ReesClark.com
Momentum
Tr*mp and the Bahamas
Trump supporters have been praising the president for having donated $1 million to "the Bahamas relief fund" (whatever that is, no specific reference found). If true, we say good for him.)

But note that is 0.01% of the $10bn net worth he has (probably falsely) claimed in the past, which equates to $8.60 from a 2019 estimate of the average household's $86,000 net worth.

In terms of income, assume he is earning 10% on invested capital of the $10bn. One day's income is $2,739,726.02. One million dollars could easily and of course hypothetically be recouped by, say, stiffing some contractor or understating income on a tax return while overstating the same income on a loan application.

Unfortunately, The Donald is under audit and cannot show anyone the receipt.

If instead we were to participate in an international disaster relief fund that collected $1/year from the top 20% of world citizens, that fund would have in ten years $15.4bn. Invested conservatively at 3% per annum, it would earn about $450,000, which could—if matched by savings and insurance of affected countries—come close to funding relief for a Dorian-sized disaster every year.

If each US household donated the $8.60 mentioned before, we could fully fund the disaster relief organization in only a couple of years. If this were a truly international effort, the contributions should be adjusted to local incomes, and the fund should be administered by an international body of experts not under political control. Might Americans pay more than others? Probably, but I'd feel pretty good about that, wouldn't you?

Of course, we'd still be on the hook in case of a multiple disaster as happened a few years ago with multiple hurricanes in short order. None of this would reduce the emotional pain felt by direct victims, but we could be responding in hours, not days, as the funding would be less of an issue.

Within such an organized approach to recurrent disasters, we could just do the needed repairs, care for the injured and get on with life. Showy donations that seem large to the average person would not be necessary and might even seem a bit like conspicuous consumption.

Sign in to post a comment!