NationStates Jolt Archive

A kid asked me that today....I asked the rest of the class what they thought would happen if everyone in the US got a million bucks one day from the government. Their answers were interesting but .... they were kid answers. I want to know what you think would happen.

Oh, ye gods, there'd be a lot of spending. :D The auto industry just might get its bail out.

But not at my house. I'd be the miser. I need to live off that mil so I don't have to get a job.

it would be quite inflationary.

I thought it would cause massive chaos as all the service industry just quit working. Who wants to flip burgers when they don't have to anymore?

money would become worthless, and the U.S economy would go into meltdown mode. that or there'd be a hurricane, they always occur when you least expect them...>.>...<.<

massive inflation and (US) money would be worthless before the majority even got the checks.(which I guess is the same thing)

A whole loaf of bread would become a status symbol.

You know, actually, I kind of doubt the doom scenarios. $1mil isn't really all that much money nowadays. I think most people would burn through it rather quickly, paying off their debts, getting caught up on dental work and home improvements, taking some trips, and maybe put some in some longer term accounts for their retirement. And that would be just about it.

Except for debt elimination, I think it would be a flash in the pan.

EDIT: In fact, I think the average American with student loans, mortgages, car loans, credit balances, etc. to pay off, plus owning a home that needs upgrading and/or serious repairs, plus having put off several thousand dollars in dental work for which they don't have insurance (for them and their dependents), plus wanting to pay for their own kids' college education(s), plus desiring a better, maybe greener car, plus desiring a little stress-relief downtime in the form of a good vacation (for them and their family), plus planning for their retirement -- I think they could reduce that mil by as much as half in three or four years. Then, I think rather than buy $50 loaves of bread, I see them more spending the rest on a new ipod or blackberry every six months, etc, until they're down to $100K, which probably would not take them long even if they didn't use cash for everything, just a few more years. I think within 10 years or less, those millions would be fed back into circulation, and Americans would be living very much as we have been for the past 20 years.

EDIT 2: Note that I'm assuming that money already exists, like it's the TARP funds that were already spent, if only we could suck them back in.

New visa commerical.
A mini Loaf of french bread $50,000
1 tomato $50,000
1 clove of Garlic $ 50,000
1 packet of Parmesan cheese $50,000
1 serving of spaghetti $ 50,000

Having 4 plates of spaghetti to eat while the US starts to look like Zimbabwe
Priceless.

A kid asked me that today....I asked the rest of the class what they thought would happen if everyone in the US got a million bucks one day from the government. Their answers were interesting but .... they were kid answers. I want to know what you think would happen.

People would realize that you shouldn't listen to people with the mind of a child, and the Republicans never get elected again.

We all got 400 bucks a couple years ago from the Alberta gov't from oil revenues. All hell broke loose.

I'd invest it, and quad triple my money! I'd be rich! :D

1 million dollars isn't what it used to be, but it is still a lot of money for most. There would be a lot of inflation, as already said. Stores would say that since everyone has 1 million dollars, they can charge 10,000 dollars for something that is normally about a dollar. That and also already said, no one would be working if they thought that they had 1 million dollars.

I would buy one million cheeseburgers from the McDonalds dollar menu, and give one to 1million homeless people. Then I would be so famous, I would get more money, and buy my own small chain of McDonalds resaraunts, but only cook for the homeless, provided they give me one can. With that many homeless people giving me cans in several resteraunts, I would melt them down into bullets and sell them to the military, to a lower cost than other arms industries. With the money and fame I gain, I will slowly rise to power......

I would buy one million cheeseburgers from the McDonalds dollar menu, and give one to 1million homeless people. Then I would be so famous, I would get more money, and buy my own small chain of McDonalds resaraunts, but only cook for the homeless, provided they give me one can. With that many homeless people giving me cans in several resteraunts, I would melt them down into bullets and sell them to the military, to a lower cost than other arms industries. With the money and fame I gain, I will slowly rise to power......

Or you could stop being stupid and invest that money in I dunno stocks, bonds, stuff like that.

