What does wealth look like to you?
Is it one hundred dollars?
A thousand dollars?
A million dollars?
We can always go higher.
In today's world, the richest 1% of the population
owns almost half of the world's wealth.
Well, let's level the playing field and see what we get.
This is 'What If,'
and here's what would happen if money was distributed equally.
That's more money than most countries produce in goods and services every year!
After the 2008 financial crisis,
and the Occupy Wall St. Movement,
you're probably aware that wealth distribution in the world, is, well...
And studies show that the divide is only getting bigger.
But, what if we took all the world's cash, investments, assets, et cetera,
sold them, and gave every person in the world an equal share?
We can wage a war on poverty, but,
If you liquidated all of the world's productive assets
and combined them with all the money in the global economy,
you'd be looking at a huge pile of cash.
Roughly $250 trillion US dollars.
In fact, that's so much money,
that if you stacked that $250 trillion in 100 dollar bills,
it would stretch more than half way to the moon!
Take $250 trillion
and divide it between the current world population of 7.7 billion,
The equal distribution of the world's wealth
would certainly give a lot of people a much needed leg-up.
Those living in extreme poverty and lower-income households
could afford more food, water, clothing, shelter,
and other necessities that some of us take for granted.
In a world of 7.7 billion people who are motivated by different things,
and who have different skillsets, maybe not long at all.
The first big hurdle would be financial education.
In order to keep relative wealth equality,
people would have to be smart with their money.
Now, that doesn't mean cut out
all entertainment and stick to the bare necessities,
all entertainment and stick to the bare necessities, but, don't do this...
but, don't do this...
We also have to wonder what would happen
to the quality of goods and services in a world where everyone makes the same,
and there's no incentive to innovate or work harder.
Without strict regulations, you can imagine how
this egalitarian society could revert to one very much like our own.
The world is full of entrepreneurs,
people who are looking to make a buck,
or simply want to make a positive contribution to society.
You can see how these people might
invest their share of the world's loot into new ideas.
They could convince others that the product of their ideas is worth paying for.
And if enough people buy into it, once again,
the market will give rise to millionaires, billionaires, and huge corporations.
In short, some people will use their share to become very rich,
while others may fall back into poverty due to lack of education,
or unforseen circumstances like an illness, or a natural disaster.
But despite a resurgence of an economic divide,
there's still hope in this scenario.
Universal basic income projects have been tested around the world
to generally favorable results.
While some studies revealed that,
when guaranteed a lump sum of money every year, work effort decreased,
they also showed that universal basic income
increased school attendance,
reduced medical costs in mental health cases,
and was not squandered on luxury goods.
Universal basic income isn't a new idea,
but we're still learning how to make it work effectively.
Naturally, a perfect world, where everyone has the same amount of money isn't feasible;
but that doesn't mean we can't
ensure everyone gets enough food, water, clothing, and shelter.
If you want more than that, you're gonna have to work for it.
Learn how to be smart with your money,
manage it well, live within your means,
and keep an eye out for good opportunities.
Are you waiting for that billion dollar idea to pop into your head?
It won't come on it's own;
but it might help if you start by asking yourself, "What If?"