$1,000,000.00

[applecorped]

If you were given 1 million dollars in cash, no strings attached, what would you do with it?

Invest?

Tell no one and sit on it?

Would you claim it on your taxes????

What would you do?

[Starthinker]

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=118463

[The Central Scrutinizer]

If you were given 1 million dollars in cash, no strings attached, what would you do with it?

Invest?

Tell no one and sit on it?

Would you claim it on your taxes????

What would you do?

Have a bonfire.

[Professor Yaffle]

Have a bonfire.

At 3am?

[Blackadder]

Buy a house, hell in this market, buy several houses...

work 8 months a year/ spend the other 4 months travelling the world and in my new houses.

(small houses are good enough for me and 'stuff' doesn't interest me a lot, so 1 million would go a long way for me. I just hope the million is tax free)

[I Ratant]

I would have a problem with that much money, not needing it at all.
Paying off my VISA tab wouldn't make a dent in the total amount, and that's the only financial concern I have.
Spread it around among friends?
Probably not.
Nor give it to charities.

[mhaze]

If you were given 1 million dollars in cash, no strings attached, what would you do with it?

Invest?

Tell no one and sit on it?

Would you claim it on your taxes????

What would you do?

A. Take half, put in bank account, treasury bill or investment grade CD.

B. Take the other half, put it into something of tangible value.

Wait 6 years. Buy double cheeseburger with biggie fries with (A). Then decide what to do with (B).

[Tiktaalik]

Buy property. That would about use it up. There are plenty of places I'd like that are pushing a mil.

[madurobob]

Huh, 8 posts and no mention of cocaine or hookers asses. Damn skeptics.

[Klimax]

I would split money into two:
1)invest
2)purchase old computer parts for collection.

[icerat]

invest it in startups I work with

[Mister Agenda]

Invest in property and a diverse portfolio. Use the returns to buy cocaine and hooker's asses.

[JihadJane]

I'd use it to bail out a troubled bank.

[CJW]

That depends, is this before or after the aliens show up and say they're going to blow up the earth?

[IllegalArgument]

Pay off house.
Pay off car.
Take a nice vacation.
Invest the rest using a black swan like protocol.

[Marquis de Carabas]

I would use $7 to buy a big prosthetic forehead and wear it on my real head.

Then, since I hear someone in this town is trying to burn the foreheads down, I would buy 142,856 spare foreheads.

I would like to invest the remaining dollar in a rock, but you said there were no strings, so I'd have no idea what to do with the rock.

[Piscivore]

That depends, is this before or after the aliens show up and say they're going to blow up the earth?

I would use $7 to buy a big prosthetic forehead and wear it on my real head.

Then, since I hear someone in this town is trying to burn the foreheads down, I would buy 142,856 spare foreheads.

I would like to invest the remaining dollar in a rock, but you said there were no strings, so I'd have no idea what to do with the rock.

I love you guys. :D

[I Ratant]

AT 71, what could anyone -do- with a million dollars?

[applecorped]

AT 71, what could anyone -do- with a million dollars?


Clone yourself and invest whatever is left over and leave it to your clone.

[IMST]

Pay off the house, buy a reliable car, replace the windows and electrical in the house, buy something fun, invest the rest.

[madurobob]

AT 71, what could anyone -do- with a million dollars?

Sit back and relax and pay someone else to -do- it for you while you watch and offer a critique.

I'm sure volunteers will be easy to come by.

[MattC]

Get arrested for tax evasion.

~ Matt

[BTMO]

AT 71, what could anyone -do- with a million dollars?


I believe post #9 explains what in succinct detail...

[jj]

Invest and retire, handling the entire process legally.

Then go give some nutcase woowoo proponents a lot more publicity than they ever wanted.

[gnome]

"I tell you what I'd do... two chicks at the same time"

</lawrence>

Probably I'd do nothing spectacular.

Pay off all debts, get another car and buy up the insurance on both in advance for a while.

Make some home improvements.

Invest a good portion of the rest in something stable, to bolster my retirement funds.

Buy a couple of whiz-bang PC's and other home electronics.

Go to a few trips and shows, then enjoy my larger take-home pay from debt reduction until retirement :)

[BTMO]

Quit my job, study *full* fulltime, invest in more sporting toys (I want a .308, dammit!), travel more.

All of the above assumes some sort of investment at the outset to get the greatest benefit from the windfall, and to make sure I get the shiniest sporting toys....

[Just thinking]

It's Lamborghini time ...

[integral]

Probably sit on it for a while.

[Almo]

I would use $7 to buy a big prosthetic forehead and wear it on my real head.

Then, since I hear someone in this town is trying to burn the foreheads down, I would buy 142,856 spare foreheads.

I would like to invest the remaining dollar in a rock, but you said there were no strings, so I'd have no idea what to do with the rock.