Anyone that suggests we give everyone a million dollars doesn't understand how inflation works....or what a Zimbabwe is.

Way to ruin the fun Wilgrove D:<

I would buy one million cheeseburgers from the McDonalds dollar menu, and give one to 1million homeless people.
But the homeless people would also be getting $1 million, so they'd tell you to take your nasty burgers and stuff them up your ass. Although, if you can master that particular skill, there might be a career in that for you . . .

Way to ruin the fun Wilgrove D:<

He was going to lose money on that plan! I think it's my solemn duty to tell my fellow human when they're going to do something that will soon make them one of the homeless that they want to serve.

Anyone that suggests we give everyone a million dollars doesn't understand how inflation works....or what a Zimbabwe is.

Considering giving every American $1 million would be five times the size of the entire world economy, it's kind of a moot point. Curiously, that's about 3/5 the size of the global derivatives market (or was, before it went to hell).

But the homeless people would also be getting $1 million, so they'd tell you to take your nasty burgers and stuff them up your ass. Although, if you can master that particular skill, there might be a career in that for you . . .

In the food fetish porn industry no doubt.

Or you could stop being stupid and invest that money in I dunno stocks, bonds, stuff like that.
Because it won't lose it's value fast enough just keeping it as cash!

If this happened, I predict many people would do as I would do, and buy as much foreign currency as possible. So, a crash (or at least decline) in the dollar, and a surge for Euros, etc.
We might finally be able to get that manufacturing sector back from China and Mexico!

In the food fetish porn industry no doubt.

Combining the two greatest things in the world: food and sex.

Combining the two greatest things in the world: food and sex.

Didn't you learn anything from Seinfeld?

Didn't you learn anything from Seinfeld?

No.

A kid asked me that today....I asked the rest of the class what they thought would happen if everyone in the US got a million bucks one day from the government. Their answers were interesting but .... they were kid answers. I want to know what you think would happen.
Because of the population.
To qualify my answer, I have to go here:

Peter: What would you do if you had a million dollars?
Lawrence: I'll tell you what I'd do, man. Two chicks at the same time, man.

A kid asked me that today....I asked the rest of the class what they thought would happen if everyone in the US got a million bucks one day from the government. Their answers were interesting but .... they were kid answers. I want to know what you think would happen.

well the simple answer is that the more of a currency is in circulation, the less buying power each unit of that currency will represent.

in essence though, so called conservatives, though i know i'll get a lot of flack for calling them that, though this is what they seem determined, for reasons that elude my comprehension, to call themselves, have been doing precisely that, hanging paper, to and for, self serving economic interests, and seem to take as cannon, holding them more sacred then nature or life itself.

If anyone but children had asked this question, I would punch them in the mouth.

If anyone but children had asked this question, I would punch them in the mouth.

You'd be surprised...there are people out there who think all of our financial problems could be solved with the printing press. Of course, running deficits as we do is basically going to end up having the same effect, but compared to just printing money its consequences are further down the line.

You'd be surprised...there are people out there who think all of our financial problems could be solved with the printing press. Of course, running deficits as we do is basically going to end up having the same effect, but compared to just printing money its consequences are further down the line.

actually my (mis?) understanding, is that the consequences are EXACTLY the same.

and i'm not convinced the people, if one can say people are at all, in charge of the economic interests the bailouts are being handed out to, are deploying those resources any better or more usefully, then the average joe sixpack, even a six year old kid, actually would.

Inflation would go through the roof & the $1 million would actually buy you very little.

Because it won't lose it's value fast enough just keeping it as cash!

If this happened, I predict many people would do as I would do, and buy as much foreign currency as possible. So, a crash (or at least decline) in the dollar, and a surge for Euros, etc.
We might finally be able to get that manufacturing sector back from China and Mexico!

except as as soon as news of this plan hit every country with common sense would refuse to accept dollars in currency trades.....

that and I doubt the Euro or any other country would surge.
Because most debts, most oil trades, most food trades ETC are done in the dollar. and I think 70~85% of all foreign reserves are in the USD.
If the dollar crashed like that all currency and world trade would crash.

