33. Something like flvegan's financial vision

only I'd like to invest all of it and keep 1% interest or so for myself to live off of. I could spend 10 million tomorrow, and I think a having a budget disciplines one.

The 500,000 or so a year I would use to buy a house in Ecuador or Mexico (or both). I'd like to live on a truly large patch of rainforest "saved" from clearcutting. I'd like to hire locals, and put money into the local economy in some way, maybe through a coffee plantation or something (shade grown, natch). I'd also like to help local (Latin American) schools and get the local children involved with conservation.

Once I was set up nicely, I would use the house as a base for my birding trips. Maybe 6 months a year I'd like to be out birding. The rest of the time I would fly family and friends down to hang out with me in my tropical estate. I'd pay off student loans for my cousins and friends, and I'd pay off the house my mom is living in and pay for her to paint/remodel it. And put a big greenhouse in the back yard. :D

The rest of the interest I would like to do something progressive with. There are many ideas on here that are very attractive, such as animal rescue, arts, and helping disadvantaged people.

In Lakoff's book "Moral Politics" he talks about how the liberal idea of justice is giving 5 bucks to every worthy group, and how that's flawed in a lot of ways.

My mom has talked about setting up a local environmental watchdog group, and I think that would be great. So I'd basically set up a foundation, make my mom the chair, and let her spend the money locally (in Shasta county) on education and conservation. And conservation education. ;)

[Chan790]

24. Wow...

I'd buy up real estate in really trendy GOP-laden locations and build apartment housing that I give away to the working poor, make lifetime membership donations to several charities (ACLU, PeTA, NWF, several creative writing and arts promotion orgs, a lot of animal refuges,), seed-fund full scholarships in fields I think need some intellectual lifeblood because they underpay, start a PAC to fund hard-hitting progessive Dems running against entrenched DINOs, DLCers and wishy-washy centrists in primaries. (I am very commited to pulling the (D) leftward.), make huge donations to the College Democrats at Catholic University (my alma mater) and to my H.S. alma mater (on the condition that I want to name several things currently under construction).

I'd also buy houses in Aspen, Ibiza and the English Countryside and a top-floor condo on Front St. near South St. in Philly (for me), hire a car-service (driving only the best in enviro-friendly cars), go back to school for the rest of my life (I want 4 Ph.Ds. Not kidding.), spoil a lot of my friends rotten, hire a personal chef.

Well, I'm honest. I thought about this recently because I had a dream I won the 380M powerball a few weeks back.

[DainBramaged]

53. Remember, no one ever said you HAD to do anything for anyone

other than yourself.:toast:

[ikojo]

26. I'd move out of the US nt

[fortyfeetunder]

28. Open before-after school centers

for the kids who don't always have a trusted adult at home outside of school hours during the school year. Create it for K-12 and have activities, for homework, sports, art and music. Have a summer development program for summer school, and doing fun stuff.

[SeattleGirl]

29. First, make sure my family will always be taken care of.

Donate money to my alma mater for a scholarship fund for multiple students each year (I was very fortunate that I got a full-ride scholarship my last two years in college, and it was an expensive school).

Donate to charities and causes that I think are good: shelters, programs to help kids, etc.

Pay for flying lessons for one of my sisters (she really wants to learn to be a pilot), and buy a place and have her be my pilot.

Travel a lot. One of the first places I'd go is Australia. Have always wanted to go there.

Figure the rest out as I went along.

[ignatius 2]

31. I would give mine and my husbands siblings a cool mill to

let them pay off those mortgages and allow them to enjoy life. We are all 40-50 somethings and all have worked very hard just to stay in place it seems.

I would buy a home in Sausalito,travel a lot,and give money to whatever organization I felt truly is doing some good without paying a middleman and CEO big bucks.

Basically,all that money can't buy true happiness, but it does buy some nice choices.

[NNadir]

32. Get all of my money out of the country before the currency collapses.

This, like New Orleans, is one of those "no one could have predicted" events that will seem clear with 20/20 hindsight.

[DainBramaged]

36. I didn't realize how quickly this would be so much fun

Hopes and dreams, promises and futures. Central themes, help others, help the undereducated, help our animal companions.

I've said it before. We as Liberals, who make do with so little, would (most likely) help others than eat. A little extra this week, great we're going to Blockbuster.

But no great schemes, no "I want more" rants, or rants about how much more there'd be if the tax wasn't taken out, just enough for us, and the rest to make others smile.