Hahaha! Good reference. :)

I'd probably use it to get started self-publishing iPhone and board games.

[Ikarus]

If you were given 1 million dollars in cash, no strings attached, what would you do with it?

Invest?

Tell no one and sit on it?

Would you claim it on your taxes????

What would you do?

I'd seriously consider burning it, to taste the thought.

[Praktik]

If you were given 1 million dollars in cash, no strings attached, what would you do with it?

Invest?

Tell no one and sit on it?

Would you claim it on your taxes????

What would you do?

Well I'd clear out my 25 000 debt.

Invest a bunch.

Buy a lot of computer gadgets and home/av equipment and probably like, hundreds of records and maybe a few extra mixers, some clothes.

A car.

But I'd def only really wanna spend the first 100 000 on debt and ****... the rest I'd invest in diverse areas.

Maybe get a mortgage with a giant down payment.

[Agatha]

Pay off the mortgage, invest the rest. Retire.
Boring, but it is what I would *really* do.

[applecorped]

Buy a lot of computer gadgets and home/av equipment and probably like, hundreds of records and maybe a few extra mixers, some clothes.


:D:D:D - money well spent!!!!!!!!!

[kosai]

1.) Invest it in a well diversified portfolio of index funds
2.) Withdraw 4-5% a year
3.) Retire at 29

[NewtonTrino]

Ferrari 599GTB.

[ProdigalGuru]

I would buy a large house in a rural area. Perhaps Alaska, or Montana, or Texas. I would make sure there was plenty of useful land, and a VERY long driveway attached to an even longer dirt road. I would pay the smallest down payment and get the longest term possible. I would buy seeds, and bandages, and nails, and tools of all types, in as large a quantity as it would be reasonable to store. I would buy/build a large storage shed, and work on creating a large garden for food. I would buy a few cows, and sheep, and pigs, and chickens. I would convert all I could to be power-free, plumbing free, and independent. I would buy batteries and antibiotics, some guns, some ammo, and a TON of non-perishable food, literally. I would build a rain collection tower, add solar power and hot water to the entire ranch, with wind generators and water power too if possible. I would build stone walls on my boundaries, fences inside that, and create observation posts for every angle of approach. I would camouflage everything from the air, and from any ground entry points. I would build an underground storm shelter, a workshop to fabricate metal, a printing press that requires no power, and a good relationship with my closest neighbors. I would invite my relatives to come and stay rent free, build their own dwellings, and work for the greater good.

Anything I had left I would buy gold with. Not pieces of paper representing gold, but jewelry, coins, and bars. I would spend as much as I possibly could, without planning needing more than a few month's worth of actual cash.

There would be a lot more, but this would be my good start.

[drkitten]

I would buy a large house in a rural area. Perhaps Alaska, or Montana, or Texas. I would make sure there was plenty of useful land, and a VERY long driveway attached to an even longer dirt road. I would pay the smallest down payment and get the longest term possible. I would buy seeds, and bandages, and nails, and tools of all types, in as large a quantity as it would be reasonable to store. I would buy/build a large storage shed, and work on creating a large garden for food. I would buy a few cows, and sheep, and pigs, and chickens. I would convert all I could to be power-free, plumbing free, and independent. I would buy batteries and antibiotics, some guns, some ammo, and a TON of non-perishable food, literally. I would build a rain collection tower, add solar power and hot water to the entire ranch, with wind generators and water power too if possible. I would build stone walls on my boundaries, fences inside that, and create observation posts for every angle of approach. I would camouflage everything from the air, and from any ground entry points. I would build an underground storm shelter, a workshop to fabricate metal, a printing press that requires no power, and a good relationship with my closest neighbors. I would invite my relatives to come and stay rent free, build their own dwellings, and work for the greater good.

Anything I had left I would buy gold with. Not pieces of paper representing gold, but jewelry, coins, and bars. I would spend as much as I possibly could, without planning needing more than a few month's worth of actual cash.

There would be a lot more, but this would be my good start.

And what would you do when Armageddon failed to appear and you had to unload this lovely fortress of yours at a loss?

[BTMO]

I would buy a large house in a rural area. Perhaps Alaska, or Montana, or Texas.

Meh.

I already own a rifle and live near a zoo.

Should armageddon arrive (as that seems to be what you are planning for), I am simply going big game hunting up the road...

[kosai]

Anything I had left I would buy gold with. Not pieces of paper representing gold, but jewelry, coins, and bars. I would spend as much as I possibly could, without planning needing more than a few month's worth of actual cash.


Could someone explain the strong correlation between religious/armageddon/conspiracy/endofdays nuts and gold?

