The fifteenth billionaire signed on to contribute a billion dollars annually to a global mutual income association known as The External Revenue Service. The ERS has tied these contributions to a more aggressive Giving Pledge, as it has become fashionable for billionaires to attempt to live on $100,000 USD per year. The $100k game includes non-monetary exchanges that would be worth millions of dollars if they were traded (wine gifts and stays at others’ houses), but the demotion of lavish spending has opened the door to huge donations, as the expectation of wealth drain from consumption diminishes.
Beyond the psychology of the super-rich, there has been a massive movement of high, middle, and low income earners to contribute to the ERS’s redistributive pool. Anyone who contributes 15% of their income and .1% of their net worth on a monthly basis receives an equal distribution, from those in dire poverty contributing almost or actually nothing to those putting in over ten figures every thirty days. With an extraordinary $10 billion in monthly contributions and approximately a million members, the ERS is sending everyone $1000 per month.
According to the ERS, there are millions of people on a wait list to join the association, and every time a new Giving Pledger joins, thousands more can be admitted. A spokesperson said, “We are hoping to approach $5000 per month in income for our members and continue to invest in strengthening our legal framework such that members’ tax burdens are minimized.”
Several governments have spoken out against the program, concerned about the impact on monetary policy and economic output, in addition to their limited ability to earn revenue from the scheme, which is run in a way similar to the hedge funds that many of their policies were designed to protect from taxes. It remains to be seen if this is the beginning of the end of money as a key differentiator between people or just another experiment destined to fall prey to avaricious human instincts.
Roman Ryan 