NOVEMBER 20TH, 2011
I was watching the protesters today on Wall Street. This isn’t going away. It’s pretty intense and is starting to take on an almost Armageddon type appearance–and I definitely do NOT believe in Armageddon or anything even close to it. We’re all going to live through this and lots of other things and the world is going to go on for many centuries no matter who tells you other wise. But this stuff that is erupting is not trivial and it is getting more and more intense, not just in the US, but around the world. People are starting to ask why so few people are so incredibly wealthy while they are working their tails off and can barely make ends meet, if at all. But what troubles me is that they are not proposing any concrete solution that would really help things.
The core of their dispute, their unrest, seems to rest on the fact that a tiny handful of people in the US own a VAST amount of wealth–MANY MANY BILLIONs, that means thousands and thousands of millions, of dollars. While the other 99% live lives of quiet, or not so quiet, desperation.
I started to think about this. What would a solution be that would help everything, something concrete, doable, and effective that would change the face of the country in a very dramatic way and improve the lives of every man, woman, and child in the country in a dramatic and permanent way.
This idea slowly hatched in my mind. On the surface, you may at first find it completely idealistic and even, perhaps, stupid. But, it’s not necessarily stupid. Hear me out.
These wealthy people have so much money, the billionaires, that they can’t possibly ever spend that money on themselves. Even if they were to have their wealth reduced by, say, 1 or 2%, they would still have enough to do every single thing they could ever want to do and provide for the wealth of countless generations of their progeny down the line.
What if? What IF, just even a few of these billionaires could be contacted respectfully and intelligently and asked to do something really big to help. What if, say Warren Buffet, or Bill Gates or one of these kind of guys could be convinced to voluntarily start a fund. They would each contribute a few million dollars, an almost infinitesimal percentage of their wealth, to a special fund. The goal would be to collect about 300 million dollars–again, a virtually imperceptible percentage of their combined wealth.
When the goal is reached, and I would humbly suggest a time would be set for the goal to be reached, one million dollars would be released to every man, woman, and child, in the country.
The consequences to these wealthy people would be imperceptible–they wouldn’t even notice that amount of money being taken out of their unfathomably deep accounts. The consequences metaphysically for them would be, as you and I know–people who study the laws of abundance, the laws of giving, the laws of the Universe-would be that each giver would be prospered at least 10, perhaps 100 fold. We who know about how things really work know that this would be inevitable. It is impossible to give without being prospered. You can only give to yourself. If you give, you automatically receive. And they would be heroes in the true sense of the word. It would not only NOT hurt them, it would HELP each and every one of them.
Is it completely insane to think it this is possible? I don’t know. There is a whole lot I don’t know. But I don’t really think so. I think if one or more of these really wealthy people could spearhead this idea and start the fund, and appeal politely and intelligently to their colleagues, that 300+ million dollars could be easily accumulated. And then distributed to the citizens of the US.
What would the consequences be? It is hard, very hard, if not impossible, to see ALL the consequences to any change in the web of cause and effect. I suppose you could make a case that there might be some untoward effects–people using the wealth they had been bequeathed in less than ideal ways, foolish ways. It might even be argued that it might ruin some people’s lives. I have personally know people who have won the lottery and within a year or two their lives were ruined. They had lost their footing, their friends, their lives had been so dramatically disturbed by the unexpected influx of so much money, that they ended up depressed and all messed up.
But, that is a kind of codependent thinking that I personally choose not to engage in. I would argue that the healthiest way to think about it would be to just let the wealth flow into their lives and allow them to use it in whatever way they wished, trusting in them, and the Universe, to handle the situation in a healthy way, free of control and all the rest that comes with codependent thinking. Maybe it could even be released to them incrementally so as to not disrupt their lives too abruptly. Maybe $200,000 to start with, then $100,000 a year for another nine years. Something like that.
What would I do with my million dollars? What would YOU do with a million dollars?
Haven’t really thought about it have you? I know I haven’t. Until now.
The first thing I would do would be to give away a decent proportion of the money to the very poorest people in the world I could find.
I would then pay off every single, solitary debt I have ever had.
I would then save a fair proportion, invest it. Probably most people would do the same. They, like me, would probably set up some kind of annuity so that they would be taken care of reliably for the rest of their lives and their wealth protected. This inflow of money into the investment sector, would stimulate the economy in an almost unbelievably profound and positive way. It would prosper the entire country.
I would then get myself a decent house. Nothing that big or anything, just a plain house, and pay cash for it. Probably most of the other people receiving their million dollars would do the same, or pay off their mortgage. This, in turn, would do absolute wonders for the lenders and help them out of their own predicaments–having lent money to people who can’t pay it back and defaulting on their loans–causing all kinds of problems upstream that I don’t pretend to understand, but would posit are contributing to the financial crisis we are experiencing in very negative ways.
Yes, yes, I know: It sounds ridiculous on one level. But on another level, when you really think about it, getting together one million dollars for every person in the country would barely touch the assets of the truly wealthy.
I’m just trying to think. Rather than just sit here and watch these protesters and watch the country going down the drain, and feeling bewildered and powerless, I’m trying, TRYING, to use my mind to think of something that might help.
