Poll: If You Could Take One Cent From Everyone In the World.
- Thread starter Olas
- Start date
I'd take two. Mwahahaha!
Seriously though, ya I'd do it. 40 million dollars is a lot of money. I would probably just take random courses in university with my friends.
Then I'd buy a mansion that has canals.
Seriously though, ya I'd do it. 40 million dollars is a lot of money. I would probably just take random courses in university with my friends.
Then I'd buy a mansion that has canals.
Yeah I'd do it. Pay off my loans, keep going to school, new car and computer, and honestly, I doubt I would even feel guilty about it. Considering it hypothetically I don't muster even a shred of remorse. I guess that makes me a bad person. Or maybe it was when I killed everyone in Megaton just because I knew I was going to blow it up anyways and wanted the xp. And I hated some of them. Friggin Moriarty...
I would do it, and use the 7 billion coins to build the world's largest penny pyramid.
But that would probably take a dozen life times to complete, so instead I'd probably end up overflowing every coinstar machine on earth.
But that would probably take a dozen life times to complete, so instead I'd probably end up overflowing every coinstar machine on earth.
I wouldn't take money from everybody, but I'd take it from everyone who wouldn't miss it. I'm sure there are countries where every tiny scrap of money you can get would be valuable. Even just taking money from people who wouldn't even noticed the loss, you'd end up pretty darn rich.
Say I ended up with 40 million, I'd give away 10 million to assuage my guilty conscience, use 15 million to secure my family's financial situation for the rest of our lives, and use the rest of the money to start my own business and employ some folk.
Say I ended up with 40 million, I'd give away 10 million to assuage my guilty conscience, use 15 million to secure my family's financial situation for the rest of our lives, and use the rest of the money to start my own business and employ some folk.
I think it'd be a morally-repugnant thing to NOT steal it.
With how much money is wasted by developed nations, let alone how much money is wasted by developing nations, even a small portion of your 40-60 million would easily save hundreds of thousands of lives or would, if spent wisely, help put an entire city or town in Africa or India into a state of near-self-sustainability. At the very least, it would buy a ton of condoms (and a ton of education) for the families in poor areas that find it to be a fantastic idea to have kids when you can't even feed yourself. And, for the developed world, I'd throw a few million that would save thousands of lives by paying for medical procedures and the like.
I'd still keep enough to keep me and my family sustained for life, sure, but the rest is going directly towards saving lives.
In conclusion, you either haven't thought about the consequences, or you're kind of an asshole, if you wouldn't steal the money. Sorry.
With how much money is wasted by developed nations, let alone how much money is wasted by developing nations, even a small portion of your 40-60 million would easily save hundreds of thousands of lives or would, if spent wisely, help put an entire city or town in Africa or India into a state of near-self-sustainability. At the very least, it would buy a ton of condoms (and a ton of education) for the families in poor areas that find it to be a fantastic idea to have kids when you can't even feed yourself. And, for the developed world, I'd throw a few million that would save thousands of lives by paying for medical procedures and the like.
I'd still keep enough to keep me and my family sustained for life, sure, but the rest is going directly towards saving lives.
In conclusion, you either haven't thought about the consequences, or you're kind of an asshole, if you wouldn't steal the money. Sorry.
5,000,000,000 people with .01 dollars = 50,000,000 dollars. Or fifty million. Greater than what the OP said would be a rough estimate for money (he said 40 million).omega 616 said:
It's almost an impossible scenario to say no to. The guilt of taking from someone who possibly can't afford to spare a penny could be assuaged by donating to charity or helping poverty-stricken areas around the world. Also, like many people have said "no one would miss a penny" is a pretty good way to convince yourself you're ok.
I honestly wouldn't know what else to do with the money though. I've never been one to have a ton of fancy things (honestly I feel guilty when I have expensive things that I can no longer justify having). I've also never been much of a risk-taker so I'd probably end up sitting on the money until things came up that needed taking care of.
Student loans, family debts, medical expenses, things like that.
I can't really comprehend what $70 million would look like (using 7 billion people and the specific details given by the OP of 1 penny from each person) so I can't give an honest answer beyond that. I might sit on the money and keep it for a proverbial rainy day, or I may start my own TV show where people pitch me ideas for organizations/causes/events that I should donate for and become a philanthropic star. I start a business and gainfully employee people who need jobs (to steal an idea from another post).