To me, gold seems like it should be the worst investment to those who rail against fiat currency. If the economic system collapses tomorrow the absolute last thing I am going to be looking for is shiny jewelry. Invest in rice or beans or guns or ammo, anything but a rock. You rail against paper money, put all your money in rocks, leaving only scissors which actually would have a use in a survival situation.

Not to mention, gold is not even a good investment in non-armageddon times.

[I Ratant]

Look at the looters in New Orleans who got the expensive plasma tvs, with the power off.. and tried to barter them for food with those looters that went for the food.
Gold isn't even nourishing.

[drkitten]

Could someone explain the strong correlation between religious/armageddon/conspiracy/endofdays nuts and gold?

Gold is (or is perceived to be) "real money" -- meaning it's an actual store of value. Paper money isn't real, because there's nothing behind it.

The problem, of course, is that "stored" value is at worst risky and at best nonexistent. The value of gold, like any other form of money from cowrie shells to T-bills, is as a medium of exchange.

It does make a certain amount of sense if you're expecting a partial collapse of society. For example, gold is a great hedge against hyperinflation, because the government can't print more of it. Gold is also a great hedge against a change of government, because the new government can't repudiate it (how many "millionaires" lost their fortunes because they were invested in Confederate dollars or Continental currency?)

If I were expecting an Igor Panerin-style breakup of the USA (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123051100709638419.html), for example, gold would be a good investment. The chance that any investment denominated in US dollars would survive would be uncomfortably small. The chance that any investment denominated in hard foreign currency would survive would be equally problematic; if the US dollar collapses today, the Canadian dollar collapses tomorrow, the pound next week, and the Euro probably in three weeks.

But anything portable and valuable will probably still be portable and valuable. There would still be enough industry and social order around that we wouldn't see a complete collapse to Armageddon and Mad-Max style warlords killing each other for a gallon of gasoline. Indeed, the people who own and work the gasoline refineries would work very hard to keep those refineries precisely because they are so valuable, useful, and irreplaceable.

But I don't own a refinery. I don't own anything valuable in itself except my skills. But what I could do is try to identify things that would be valuable in a world devoid of the US government, but still with some degree of social order. And we're back to gold and jewelry, aren't we?

Of course, this also shows just how vapid the Armageddon-mongers are; the situation for which they plan is a Goldilocks-zone style economic shakeup; enough that people will want gold enough to pay them for it, but not want gold enough to simply take it. Really, it's a wish-fulfillment dream. They're typically Libertarian-style losers, unable to get out of their parent's basement, and mad at the world because it steadfastly refuses to reward them as they feel is their due -- and it's all the fault of this corrupt and unsustainable economic system that rewards people who actually have talent, skills, education, and a work ethic instead.

[learner]

deleted.

[learner]

Just dont retire early to go fishing, I did, its realy boring, and you put weight on. :boggled:
Hookers!..Now what was it Huxley said about a good idea?...

[kosai]

Gold is (or is perceived to be) "real money" -- meaning it's an actual store of value. Paper money isn't real, because there's nothing behind it.

The problem, of course, is that "stored" value is at worst risky and at best nonexistent. The value of gold, like any other form of money from cowrie shells to T-bills, is as a medium of exchange.

It does make a certain amount of sense if you're expecting a partial collapse of society. For example, gold is a great hedge against hyperinflation, because the government can't print more of it. Gold is also a great hedge against a change of government, because the new government can't repudiate it (how many "millionaires" lost their fortunes because they were invested in Confederate dollars or Continental currency?)

If I were expecting an Igor Panerin-style breakup of the USA (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123051100709638419.html), for example, gold would be a good investment. The chance that any investment denominated in US dollars would survive would be uncomfortably small. The chance that any investment denominated in hard foreign currency would survive would be equally problematic; if the US dollar collapses today, the Canadian dollar collapses tomorrow, the pound next week, and the Euro probably in three weeks.

But anything portable and valuable will probably still be portable and valuable. There would still be enough industry and social order around that we wouldn't see a complete collapse to Armageddon and Mad-Max style warlords killing each other for a gallon of gasoline. Indeed, the people who own and work the gasoline refineries would work very hard to keep those refineries precisely because they are so valuable, useful, and irreplaceable.

But I don't own a refinery. I don't own anything valuable in itself except my skills. But what I could do is try to identify things that would be valuable in a world devoid of the US government, but still with some degree of social order. And we're back to gold and jewelry, aren't we?

Of course, this also shows just how vapid the Armageddon-mongers are; the situation for which they plan is a Goldilocks-zone style economic shakeup; enough that people will want gold enough to pay them for it, but not want gold enough to simply take it. Really, it's a wish-fulfillment dream. They're typically Libertarian-style losers, unable to get out of their parent's basement, and mad at the world because it steadfastly refuses to reward them as they feel is their due -- and it's all the fault of this corrupt and unsustainable economic system that rewards people who actually have talent, skills, education, and a work ethic instead.

