Posted by RenaissanceTrophyWife on October 21, 2008
As the bailout/rescue plan/unchecked spending discussions barrel forward, I look at the enormous sums of money being quoted, and wondered what I would do if I had that much pocket change. Buy world peace? Well, close.
Image from NASA
Some bailout alternatives:
For $30B a year, we could avert all future threats of conflicts over food. According to the head of the UN’s food and agriculture organization, Jacques Diouf, this would cover 862 million hungry people.
For $45B a year, we could protect most of the world’s forests, mountains, rivers and seas. Our inaction costs $2-5T (yes, trillion) annually due to the services lost from those ecosystems (eg, providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide).
The international WaterAid charity estimates that providing safe water and sanitation to the 2.5 billion people in the world without such basics would cost $75B. That’s about how much it cost for the UK to bail out RBS, HBOS and Lloyds.
The Stern Review estimated it would cost 1% of global GDP, or $540B a year, to hold greenhouse gas emissions at a level to avoid the worst effects of global climate change.
And I don’t even have to pick just one– with $700B, I could fund ALL FOUR for a year, and still have $10B left over. Foie gras, anyone?
toothpastefordinner.com
What would you do with your $700B?
Posted in Global Glam, Trust fund, baby! | Tagged: alternatives, bailout, climate change, environment, greenhouse gases, hunger, investment, water | 1 Comment »
Posted by RenaissanceTrophyWife on October 21, 2008
I really liked the focus of this NY Times article on continuing to make purchases in this economic environment.
The featured family recently bought a $55k boat– and while my knee-jerk reaction was, “$55k for a boat, now?!?!” I can also understand why the featured couple made the decision they did.
As I see it, you invest for the possibility of future returns. While the most tangible rewards are monetary, it bears keeping in mind that there are things in life much more rewarding than money.
Buying a boat wouldn’t generate financial returns, but it would enhance the family’s vacation memories: from that perspective, it was a worthwhile investment. It also sounds like they saved and planned for the purchase instead of making an impulse buy, but just happened to take the plunge when the economy wasn’t good.
Photo by Dan Stefanski
The father, Ron, summed it up well: “Your job as a parent, a friend or life partner is to create memories with each other. That’s what we’re here for. And I think in that respect, the decision to purchase the boat was a good decision.”
Have you ever made a similar purchase to invest in your quality of life? What are you saving up for now, and what would you do with $55k?
Posted in Apple a Day, Trust fund, baby! | Tagged: boat, economy, family, finance, memories, relationships | Leave a Comment »