I'm glad we're a community. DU is a great place, and it's detractors need only read this thread to understand who and what we're all about.

[BlackVelvet04]

37. I would make sure

first that I put aside enough to live on for the rest of my life. I would give money to family. After doing that I would buy up as much of the land around my house and make it a wildlife habitat. (My yard is already designated as a wildlife habitat but it would be nice for it to be bigger.) I would put in a pond for the wildlife as well.

I'd buy a house in NM or AZ to visit in the winter, too. Nothing grand, just something out west. I'd buy a new car...probably a Chyrsler Sebring convertible because I need a new car and I really like those.
(I'd buy my husband a Corvette just because he's always wanted one.)

I would get appointed to the board of as many local non-profit organizations as possible and according to what I learned on those boards I would then help fund as many as I thought met the needs of the community.

I would start the business I've always wanted.

And when all was said and done I would STILL spend my free time sitting on my front porch watching the critters and swinging in my swing because it's my favorite place in the world.

PS
If I had enough money I would buy a blue jean company and have them make the style and fit of blue jeans I like since Levi's quit making them. :-)

[NMMNG]

38. So much to do....

I would invest some of the money so it would grow, allowing me to increase the amount of good I could do.

Working with people who have a thorough understanding of the fields at hand:

I'd set up an organization to help rescue people from those "ex-gay" camps and retreat centers. So many people become eternally emotionally damaged via these hellholes.

I'd set up another one to target bullying in schools, which causes significant physical and psychological harm to children and teens across the country.

I would fund massive educational efforts to counter the propaganda machine that is the dairy/egg/meat industry. This would let people know exactly what occurs in the nation's factory farms, so they could decide for themselves if they want to continue supporting their actions. ('Good Cheese comes from Happy Cows' my backside.)

I, along with others I recruited, would become a thorn in the government's ass, until the "minimum wage" was raised to a living wage.

[yellowdogintexas]

39. make sure my sisters and their families never want for anything,

ever.

donate to my personal favorite charities,
endow a scholarship or two to my college, and set up a scholarship fund at my old highschoolt.

travel
support good liberal causes

I like the no kill shelter idea.

remodel my house, or just fix it up a bit, give it to my daughter and buy a new one ..

[WHAT]

40. I would buy-up a blog...

and then edit-out or delete any post/er than didn't meet my ideological ideology (that's if I couldn't budge 'em up or down or sideways)...

then, I'd hold a Very Important Meeting to congratulate the left-overs on their superiority and recommend them with my complete confidence of their ability to be objective and prescient...

next, of course, I would grow this idea (because I am sure it would catch-on...being so "shiny". I would have a movement where I was in a position to smooth-out any rough seas...

always smooth sailing, no trifling inconsistencies...

OK the sky is shiny, the seas are glassy, and my hot air is gently exhaling in a controlled Zen experiment empowering "myself"...but, I might be on these seas forever, looking for a safe harbour...

always afraid of perfection.

[LaraMN]

42. Be cryogenically frozen until Dems are back in power.

Or get some new cords. I really want some new cords. and another cube of the "cake batter" ice cream my kids just oinked down before I could eat any.

[AlienGirl]

44. Revolving fund for non-covered medical care

Specifically, a fund for transgendered people to borrow from for surgery/hormones/counseling/all the other stuff not covered by insurance, then pay back into when they can. I've known several TG/TS people, and seen the difference in quality of life proper care can make--and it's almost never covered by insurance.

If there's much left over after that, endow scholarships.

Tucker

[entanglement]

45. I'd need a woman to help me spend all that money LOL

On a serious note, I'd donate it all to anyone working to cure AIDS / Malaria, which are IMHO the top medical challenges facing humanity (We don't hear much about malaria, but it is a SERIOUS killer elsewhere in the world, and many strains are becoming drug-resistant)

[obxhead]

46. Travel and learn to throw clothing away...

With that kind of money you could travel to a new place every 2 weeks and carry no luggage. Check into your new hotel and make a couple of phone calls for your new clothes. {br] think about it, you would always be seeing new places/things/people and you would never have to do laundry again.

[chknltl]

47. New shorts and socks...

...and an extra biscuit for the dog, and then I would spend the rest bringing the scourge of Depleted Uranium poisoning out into the mainstream media. :patriot:

[Wapsie B]

48. Start a foundation

that would help pay medical bills of families in need and give full ride college scholarships to deserving students who just seem to miss the cut.