Are their any precedents for this? I don’t know right off hand, but I can’t immediately think of any. I know that a number of extremely wealthy people like Andrew Carnegie and even Bill Gates have given billions of dollars away, and in some pretty creative and effective ways too. After Bill Gates fell in love with his wife and got married, he started giving away a lot of his money on her sage advice. He thought, with that gigantic brain of his, how his wealth might have the greatest impact possible on the suffering in the world. He ended up getting vaccinations and innoculations for many poor people around the world and, in so doing, prevented untold suffering. Andrew Carnegie built all kinds of libraries and other institutions that still stand today as a testament to his generosity. He knew that he couldn’t take his wealth into the life after this one, but I suspect he knew that he could take the goodness, the love, that his generosity along with him as a permanent upgrade to his soul.
And their are people like Oprah. Yeah. I like her a lot. She understands this kind of thing and acts on it all the time, giving away all kinds of things. This has prospered her, obviously, and anyone can see that she has it made. Like Mother Theresa, she is a conduit for giving. She receives all kinds of money, and lets it flow right through her and back out to others who need it more than her. She appears happy.
How could such a movement be started? I’m not sure. I’m not a fund raiser. Far from it. I’ve struggled much of my own life with economic insecurity, though I have finally reached a point where I have just enough to make sure I can live without fear any more for the rest of my life and take care of may family no matter what happens. The point is that I am not the guy to get the ball rolling. Then again, maybe I am short-changing myself. Probably am. Like most people, I have a tendency to view myself as far more limited than I really am. As a child of God, the wealthiest entity in the Universe, I am probably capable of much more than I give myself credit for.
Maybe I should start writing polite, intelligent, and cogent letters to a number of these mega-wealthy individuals to see if one or more of them are willing to put their weight into spearheading such a movement.
What would the country look like if every single person was a millionaire? Hard to say. But I believe it would be a far more relaxed, peaceful, happy, joyful place, where people would be free of the vast amounts of conscious and subconscious fear that plagues them every day. Instead they would be investing, spending, paying off their debts (and that might be made one condition of the deal, that everyone who owes money pays it all off), pursuing their dreams of becoming what they really want to be. People getting up in the morning and working, playing, at things that really want to be doing, have dreamed of doing all their lives. The crime rate would fall dramatically. The psychiatrists offices wouldn’t be so busy, and substance abuse would fall. Hatred would diminish. Generosity would blossom. Health would increase–I KNOW that, because after having been a physician for over twenty years working in the trenches, I can tell you surely that the vast amount of disease is caused by stress, when traced back to its ultimate cause, by poor diet, and poor exercise. With a million dollars, most people would have the sense to use their new time and freedom to have fun, exercise, relax, and do positive and creative things that would greatly lessen their stress. They would take care of their teeth and have them all fixed. Maybe they would buy treadmills or ellipticals, or put a gym in their house.
Granted, some people would quit their jobs and there could be temporary problems with having a lack of people to do some of the really disgusting and menial jobs that keep the country running as it is. But there could be ways that wise people, far wiser than I, could figure out how to head this kind of problem off, so that when the wealth was distributed, all the machinery would keep running just fine, perhaps even far better. That would be doable and a problem that could be headed off intelligently before it happened. Money has the power to do a lot of positive things and there could be provisions made within the fund to make sure that things kept going just fine.
Would this permanently change everything for the better and solve everyone’s problems once and for all? That would be stupid to think. Dumb. Of course not. In time, the effect might wear off and we could be back in the same boat. Many people are as foolish as foolish can be and would squander their wealth and end up right back where they started. But again, that is codependent thinking at its very worst. I say, let them do what they want. Trust them to live their own lives without interference. Who is anyone to tell anyone else how to live their life?
OK. It’s just an idea. But everything good that has ever happened has started with an idea. And for me, watching the unrest and turmoil and fear in the US and the world without stopping to bother to THINK about what might help in unacceptable. Oh, and by the way, lest there be no confusion or self-interest in this project, the ONE person that would not receive any funds should this dream ever unfold is me. I don’t want to profit from this in any way. For my own peace of mind and integrity, I should be the first to step aside and say, “Just give it to the others.” Does that make me special? A really “high” person? No, not at all. It’s just common sense. Common courtesy.
Would there be enormous arguments about what to do with the money in that fund? Oh yeah. Of course. Their are always lots and lots of people ready to argue about all kinds of things. Extremists from both sides would have fits over this.
But the simplicity of the idea intrigues me personally. Just redistribute one million dollars to everyone and watch the economy soar, the unrest evaporate, the fear within the populace decrease dramatically, and along with it all kinds of neurosis, drug abuse, and disease that fear causes.
Is little Todd Michael writing about such an idea likely to make any difference? Arguably not. But then again, I am of the mind that I should at least try. I am really interested to know if there could be a tiny fire kindled, and then blown into a real movement, and that this could be made a reality.