Thanks for the well written response... I guess I understand the concept they are going for with the gold thing. However, as you've stated, it assumes some form of social order and when you are building underground bunkers with which you can hide and shoot at people, you kind of get the idea in this scenario you won't be setting up a fruit stand trading post anytime soon.

The biggest problem I see with gold is unless you assume the collapse of the government it seems like a really bad investment. Even as an inflation hedge... I'd rather invest in TIPS then you have something that is, ya know, tied to the rate of inflation. Of course when the "anarchy rules" libertarian wet dream hits I guess they will be laughing all the way to the.. uh... well.. fiery hull of a bank.

Also, weighing risk scenarios here... my house getting broken into vs. the entire US government collapsing... I'm going with the former, especially since GW Bush already did 8 years and we have laws on term limits... Though I did see Palin 2012 stickers. Hmm.. anyone know where I can get some Super-Ultra-Patriot 1/2 oz TearEagleNeverForgetLiberties?

[drkitten]

Thanks for the well written response...

You're welcome.


The biggest problem I see with gold is unless you assume the collapse of the government it seems like a really bad investment. Even as an inflation hedge... I'd rather invest in TIPS then you have something that is, ya know, tied to the rate of inflation.

Well, there are two problems with TIPS. One, of course, is simply that they are relatively recent and most of the literature on how-to-plan-for-economic-catastrophe was written or refers to the pre-TIPS era. A bigger problem, though, is simply, that TIPS are only as good as the government that sells them. If the government is overthrown, the TIPS will be repudiated. More subtly, if the currency hyperinflates, the government may not be able to make good on the promise, especially since the additional money they will need to print will simply create more inflation.

We've done that experiment, in Wiemar Germany among other places. Inflation hit some obscene number of billions of percent, to the point where salaried workers would insist on getting paid a morning's wages at lunch so that they could go spend their money before the afternoon inflated it away. What happened, of course, was that people reverted to barter -- but the social order was (more or less) maintained intact. If you wanted theater tickets for the evening, you could pay for it in bread or cheese; your taxi driver would happily accept a pound of bacon,.... and then he might use that same meat to pay for his daughter's music lesson.

Gold might be a reasonable store of value in that situation; it's certainly more convenient to carry around a few rings and necklaces than a wallet full of pigs. But to a man worried about his next meal, you would probably get a much better deal with a pound of pork loin or a loaf of bread than a gold earring.

Also, weighing risk scenarios here... my house getting broken into vs. the entire US government collapsing...

Yes, that's a problem I have as well. The big thing I've never seen these gloom-and-doom sayers present is a plausible method for getting from point A (now) to point B (Mad Max). Okay, yes,.... civilization as we know it will end in November, 2011. Sure, whatever. What's going to happen in October that will cause this? If you're expecting food riots six months from now,... what causes them? Massive crop failure? Complete collapse of the transportation infrastructure due to lack of fuel? Texas seceeds and stages a military conquest of Denver, cutting I-70?

Only in the Old Testament are disasters caused solely by the moral inferiority of the people affected....

[kosai]

I saw some other posts of yours drkitten and you seem well versed in economics and asset classes risk/reward scenarios.. Do you mind if I ask what you do with your investment money? Do you believe in the gold thing enough to buy any? I was looking recently at Browne's "Permanent Portfolio" which uses gold as it's inflation hedge, as of late I listen mostly to Paul Merriman and their Buy and Hold portfolio is what I currently use.

[ProdigalGuru]

Please stop calling me names and insulting me. I am being civil, why can't you?

I never mentioned Armageddon, you have assumed much. There is no preparation for such an event, it is by definition the end of life on earth. No amount of guns or beans or gold will stop an asteroid like 433 Eros from causing global winter if it strikes. The question asked what I would do, and I answered honestly, I would buy and operate a farm. The extras would have many applications regardless of world conditions, and once established would be extremely cost-efficient, but labor intensive. The bunker would be secure, like a vault, so that I would not have to summarily execute those caught trespassing. The animals and crops are a renewable source of food, the "off-the-grid" design would ensure limited damage if, for instance, solar flares knocked out the national power grid. I mentioned a stockpile of ALL SORTS or barter-worthy goods, not just gold. But why gold, you ask? Gold has been an accepted form of currency since civilization began, I have great faith that there will always be value in it. A loaf of bread MIGHT be more valuable to some, but anyone that values it that highly will likely have nothing of value to trade for it. I chose gold because it is proven, and impossible to fake. You also have to first know I have it before you can make an attempt to steal it.