[MarsThe Cat]

50. i'd buy an estate in hawaii-

for myself and my friends.

after that, i'd look into some worthwhile causes.
but after all, this IS america, I come first.

[Seabiscuit]

51. Start a new country.

[DainBramaged]

54. Where could you start a new country?

Isn't everything that is owned still under the sovereignty of a country?

[Seabiscuit]

63. Didn't Marlon Brando buy an island?

Why not do the same and turn it into a country?

[DainBramaged]

64. No, he just bought an island, no man is an island

but Christ he became as big as his island, and why don't his kids still live there? What would happen if no one lived there for x number of years?

My head is 'gonna explode too much to think about.

[Seabiscuit]

66. I'm not "as big as" Brando, so I'd invite everyone I know to live there.:)

[DainBramaged]

69. How big would the island be?

Would you need stop signs? Solar power? A Coast Guard or just 20mm cannon to stace off the pirates? Actually, for $100,000,000.00 you can do pretty much what you want.

[Seabiscuit]

71. I don't know yet but I'd be very careful with the money.

[PROMETHEUS UNBOUND]

52. I would live with all the creature comforts I want.

I would make my true friends as happy and comfortable as possible.

I would have the money safely invested with the interest going to support humanitarian causes.

I would own an island in a warm climate.

All of DU would be welcome to visit and party with me anytime.

:woohoo: life would be good :party:

[skygazer]

55. Similar - nationwide battered women's shelters

They would provide more than just shelter, however - access to child care, job training, life skills classes, resume writing, that type of thing. Also, legal assistance, mental health assistance for the whole family, substance abuse help, etc. In other words, address all the many issues that a woman who has been abused has because it's not a simple thing to just start over. Most of those women have NO self-esteem, many have never worked or have been out of the work force for a while and they often have addicition issues because it was the only way they could see to escape their crummy life.

If I could help women navigate what I had to navigate alone, it would be a damn fine feeling.

[RebelOne]

56. Donate lots of money to animal rescue groups and then buy a farm

and start my own no-kill rescue.

[no name no slogan]

57. Buy a solid gold house and a rocket car

just like my idol, Chester Lampwick.

[Mike03]

58. We're two of a kind

The two most satisfying years of my life were volunteering six days a week at an animal shelter. My secret fantasy is to save all unwanted animals, and my really really secret fantasy is to do a hostile takeover of all slaughterhouses, destroy the meat industry, and set the animals free.

[Lannes]

59. I would pay for scholarships

Minority scholarships,scholarships for children from impoversished countries on the condition that they return and help their countrymen and women.

Drug treatment centers,urban planning in inner cities that improve their quality of life.A third party that isnt dependent on corporate contribitions for survival and is more interested in people than profits.Well thats some of it.

[childslibrarian]

60. Set up a Foundation

Help to African schools would be a priority, as would books and supplies to inner city schools here in the US. Scholarships also.

[DainBramaged]

62. I love this thread. I never thought it would get this many responses

I've been around in various incarnations since 2001, and I never realized just how giving and thoughtful this community is. Earlier today I was at a client and he was pissed off that his quarterly taxes were screwed up and the account said he owed another $4000. $4000 in taxes he had to pay and he was pissed off. That's $4000 after deductions. What a pig. And I love collecting my fees from him because he is one.

Bless you all

[LisaL]

61. I am very selfish. I will spend it all. All of it, I tell ya!

[khashka]

65. Several things

I'd keep enough to live comfortably and even indulge myself.... but most (my needs are simple) would go to charity or political groups. NARAL, Emily's List, The Point Foundation (they give college scholarships to gay kids who've been kicked out by their parents), no-kill animal shelters, homeless shelters, etc.

In the end, it's really not as much money as it sounds. But I would do what I could with it. Anonymously.

Khash.

[WillParkinson]

67. I'd spend it....

While traveling through the UP I've seen dozens of signs for large acreages for sale. I'd use the money to buy them all up and set up a trust so that they could never be used.

[elehhhhna]

68. Support Habitat for Humanity, Bonita House in Houston,

and various political candidates and websites.

Give to people in need.



On a personal note, travel the world with our daughters. Spend time in Holland and Ireland in summer, and snorkle every good warm-water reef we can find in winter.

Make an island home.

[Maat]

70. I'd set up my own foundation, and manage it.

I'd give to various causes, such as various independent media outlets, Media Matters, the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and NARAL.