10~20 years of true economic depression (> 10% household unemployment) would exist among most countries dependent upon trade, and the current banking crisis would be a happy memory.

drink some more beer

EDIT: In fact, I think the average American with student loans, mortgages, car loans, credit balances, etc. to pay off, plus owning a home that needs upgrading and/or serious repairs, plus having put off several thousand dollars in dental work for which they don't have insurance (for them and their dependents), plus wanting to pay for their own kids' college education(s), plus desiring a better, maybe greener car, plus desiring a little stress-relief downtime in the form of a good vacation (for them and their family), plus planning for their retirement -- I think they could reduce that mil by as much as half in three or four years. Then, I think rather than buy $50 loaves of bread, I see them more spending the rest on a new ipod or blackberry every six months, etc, until they're down to $100K, which probably would not take them long even if they didn't use cash for everything, just a few more years. I think within 10 years or less, those millions would be fed back into circulation, and Americans would be living very much as we have been for the past 20 years.


Uhuh. You have correctly deduced that the vast amount of US personal debt is not going to be paid back. There just isn't the money.

But the homeless people would also be getting $1 million, so they'd tell you to take your nasty burgers and stuff them up your ass. Although, if you can master that particular skill, there might be a career in that for you . . .

Assburger's Syndrome (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6jkBOU9etRA&feature=PlayList&p=C3E3D830CD5A0900&playnext=1&index=6) is no laughing matter.

Inflation would go through the roof & the $1 million would actually buy you very little.

precisely, if not obviously true, as i have already acknowledged.

my own point however, is a great big caveat as to the 'wisdom' of the economic interests receiving such handouts, as opposed to the endless diversity of mere mortals, in which there is always the potential, however unevenly distributed, of greater wisdom residing.

free handouts, of whatever buying power the do confer, are a means of 'priming' the economic 'pump'.
another, possibly more effective means, are infrastructure projects, especially alternative (read: more environmentally harmonious) technology based infrastructure projects with the potential of being 'down the road' more sustainable.

(it is also the whole point, though this may be getting into another question, of the existence of ANY government in ANY form, to protect people from freezing, starving, and beating each other over the head, as well as seeing to the provision of such infrastructure, and the making and keeping of it environmentally harmonious)

The unnecessarily partisan and cynical answer: How do you think he got elected in the first place?

The actual answer: Inflation(I think. Whenever I hear someone talk about economics for more then five minutes it turns into Charlie Brown's teacher's voice. They call it 'the dismal science' for a reason, you know.)

A kid asked me that today....I asked the rest of the class what they thought would happen if everyone in the US got a million bucks one day from the government. Their answers were interesting but .... they were kid answers. I want to know what you think would happen.

I don't understand how American think their government can just spend and spend as if they can pull money out of thin air. Stop celebrating when you balance a budget, the rest of us worry when we dip into our surplus.

Before you consider throwing billions of dollars at companies that refuse to restructure or seek bankruptcy protection, or whatever black hole policy you have up you sleeves remember Cyprus, Austria, Ghana, India, Argentina, Philippines, Tunisia, Panama, Colombia, Gabon, Albania, Malawi, Pakistan, Kenya, Croatia, Costa Rica, Aruba, Bolivia, Netherlands, Brazil, Ethiopia, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Poland, Vietnam, Sweden, Malaysia, Dominican Republic, Papua New Guinea, Turkey, Montenegro, Thailand, Syria, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Serbia, Cuba, Spain, Finland, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Yemen, Ecuador, South Africa, Bahrain, Macedonia, Peru, South Korea, Zambia, Trinidad, Taiwan, Iceland, Paraguay, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Honduras, Slovenia, Moldova, Senega, Mexico, Namibia, Mozambique, the United Arab Emirates, Guatemala, New Zealand, Uganda. Tanzania, Venezuela, Uzbekistan, China, Algeria, Lithuania, Iran, Gibraltar, Australia, Cameroon, Nigeria, Romania, Hong Kong, Angola, Ukraine, Qatar, Bulgaria, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Russia, Wallis, Botswana, Libya, Chile, Oman, Estonia and Equatorial Guinea all have lower debt-to-GDP ratio; that is, the ability repay your government's debt.