There are many much more realistic scenarios that it would be prudent to plan for. War, for instance, is a distinct possibility. Possible events might include rationing or martial law, why not be prepared? You asked what events may lead up to this, allow me to answer. Massive unemployment, for one, perhaps a pandemic, failure of GM crops, extinction of one too many vital species, massive natural disasters, lack of petroleum products, there are a number of things that could go wrong in today's world. Are you claiming that there is no chance that ANY of this will occur? As for how I would pay for my house should nothing happen? That is the simple bit, when you have a lot of gold and are for the most part self-sufficient. Also please note that I fully planned on investing in my fellow man, my family, my neighbors. In the event something DOES happen, I will not NEED to loot, as I will have prepared. See?

Worst case scenario if I am wrong? I have tons of food, friends, and assets. What is YOUR worst case scenario? You start heading up my dirt road to beg for help.

[drkitten]

I saw some other posts of yours drkitten and you seem well versed in economics and asset classes risk/reward scenarios.. Do you mind if I ask what you do with your investment money?

The vast majority of my investment money is locked up in a 403(b) plan, across a diversified set of low-cost mutual funds, including some index funds. I am unfortunately limited by the set of funds the university will allow me to invest in -- but the 160% profit I get from the more-than-matching makes up for that.

I have a fairly large cash position at the moment, not because I think that cash is an especially good investment right now, but because I need to have some major work done on my house this summer, and the builders tend to want to be paid in money instead of in shares of stock.

The investments that's not locked in the 403(b) plan are 100% in individual stocks or ETFs. I don't think it's necessary or appropriate for me to tell you what they are, especially since I don't really think I'll beat the index funds, but it's fun to watch the charts....

The best long-term investment I can make -- and the Almighty Buffett backs me up on this -- is in my own skills and professional standing. If I'm the best researcher in the department, I get twice the raise I get as a mediocre one. Where else can I double my money by doing what I already do? So I'm better off spending my time writing another journal article than reading the WSJ looking for "the next Intel" or whatever the golden metaphor is.


Do you believe in the gold thing enough to buy any?

Hell, no. I wouldn't touch gold right now with a hay fork. My investment horizon at the moment is "forever," my risk tolerance is nearly infinite, and the long-term prospects for gold, especially at today's prices, are appallingly bad.

[applecorped]

Worst case scenario if I am wrong? I have tons of food, friends, and assets. What is YOUR worst case scenario? You start heading up my dirt road to beg for help.

Worst case scenario - you're all dead.

[drkitten]

Please stop calling me names and insulting me. I am being civil, why can't you?

I never mentioned Armageddon, you have assumed much.

You don't get it both ways.

If you're not a nut-case Armageddon monger, and if you have palpable reasons for believing that massive crop failure, pandemic, and martial law are a likely short-term occurance, then I'm not discussing you. Although in this case I strongly suggest you start explaining those reasons, because your posts are not distinguishable from those of a nut-case Armageddon monger.

If you are a nut-case Armageddon monger, then I'm not calling you names. I'm describing a group to which you happen to belong accurately in the interests of the "educational" mission of the JREF. In that case as well, not only are you deceptively (and lyingly) claiming not to be one, but you're also deceptively and lying presenting bad economics on an educaional forum -- and I'm not being uncivil by calling a liar a liar.

And in that case, I also see no need to be any more civil than conditions warrant.

[sugarb]

If you were given 1 million dollars in cash, no strings attached, what would you do with it?

Invest?

Tell no one and sit on it?

Would you claim it on your taxes????

What would you do?

Well, I would pay the state and federal taxes. Then I'd pay off all debt (@15K), put a new roof on the house, have a stone wall around the property for some privacy, buy a new vehicle (probably another small four wheel drive--lots of hills to climb to get to the family cemeteries), and pay for my nieces and nephews and a friend's children to go to college. I'd probably go ahead and pay for the remodel my husband's grandfather wanted to do on his house for his wife before he died, but was never able to do, and get her a reliable vehicle as well. With those things done, I'd be a completely content person, as far as my personal life. If possible, I'd probably get my mother-in-law a private room in the nursing home...I imagine that would finish it off fairly quickly.

[ProdigalGuru]

You don't get it both ways.

If you're not a nut-case Armageddon monger, and if you have palpable reasons for believing that massive crop failure, pandemic, and martial law are a likely short-term occurance, then I'm not discussing you. Although in this case I strongly suggest you start explaining those reasons, because your posts are not distinguishable from those of a nut-case Armageddon monger.

If you are a nut-case Armageddon monger, then I'm not calling you names. I'm describing a group to which you happen to belong accurately in the interests of the "educational" mission of the JREF. In that case as well, not only are you deceptively (and lyingly) claiming not to be one, but you're also deceptively and lying presenting bad economics on an educaional forum -- and I'm not being uncivil by calling a liar a liar.



I find it interesting that a professor does not know how to use spell-check.

