Forum Post: Could a giant paycheck ever cause the fall of modern society? Yes. This is one possibility.

Is greed really good? 

Doctor discovers cure and prevention of AIDS. Sells discovery for $5,000,000,000,000. Same doctor discovers cure and prevention of heart disease. Sells discovery for another $5,000,000,000,000. Same doctor discovers cure and prevention of Alzheimer. Sells discovery for another $1,000,000,000,000. Breast cancer. Brain cancer. Skin cancer. Bone cancer. Colon cancer. Pancreatic cancer. Cervical cancer. Ovarian cancer. Testicular cancer. Banks cover all related investments by the health care industry. Nobody stops to consider that the lower 99 percent combined could never afford such expensive cures. The richest one percent agree to purchase the bulk of material assets along with millions of unsold homes for ten percent of market value. After a two year spike in revenue, the health care industry tanks. The vast majority have gone bankrupt in a desperate attempt to cover those incredibly expensive cures. The profits made in the first two years were nowhere near enough to covering the $20,000,000,000,000 doctor payoff. The largest debts in world history go unpaid. All major banks fail miserably. Followed by every major industry. Unemployment spikes to 90 percent in all of the G20. The global economy tanks. Chaos breaks out worldwide. Meanwhile, the richest man in the world by far, buys an island and hires a small army to protect his $20,000,000,000,000 fortune. 5000 jobs are created. More as the richest one percent worldwide hire additional security. Unemployment drops to 80 percent across the developed world. Widespread chaos remains. Entire cities burn to the ground. The masses finally converge on the richest one percent in every corner of the world. As the bodies pile up, disease breaks out worldwide. When the dust settles, and the bodies rot away, only a few hundred million remain worldwide. Those few hundred million survivors must find a way to get along and rebuild. Hopefully, with a more reliable and ethical system of economics.       

The answer is hell no. Greed kills..

I'll tell you what is really scary. This is already happening on a much smaller scale. That scale is growing. Unemployment in America is already at nine percent. The richest one percent already own nearly 1/2 of all United States wealth. Still, they get richer and richer and richer. Every major city is already riddled with gang activity. Still, the rich keep getting richer. The richest 500 people are already worth two trillion. That's a record high. Still, they get richer and richer and richer. There have already been riots around the world. People desperate for jobs and a lower cost of living. Still, the rich keep getting richer. There is no visible light at the end of the tunnel. Still, the rich get richer. We're screwed. Send a 'thank you' note to your favorite multi-millionaire. Greed kills.

Don't break any laws.