Mexico, Nigeria, these countries actually have monetary policy infinitely more responsible than America's. If they had started their industrial revolution earlier, and weren't emerging from a war-torn agrarian age, America would not even be competitive.

what i want personally, isn't wealth beyond my wildest dreams of avarice, but simply the tools (both tangible AND knowledge) with which to create and explore, the freedom to do so (within environmentally and socially responsible reason), and to not have to worry about the basics of survival.

i really think this is more important, AND more conducive to real gratification, then all the little numbers on pieces of paper and computer screens, and whatever theoretical potential they represent.

(symbolic wealth really gratifies nothing, however brainwashed however large a percentage of people may be, into pursuing it.)

Mexico, Nigeria, these countries actually have monetary policy infinitely more responsible than America's. If they had started their industrial revolution earlier, and weren't emerging from a war-torn agrarian age, America would not even be competitive.

Ah, but they didn't, did they.

A kid asked me that today....I asked the rest of the class what they thought would happen if everyone in the US got a million bucks one day from the government. Their answers were interesting but .... they were kid answers. I want to know what you think would happen.

Someone tried that,a ctually. I believge his name is Robert Mugabe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_Zimbabwe).

Ah, but they didn't, did they.
point pertinent only to fiate accompli, otherwise utterly moot.

It'd work fine. Just threaten to shoot anyone who put their prices up and it'd work great. Economists would disagree with this plan, but thats mainly because simple and brilliant plans like this would make them redundant :p

Alright. When did everyone become Robert Mugabe?

Alright. When did everyone become Robert Mugabe?

How dare you insult the esteemed instigator of the Zimbabwean economic miracle?

How dare you insult the esteemed instigator of the Zimbabwean economic miracle?

Not an insult, a dying curse.

Or you could stop being stupid and invest that money in I dunno stocks, bonds, stuff like that.

Why do you hate the homeless? :(

But the homeless people would also be getting $1 million, so they'd tell you to take your nasty burgers and stuff them up your ass. Although, if you can master that particular skill, there might be a career in that for you . . .

Why do you hate burgers? :(

Reminds me of that Futurama episode where Nixon's Head gives everyone $300.

The Dollar would start resembling the former Italian Lira and oil trades would be made in €uros.

Uhuh. You have correctly deduced that the vast amount of US personal debt is not going to be paid back. There just isn't the money.
I think that was what I was trying to say but failing really miserably. I meant that we'd just have a brief rollercoaster ride of financial mania and then be left right where we started, with a plummeting economy and a bleak outlook. If anything good came out of it at all, it would be the paying off of personal debts people currently have, but most people would end up in a position where they would have to take on more debt anyway, only in this current world where they don't really have credit anymore.

I think that was what I was trying to say but failing really miserably. I meant that we'd just have a brief rollercoaster ride of financial mania and then be left right where we started, with a plummeting economy and a bleak outlook. If anything good came out of it at all, it would be the paying off of personal debts people currently have, but most people would end up in a position where they would have to take on more debt anyway, only in this current world where they don't really have credit anymore.

Yes, and what the government should do is make the bankruptcy process more liberal so people can default more easily and get a fresh start. And all the money they are wasting should be concentrated on propping the financial system when needed as part of this process.

Forget all this stimulus and making investors whole or trying to support house prices. It won't work.

I think Id ask the Government for a bail-out, with a Million dollars Id be too big to fail, lol....

Yes, and what the government should do is make the bankruptcy process more liberal so people can default more easily and get a fresh start. And all the money they are wasting should be concentrated on propping the financial system when needed as part of this process.

Forget all this stimulus and making investors whole or trying to support house prices. It won't work.

But In all honesty...They should be doing this ^^^

The changing of the Bankruptcy laws was what got us in this shit...no one could file, so everyone defaulted and was foreclosed on...

Why bail out the banks and other industry? Give the alloted bailout cash to the citizens and let them support the industry here in the US. I am not talking about any more than they already plan on spending.

