CHA CHING

(sorry for the late post today boys and girls)

So the billionaires boys club has stepped up, and stepped up large. God I love when there is a positive news story once in awhile. Anyway, a group of the world's most renowned billionaires: Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, George Lucas, Ted Turner, etc. have banded together to start what is called 'The Giving Pledge.' In short, they have collectively agreed to give away half their net worth to charity. Not to their kids, not to an offshore account, or some dodgy man in Switzerland named Hans Muller who knows how to funnel things into untraceable places, but actually to charity. We are talking billions of dollars to those who need it.

Firstly, how nice would it be to be a member of this club?? Not even for the money - okay, I lie like a freakin rug, the money would be nice, more than nice. The money would be a total and utter head spin - in fact, I don't think I could handle it. I get giddy when I my tax refund is over four hundred bucks. I think a billion dollars would be a one way ticket to the jello ward.

I think the bigger thrill - for me anyway - would be the giving away of a chunk of money this size and figuring out where you would like it to go. Just imagine the possibilities, the amount of lives you could affect, be it personally one to one, or through science, charitable institutions, education, you name it. Hell, you could put a small country on the right track with a billion dollars. You could put our own country on the right track with that sort of cash! You could be flippin Oprah and buy the entire state of California new cars!

I wonder what your average day would be like knowing that you could walk into any store and not only buy all the contents, but buy the building as well, hell the street, the town, the city...sorry, I can't contain myself. [I haven't left the house today, I'm like a labrador that needs a good run!] Imagine your morning coffee run, 'I'll take 300 lattes please for the entire block, and two blueberry muffins. I'm feeling generous today.' Not only that, but merely watching the news would make you feel powerful. You'd come across stories of people losing their homes, or needing operations, or floods destroying all their possessions, and in one dial of a telephone you could solve a multitude of problems a billion times over. Okay fine, you'd have to be philanthropic at heart, and I'm sure there are a few out there who are not. But, I'm hoping that if one is a billionaire, they realize they have a lot of extra cash to spread around. Damn it, it's your duty if you're that rich (yes, yes, it's the socialist in me rearing it's fair and just head). 

Suddenly Star Wars and Hans Solo look altogether more profound now that ol' Georgie Boy has agreed to cough up half his worth.