I am not sure how many "warning signs" it takes to convince you that the world is at a turning point, but it is obviously many more than me. I am former US Army, I live in the real world, not your ivory tower, and am friends with many I am sure you would not deem worthy enough to talk to. There are enough documented studies on such topics as: global warming, solar flares, tax protests, unemployment, GM crops, globalization, overpopulation, species extinction, political saber-rattling, near-earth asteroids, nuclear power and weapons, terrorism, pandemics, the economic crisis, crime, religious zealotry.....the list is long. You seem to have a very narrow view of "education".

Calling me a liar, well, now that was just stupid. How can I lie about my opinions? What exactly am I lying about? I suggest that you are in fact the liar. I think you have created for yourself here a nice little alter-ego, with no basis in fact. I suggest that is is quite likely you are a sham, and like to hear yourself bluster and be told that you have a knowledgeable point of view. Frankly kitty, I think you are full of crap. At least I admit my uncertainty of facts, while you seem quite convinced that you could never be wrong about anything.

[ProdigalGuru]

Worst case scenario - you're all dead.

I can think of many worse things than death....

I have heard of things that would make one beg for death.

[quarky]

I'd use it to win the million dollar challange, and then become poverty stricken out of shame and disgust. For revenge. A million dollars would be fun to lose, especially if it involved cheating. Or, I'd buy a million dollar security system, and then ignore it, because it would be gone. Or, I'd hire someone to steal it, and that watch their life turn to crap.

Or, possibly buy a million twinkies and leap onto them from a tall building. A million dollars would suck. Maybe I'd give it to Bernie Maddoff. Or become someone i could hate.
Something with some irony; something to prove how pointless fabrege eggs are.

[ProdigalGuru]

I'd use it to win the million dollar challange, and then become poverty stricken out of shame and disgust. For revenge. A million dollars would be fun to lose, especially if it involved cheating. Or, I'd buy a million dollar security system, and then ignore it, because it would be gone. Or, I'd hire someone to steal it, and that watch their life turn to crap.

Or, possibly buy a million twinkies and leap onto them from a tall building. A million dollars would suck. Maybe I'd give it to Bernie Maddoff. Or become someone i could hate.
Something with some irony; something to prove how pointless fabrege eggs are.

Wouldn't it be easier to just give it to me? Then I would have TWO million fictitious dollars. According to some, I was going to do something insane with it, so you could enjoy watching me make bad decisions without having to make any of your own. Just a thought.

[fishbob]

Piss it all away as fast as I can.

[ProdigalGuru]

Piss it all away as fast as I can.

Either way, I approve of this post.

[corplinx]

I would probably put the million in municipal bond ETFs until I could figure out what to really invest it in.

[ProdigalGuru]

I find it interesting that most here would invest in an apparently doomed market instead of investing in tangible goods or their own business.

Nobody would donate to charity or invest in a community church either. Scary.

[BTMO]

I find it interesting that most here would invest in an apparently doomed market instead of investing in tangible goods or their own business.

Nobody would donate to charity or invest in a community church either. Scary.

Markets go in cycles, and while it looks grim today, it will go back up again.

And hey - the question was about what fantasy would people indulge. Giving money to churches doesn't strike me as a very sensible fantasy thing to do.

Churches make quite enough money out of suckers today as it is, thank you.

[ProdigalGuru]

Markets go in cycles, and while it looks grim today, it will go back up again.

And hey - the question was about what fantasy would people indulge. Giving money to churches doesn't strike me as a very sensible fantasy thing to do.

Churches make quite enough money out of suckers today as it is, thank you.

Wouldn't that be a great reason to start your own?:D

[BTMO]

Wouldn't that be a great reason to start your own?:D

Only if I had no integrity at all...

[ProdigalGuru]

Only if I had no integrity at all...

Yeah, because Wall Street is full of the morally upright.......

[BTMO]

Yeah, because Wall Street is full of the morally upright.......


I don't live in Wall Street...

[sugarb]

I'd use it to win the million dollar challange, and then become poverty stricken out of shame and disgust. For revenge. A million dollars would be fun to lose, especially if it involved cheating. Or, I'd buy a million dollar security system, and then ignore it, because it would be gone. Or, I'd hire someone to steal it, and that watch their life turn to crap.

Or, possibly buy a million twinkies and leap onto them from a tall building. A million dollars would suck. Maybe I'd give it to Bernie Maddoff. Or become someone i could hate.
Something with some irony; something to prove how pointless fabrege eggs are.

Okay. That is brilliantly hilarious :) Still laughing.

Thanks

[corplinx]

Nobody would donate to charity or invest in a community church either. Scary.

Giving businesses' equity creates jobs. I would rather do that than give to a community church so they can pass out meals to the unemployed.

[ProdigalGuru]

Giving businesses' equity creates jobs. I would rather do that than give to a community church so they can pass out meals to the unemployed.

Would you feel the same if the unemployment rate reached 30% nationwide?