Yes, and what the government should do is make the bankruptcy process more liberal so people can default more easily and get a fresh start. And all the money they are wasting should be concentrated on propping the financial system when needed as part of this process.

Forget all this stimulus and making investors whole or trying to support house prices. It won't work.

Make it easier than it already is? How would you propose making it easier? You can already walk away from piles of debt if you pass the means test.

Make it easier than it already is? How would you propose making it easier? You can already walk away from piles of debt if you pass the means test.

Well, in the 90's you could do so without losing your House, Car, etc...

Now, after the Bush Administration pushed to reform the Bankruptcy laws, the bank repossesses your House, Car, etc...

Basically taking away the advantage for filing for Bankruptcy...

Make it easier than it already is? How would you propose making it easier? You can already walk away from piles of debt if you pass the means test.

Remove the means test. And make student loans dischargable while we're at it.

Well, in the 90's you could do so without losing your House, Car, etc...

Now, after the Bush Administration pushed to reform the Bankruptcy laws, the bank repossesses your House, Car, etc...

Basically taking away the advantage for filing for Bankruptcy...

Well if people are upside down in their homes then it's not a big deal. If someone still had equity enough to pay off credit debt then they should do so. However you can also still keep your home if you just re-affirm the loan and that works for a car too.

Remove the means test. And make student loans dischargable while we're at it.

Means test can be met if one spouse takes a leave of absence for a month or two.

The student loans part I agree 100%. I am one to believe higher education should be free or near free in this country provided you have the grades for it.

Edit:

One tactic for student loans now would be to transfer that debt to CC or a home loan and then go. It is a hassle but a work around.

Well if people are upside down in their homes then it's not a big deal. If someone still had equity enough to pay off credit debt then they should do so. However you can also still keep your home if you just re-affirm the loan and that works for a car too.

If the bank allows you to do so...When the Housing Market was still going strong, you could make a killing by reselling a repossessed property, damn near 100% profit...

Problem is, when a Mass Number of people dont file bankruptcy, and all of the loans default, then your bank loses all its credit...And Bob's Your Uncle...Its 1929, lol...

Means test can be met if one spouse takes a leave of absence for a month or two.


No, look, gaming the system is part of what caused this mess in the first place. The means test goes. Risk aversion has to be injected back into the system somehow and this is as good a place as any.

Really, default should be encouraged. It's never going to be paid back anyway, and trying to keep the debt alive only clogs everything up. It'll become all zombified like japan, only worse, because the US doesn't have the social cohesion.

If the bank allows you to do so...When the Housing Market was still going strong, you could make a killing by reselling a repossessed property, damn near 100% profit...

Problem is, when a Mass Number of people dont file bankruptcy, and all of the loans default, then your bank loses all its credit...And Bob's Your Uncle...Its 1929, lol...

Why would the bank want a depreciating asset? I would bet 90% + of the time the bank is going to allow one to keep those assets. Remember the majority of the people that would need to file bankruptcy are filing not because they have a bunch of equity but the opposite.

No, look, gaming the system is part of what caused this mess in the first place. The means test goes. Risk aversion has to be injected back into the system somehow and this is as good a place as any.

Really, default should be encouraged. It's never going to be paid back anyway, and trying to keep the debt alive only clogs everything up. It'll become all zombified like japan, only worse, because the US doesn't have the social cohesion.

Ok, drop the means test. I was just using that example to dodge it in it's current form.

As for the second paragraph I agree again 100%.

Why would the bank want a depreciating asset? I would bet 90% + of the time the bank is going to allow one to keep those assets. Remember the majority of the people that would need to file bankruptcy are filing not because they have a bunch of equity but the opposite.

Now, definitely, but 5 or 6 years ago, you could make Twice as much money by selling it to someone else, probably someone of lower income...

Clinton made it easier for Lower Income families to get Homes, and Bush made it easier to give out loans, and harder to file Bankruptcy when the Low Income Families couldnt afford them...

It causes a perfect storm of mass credit loss...

I thought it would cause massive chaos as all the service industry just quit working. Who wants to flip burgers when they don't have to anymore?