Who knows?
However, I do know that if I stole a DIME from everyone, I'd use a large portion of that money to pay off assassins to kill everyone on Jersey Shore and anyone who's had anything to do with putting it on the air.
Only kidding.
....maybe
I honestly wouldn't know what else to do with the money though. I've never been one to have a ton of fancy things (honestly I feel guilty when I have expensive things that I can no longer justify having). I've also never been much of a risk-taker so I'd probably end up sitting on the money until things came up that needed taking care of.
Student loans, family debts, medical expenses, things like that.
I can't really comprehend what $70 million would look like (using 7 billion people and the specific details given by the OP of 1 penny from each person) so I can't give an honest answer beyond that. I might sit on the money and keep it for a proverbial rainy day, or I may start my own TV show where people pitch me ideas for organizations/causes/events that I should donate for and become a philanthropic star. I start a business and gainfully employee people who need jobs (to steal an idea from another post).
Who knows?
However, I do know that if I stole a DIME from everyone, I'd use a large portion of that money to pay off assassins to kill everyone on Jersey Shore and anyone who's had anything to do with putting it on the air.
Only kidding.
....maybe
I refuse to answer because:
I already pretty much have, haven't I? I'm a average, middle class Westerner living in a first world nation who happens to:
* Drink coffee (fair trade where possible, but that still relies on relative currency worth)
* Sparingly use crap made of plastic (oil, oil, oil) and
* Wear clothes made cheap by Chinese currency manipulation (so there's 1/3 of the world taken account for in a single garment)
Thank you for the cents everyone.
I already pretty much have, haven't I? I'm a average, middle class Westerner living in a first world nation who happens to:
* Drink coffee (fair trade where possible, but that still relies on relative currency worth)
* Sparingly use crap made of plastic (oil, oil, oil) and
* Wear clothes made cheap by Chinese currency manipulation (so there's 1/3 of the world taken account for in a single garment)
Thank you for the cents everyone.
nope. in poorer countries that simple penny could mean alot.
though hypothetically if i was a heartless bastard i would use the money for a cosy house. and spend the rest of the money on blinging it out
Edit: also i would like to note that i would if it didn't affect anyone to negatively
though hypothetically if i was a heartless bastard i would use the money for a cosy house. and spend the rest of the money on blinging it out
Edit: also i would like to note that i would if it didn't affect anyone to negatively
I wouldn't steal a cent from everyone in the world. The harm to people in impoverished countries who are just barely getting by...
In the given scenario, though, where it's stated that noone will miss their cent?
Sure.
I'd donate it to charity, because I don't have a need for millions of dollars, and I don't know what I'd do with it myself anyway.
And I wouldn't feel a scrap of guilt for the "stealing". In fact I think it would be morally reprehensible to say no.
Essentially this is the idea behind taxation. You'd never get everyone in the world to donate a cent, but if you got a cent from them anyway, it wouldn't negatively impact them but you'd have a heap of money to spend for the good of society. (Whether our governments tax the right amount and spend it the right way is a discussion for another time.)
"Stealing is stealing and stealing is wrong"? I'm sorry, but absolutist morals lead to absolutely bad places.
In the given scenario, though, where it's stated that noone will miss their cent?
Sure.
I'd donate it to charity, because I don't have a need for millions of dollars, and I don't know what I'd do with it myself anyway.
And I wouldn't feel a scrap of guilt for the "stealing". In fact I think it would be morally reprehensible to say no.
Essentially this is the idea behind taxation. You'd never get everyone in the world to donate a cent, but if you got a cent from them anyway, it wouldn't negatively impact them but you'd have a heap of money to spend for the good of society. (Whether our governments tax the right amount and spend it the right way is a discussion for another time.)
"Stealing is stealing and stealing is wrong"? I'm sorry, but absolutist morals lead to absolutely bad places.
Nope, I have no right to the money. Besides saying its not stealing because nobody gets hurt is the exact same reason people use when they pirate.
No.
Some people are starving and are making twenty cents a day. I could very well kill someone if they can't afford water for the week that their daily paycheck was supposed to cover.
Some people are starving and are making twenty cents a day. I could very well kill someone if they can't afford water for the week that their daily paycheck was supposed to cover.