Would you feel the same if YOU were unemployed?

Would you feel the same if North Korea nuked American soil? How about Iran?

[ProdigalGuru]

Markets go in cycles, and while it looks grim today, it will go back up again.

And hey - the question was about what fantasy would people indulge. Giving money to churches doesn't strike me as a very sensible fantasy thing to do.

Churches make quite enough money out of suckers today as it is, thank you.

I find it very interesting that you have such faith in the market's ability to recover, but you refer to churchgoers as "suckers".

[corplinx]

Would you feel the same if the unemployment rate reached 30% nationwide?

Yes


Would you feel the same if YOU were unemployed?


I've been unemployed twice. Yes. Not that "feelings" have much to do with it. It is a dollars and cents issue. Perhaps that is your fallacy.


Would you feel the same if North Korea nuked American soil? How about Iran?

You may need professional help.

[ProdigalGuru]

Yes Greedy much?


I've been unemployed twice. Yes. Not that "feelings" have much to do with it. It is a dollars and cents issue. Perhaps that is your fallacy.

I think we define unemployment differently. I am talking about you NOT receiving a check, even one from unemployment. At 30%, trust that there would be NO checks. How many meals did you miss during these times of unemployment? How long did you go being completely broke while the money you COULD have had was locked into investments?


You may need professional help.

Yeah, umm, so you are saying that it is beyond the scope of reasonable possibility that Iran or North Korea makes a first-strike action? That would make you either blind or uninformed.

Edited to fix quote tags. Please be careful in using quote tags, lest you mistakenly attribute quotes to the wrong person. If you need help with this, try Forum Help & Member Support (http://forums.randi.org/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=16).
Thank you.

[Ikarus]

Would you feel the same if North Korea nuked American soil? How about Iran?
If North Korea nuked American soil, I'd be like, okay, so they are doing this rather serious thing there, and although I can't quite fathom it, I cannot but assume that they have thought the thing over and have a really good reason for it, so I'll send them a thank you card and continue donating money to businesses, who will then start hiring more people. ( :confused: )

But if Iran did so... There shall be rage! :mad:

On a more serious note. I'm afraid this discussion has lost me... :crowded:

[corplinx]

On a more serious note. I'm afraid this discussion has lost me... :crowded:

Yeah, the whole "what if we were in a nuclear war" thing kind of threw me too.

[BTMO]

I find it very interesting that you have such faith in the market's ability to recover, but you refer to churchgoers as "suckers".


Yep - history and evidence are funny old things like that...

[ProdigalGuru]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/25/north-korea-hiroshima-nuclear-test

I think I am done with this elitist forum. Have fun in your circle jerk.

[BTMO]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/25/north-korea-hiroshima-nuclear-test

I think I am done with this elitist forum. Have fun in your circle jerk.

Hmmmm.. Would that be like when Russia got the bomb (and son of bomb), China got the bomb (and S.o.B.), when France got it, Britain got it, Pakistan and India and Israel and South Africa (briefly) got their own.. .who have I missed?

How about the Great Depression in the 1930's? Or the one before that in the late 1800's?

Or when the Tulip bubble burst back in the .. 1600's? .. in Holland?

These things are cyclic.

I also mentioned that churchgoers are suckers - let's just back that up with a couple of examples, too.

Jonestown, Falwell, Heaven's Gate, the Bakers... pretty much everyone who either has their snout in the trough, or cons their followers into mass suicide, or both.

Either way - enjoy your berm-building.

[quarky]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/25/north-korea-hiroshima-nuclear-test

I think I am done with this elitist forum. Have fun in your circle jerk.

Yeah, I'm pissed too. I never come in the JREF circle jerks. Its always wankus interruptus.

(dumb-ass elitists)

[learner]

Yeah, because Wall Street is full of the morally upright.......


Yeah, because the church is full of the morally upright ??


* learner goes back to reading news article about the catholic church in ireland and its morally disgraceful...........*

[timhau]

* learner goes back to reading news article about the catholic church in ireland and its morally disgraceful...........*

Those choir boys were all shameless flirts, I tell ya.

[timhau]

Could someone explain the strong correlation between religious/armageddon/conspiracy/endofdays nuts and gold?

Because it's GOLD, you moron! GOLD!! Shiny stuff that has inherent value! And when society collapses, inherent value is all there's left! Furthermore, when the clock is half past armageddon and things look really very bad, junior can go without food for a couple of days but if you don't have GOLD, then you ... well, you don't have GOLD! And boy, you'll be really screwed and we'll all wave our GOLD ingots at you and laugh! If we have the energy, that is.

[Dr Adequate]

Probably sit on it for a while. I'd roll about in it for a while.

Also I might hump it.

