It started innocently enough.
Doomscrolling.
A random meme.
Elon Musk proposes an app where strangers list their bills/debts and bored billionaires can swipe right and pay them.
Bonk! Bonk! Bonk—System failure—Bonk! Bonk!
My brain has just gone sideways and opened 48 tabs simultaneously.
Wait, you’re saying my mortgage could disappear? Don’t overthink this.
It could change lives. Some folks could really benefit from a helping hand.
It's exploitative. Who wants their personal life up for the entertainment of a swipe right?
It's an innovative form of giving. This is a stretch. Billionaires who WANT to be charitable already choose to be.
It's a privacy nightmare. Sure, sink more personal information into a black hole.
People deserve help without being judged. Lump in discrimination and the power of a good sob story here. Oh yeah, add potential fraud to the list.
Donors have every right to choose where their money goes. They already have that right. This is nothing new.
It could encourage terrible financial behavior. Just like a gambler, some believe their lucky break is one right swipe away.
Who cares why the billionaire does it if someone's mortgage gets paid? Sure, I mean IF there is malevolent mischief down the line, you can handle it because the mortgage stress is gone.
But what happens when human dignity becomes entertainment? Hunger Games, anyone?
What about the homeless or mentally ill who have no access to compete? Interesting that perhaps those with the biggest need are not even in the competition.
What about unintended consequences? I’m envisioning changes to tax laws where the tax on gifts becomes the onus of the receiver.
I always say that choice is better than no choice, but the abundance of possibilities here is overwhelming to me. Especially when I see many of them ending badly.
Walk away.
Don’t say a word.
Just walk away from the computer.