I would. just to keep busy.

what would happen? the value of the dollar goes way down. super or possibly hyper inflation would occure.

I would. just to keep busy.

what would happen? the value of the dollar goes way down. super or possibly hyper inflation would occure.

We could finally achieve our dream of Emulating Zimbabwe...:wink:

We could finally achieve our dream of Emulating Zimbabwe...:wink:

We should appoint Mugabe to Secretary of Agriculture. I am sure will be looking for a new job here real soon.

what would happen? the value of the dollar goes way down. super or possibly hyper inflation would occure.

There was a comic I read years ago that pretty much did the kids idea. Some ultra rich guy loses all his umpteen trillions in a freak tornado which deposits the money all over the country, turning everyone into millionaires overnight. The now broke guy doesn't fret it and starts work on a farm while everyone else goes off to spend the newfound cash.

By the end of the day, the cash is worthless because nobody is working anymore, and the only person with hard goods is the former rich guy who has hoarded his produce, who sells them at Zimbabwe level prices e.g. a million dollars for an egg and earns his fortune back in no time.

what would happen? the value of the dollar goes way down. super or possibly hyper inflation would occure.

When you get hyper inflation pretty much everyone except politicians and the police/security services loses their job.

So I wouldn't worry about it.

Nothing good would happen. If everyone had a million dollars, a million dollars would have no value.

African Economics?

A kid asked me that today....I asked the rest of the class what they thought would happen if everyone in the US got a million bucks one day from the government. Their answers were interesting but .... they were kid answers. I want to know what you think would happen.

Well, you have to remember the Democrats know the government knows how to spend your tax dollars better than you do, so in their opinion giving everyone a million would make the economy worse.

However, in my opinion that would be great. Homeowners could pay off their house or buy a better one. People could buy new cars instead of fixing up their old pieces of crap. Those who wanted to invest could do that. And best of all I could retire and not have to wait for this house to sell to do so.

Darn Smun, you have a smart kid in your class.

A kid asked me that today....I asked the rest of the class what they thought would happen if everyone in the US got a million bucks one day from the government. Their answers were interesting but .... they were kid answers. I want to know what you think would happen.
I'll be happy if he just pays my mortgage for me.

But the answer is... Money would be worthless. We'd be like Zimbabwe.

And if the government is going to create 3 trillion dollars, it might just be worthless, anyway, no matter who they give it to. So let's just spread it around.

1 million dollars isn't what it used to be, but it is still a lot of money for most. There would be a lot of inflation, as already said. Stores would say that since everyone has 1 million dollars, they can charge 10,000 dollars for something that is normally about a dollar. That and also already said, no one would be working if they thought that they had 1 million dollars.

That's a bit excessive. All markets are already inflated with all the debt that's available. Prices would probably go up somewhere around 10 times, but smaller amounts as you go up. Houses that used to cost $400,000 aren't suddenly going to cost 4 million. Because if you don't have that extra million every year then you're never going to get that other 3 million, but a lot of people would want to become home owners.

There would probably be a brief surge in demand for luxury goods and a glut in the stock market, followed by a crash and a return to normalcy.

I'd invest it, and quad triple my money! I'd be rich! :D

In a country where everyone is a millionare $4million isn't that impressive.

In a country where everyone is a millionare $4million isn't that impressive.

Its four times as much as the majority, lol...

A kid asked me that today....I asked the rest of the class what they thought would happen if everyone in the US got a million bucks one day from the government. Their answers were interesting but .... they were kid answers. I want to know what you think would happen.

EVERYTHING WOULD BE SOOOOOOO MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE cause they can cause everyone has so much money.

It's called inflation.

Its four times as much as the majority, lol...

No, it's 4 times as much as the poorest man on the street who has the clothes on his back and a cheque for $1 million in his pocket.

No, it's 4 times as much as the poorest man on the street who has the clothes on his back and a cheque for $1 million in his pocket.

Thats not the majority? :confused:

Thats not the majority? :confused:

Not until a week after Obama takes over.

it would be quite inflationary.
and thare all become lazy and suck off the goverment.