[Dr Adequate]

Gold has been an accepted form of currency since civilization began, I have great faith that there will always be value in it. A loaf of bread MIGHT be more valuable to some, but anyone that values it that highly will likely have nothing of value to trade for it. Well, that depends. They might, for example, be one of those idiots who prepares for the collapse of civilization by stocking up on gold.

In that case, you could swap your bread for their gold. Whether or not you would be getting something of value depends on how much you value inedible shiny rocks.

[quarky]

Actually, doc, some folks seem to be ingesting a bit of gold these days, in certain drinks and chocolates.

(Humping gold, however, is very wrong.)

[applecorped]

Businessman Angelito Araneta Jr, 21, commissioned his catering service to create a chocolate cake topped with 15 African diamonds and covered with 24-karat gold leaf.


http://forums.randi.org/picture.php?albumid=120&pictureid=1125

[corplinx]

"It gets dug out of the ground in Africa or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility."
--Warren Buffet

GOLD has been used as a snake oil pitch for the past decade with heavy, heavy pumping from many companies. As such, in the decade since Buffet made that statement, GOLD has actually outperformed Berkshire Hathaway. Watch CNBC for an hour sometime, you'll see commercials about GOLD.

At some point, I expect a correction in GOLD prices. Until then I expect more radio ads, TV ads, etc pumping shiny metal.

[BenBurch]

On the OP;

1. Pay off my mortgage. (I literally have no other debt)

2. Hire a crew to remodel this house.

3. Paris

4. The rest I would invest in a really diverse portfolio of carefully-chosen energy stocks, and hope to live off the dividends when possible.

[Matthew Best]

I'd seriously consider burning it, to taste the thought.

It's been done. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Foundation_Burn_a_Million_Quid)

[applecorped]

3. Paris




Hilton?

[applecorped]

It's been done. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Foundation_Burn_a_Million_Quid)


:jaw-dropp:jaw-dropp:jaw-dropp:jaw-dropp:jaw-dropp:jaw-dropp:jaw-dropp:jaw-dropp:(

[Matthew Best]

Hey, it was art!

[applecorped]

Hey, it was art!

It isn't any more!! Dumbasses!

[BTMO]

It was described by one of their colleagues as an "intellectual dry-wank".

Personally, I agree with him.

[blutoski]

Because it's GOLD, you moron! GOLD!! Shiny stuff that has inherent value! And when society collapses, inherent value is all there's left! Furthermore, when the clock is half past armageddon and things look really very bad, junior can go without food for a couple of days but if you don't have GOLD, then you ... well, you don't have GOLD! And boy, you'll be really screwed and we'll all wave our GOLD ingots at you and laugh! If we have the energy, that is.

I always think about Gilligan's Island as a metaphor for post-apocalptic economies.

The only ones with anythig to trade were Marianne and Ginger, if you know what I'm saying.

I don't care how much gold Mrs. Howell has - she's not getting any of my mangos.

[BTMO]

And the Professor.

He could build *anything* from cocoanut palms and bits of seashell.

He could have run that place, and Maryanne and Ginger would have been his...

[applecorped]

assistants?

[BTMO]

Well, I was going to say rent girls - but I changed my mind.

[Bodhi Dharma Zen]

Trade it with my Tradestation :D duplicate it in a couple of years.

[kallsop]

To paraphrase an old Benny Hill joke, I'd spend $999,000 on sex, drugs and rock and roll, then just waste the rest :)

[mhaze]

"It gets dug out of the ground in Africa or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility."
--Warren Buffet

GOLD has been used as a snake oil pitch for the past decade with heavy, heavy pumping from many companies. As such, in the decade since Buffet made that statement, GOLD has actually outperformed Berkshire Hathaway. Watch CNBC for an hour sometime, you'll see commercials about GOLD.

At some point, I expect a correction in GOLD prices. Until then I expect more radio ads, TV ads, etc pumping shiny metal.Yes, some sort of correction in GOLD is definitely in order. Perhaps it should get in line and behave with the other commodity metals? Now what would that mean regarding past and future pricing?

[Ikarus]

It's been done. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Foundation_Burn_a_Million_Quid)

I kinda knew my suggestion was TOO obvious, but I felt it needed to be said, so the fresh ideas could keep rolling. :rolleyes:

[GreyICE]

Design and build a sustainable house that really follows some of the principals I espouse, LEED Gold would be a minimum goal, hire live in help for my relatives who are facing a nursing home without it, get a really nice car, invest some.

[Stacy Head]

Tomorrow is never certain, I would make a mad dash to some island, take all my friends, and blow it all. The moral of the story, it's a good thing to be my friend.
;)

[applecorped]

Tomorrow is never certain, I would make a mad dash to some island, take all my friends, and blow it all. The moral of the story, it's a good thing to be my friend.
;)

Hi friend! :)

[boloboffin]

http://www.donorschoose.org