I am also interested to know if we could, as part of a movement in this direction, simultaneously collect, (might as well think big, if you’re going to think, doc!) a billion dollars to distribute to the very, very poorest people on the face of the Earth. That a committee be set up to figure out who exactly are the poorest and neediest people on the Earth, and how to release to them a goodly sum of money or other resources, that would help them as well. Even collecting a BILLION dollars, in addition to the million for everyone in our country, would make a virtually dent in the accumulated wealth of the wealthiest Americans.
What would be the great obstacle to this plan? Easy. Greed. Plain and simple old greed.
Greed is such a human quality that it seems almost genetically programmed into us. The people that got that rich didn’t get that way, mostly speaking, by being generous. They got that way because they are greedy. They accumulate enough to satisfy all their needs for the rest of their own lives and do anything, ANYTHING, that they could ever possibly want to do. And then they just keep going and going as though they can never be satisfied.
They are kind of like dogs. I’m a dog lover and have heard the term “canine hunger.” Canine hunger means that a dog, with the right kind of food before her, will just eat and eat and eat until they literally die. I’ve seen it happen more than once. Some rich people are like that.
I know some rich people. Some are great people and very, very generous. Some are greedy as can be, super right-winged, (and NO, right-winged does not mean you are automatically greedy), and full of hate and spite for the poor. I even know one guy who got rich by essentially becoming a high powered hatchet man. He developed a company that touted that it would “increase the production of any company dramatically,” and made himself out to be a motivational speaker. But what I found out, in the end, was that he accomplished his “increases in productivity,” by basically going into companies and ruthlessly and with not an ounce of consciousness or shame, just firing huge numbers of employees and making all the others work twice as hard. Didn’t both him a bit. In fact, he was enormously proud of himself and his “company.” Nice. Got him really rich, but he is obnoxious and there will never be enough money to satisfy him or his family.
So, knowing this, knowing about greed and what it really is, how stubborn and pervasive it is, I do feel a sense of hopelessness in thinking that the very wealthiest individuals in the country could be convinced to release, say, a mere .2% to .5% of their accumulated assets, to a fund that would prosper every single person in the country. Many of the rich I know cling to their wealth as though it were a life or death matter to lose a single penny. You all know what I am talking about.
But then again, there are some enlightened rich people, so rich that they wonder what they should really do with their money. They WOULD like to give some of it away, but they are stymied by HOW to do it equitably. That is why I like the million dollars to every man, woman, and child plan. It is extremely SIMPLE, and completely fair and equitable to everyone. There would be no arguments to be heard or contemplated by the committee operating the fund — to listen for one second to the appeals of any extremists, left or right, that so and so should NOT be given their million dollars. Just give it out completely equally and with NO CONDITIONS attached, except perhaps, that they pay off any debt that they owe.
Yep, I know. I sound like an idiot. A dreamer with no sense of reality. At least, I probably sound that way to some of you. But there are others out there that GET it. That understand what giving really is, and that the impossible, the miraculous, CAN happen, IF the right mind set, the right INTENTION, is set and held.
Now, I will mention one concern I have about this solution, and that is that if everyone got a million dollars all of a sudden, then a huge amount of people working in the education sectors, minor technicians, garbage collectors, etc. etc. would simply quit their jobs. That would bring the country to its knees in very short order
One possible solution to this, would be to put a few basic conditions on the gifts. First, as above, it could be distributed incrementally, not all at once. Second, there could be some basic, sane, rational, wise conditions placed such as, you are required to save and/or invest a certain percentage of your gift, you are required to pay off all your debts and mortgages, stuff like that. As I said, I am no financial genius to be sure, but these billionaires are, and the more generous and high minded of them could figure out how to solve this problem and place wise conditions on the gifts in perfectly acceptable ways so that no harm is done to the day-to-day working of the country and economy. It’s entirely doable. It could easily made so that, “It is all good.” I don’t think that is naive at all. Consult the financial geniuses and see what they come up with.
That’s my two bits for the day. Think I’ll go for a bike ride and see if I can help my friend clean up his basement as he is having problems getting around after a heart attack and his wife is in the hospital with Huntington’s Chorea. Then, I shall paint–oil painting being one of those things that I always wished I had pursued formally rather than the sterile, cold field of medicine. I’m retired now and I can do it. So, I better actually do it! And have fun while I’m doing it too. And, of course, I will give one Evolution Angel Life Reading, to one soul, and make it the best I possibly can, concentrate fiercely and one-pointedly on the problems and trials of some other soul for an hour or two until they feel like their life has been straightened out, or at least their plan to straighten it out solidified. Then, I will make dinner for my sweetheart and have a nice quiet pleasant evening.
PLEASE COMMENT IF YOU WANT TO HELP GET THE BALL ROLLING!
Many blessings to all of you, and to all, a good night.
Dr. Todd
THERE ARE FEE AUDIO BOOKS YOU CAN LISTEN TO ON THE “STORE” PAGE. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM.
BELOW IS A SERIES OF LINKS WHERE YOU CAN WATCH ME SPEAKING ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4tDOkveeVk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KPctHmM9PY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwdhLYpOsTY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_CiMcbvVFw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwt2MFq86E8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KPctHmM9PY
