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Would you do 10 years in Prison for a Million Dollars?

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Originally posted by: dullard
I'd rather work and earn $100,000 a year than be imprisoned for $100,000 a year. Your numbers make the decision so obvious. Even if it had to be 2 jobs (16 hours a day), you'll be better off than 24 hours a day in jail.
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You are ignoring how much of that 100,000 you'd consume on living your life. At best, you'd be putting half of it in savings, but I seriously doubt that anyone make 100k does that. So, you'd probably be putting away 20k at the most, and it wouldn't be anywhere near 1 million -- especially if invested for you over the 10 years. The logical flaw is that making 100k doesn't really mean you are making that. As a ward of the "state" so to speak, your prison care is free. You don't pay a dime...
 
Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Originally posted by: Mill
Alright - let me add a caveat, then. The money is invested for you by top advisors once you enter the prison. That is 1 million dollars compounded annually by whatever the rate of return is.
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So if they average 8% you're still looking at barely over $2 mil.

Still not worth it.

Viper GTS
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So you value your freedom, then? That's what I was getting at, and many of you agreed - money, a lifestyle, etc isn't anything if you don't have you freedom - even if it is only temporarily taken away from you. So, if 2 million wouldn't make it worth it to you, how should we compensate those that were wrongly imprisoned?
 
Originally posted by: Mill
Originally posted by: dullard
I'd rather work and earn $100,000 a year than be imprisoned for $100,000 a year. Your numbers make the decision so obvious. Even if it had to be 2 jobs (16 hours a day), you'll be better off than 24 hours a day in jail.
Click to expand...

You are ignoring how much of that 100,000 you'd consume on living your life. At best, you'd be putting half of it in savings, but I seriously doubt that anyone make 100k does that. So, you'd probably be putting away 20k at the most, and it wouldn't be anywhere near 1 million -- especially if invested for you over the 10 years. The logical flaw is that making 100k doesn't really mean you are making that. As a ward of the "state" so to speak, your prison care is free. You don't pay a dime...
Click to expand...


The reason you aren't saving half is because you aren't living a prison lifestyle. If you just subsisted on prison grade food and prison cell sized apartment, you can probably save 90% of your 100k while still having the freedom to move about, etc...
 
Originally posted by: Mill
You are ignoring how much of that 100,000 you'd consume on living your life.
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But you get stuff back for the money you spent. I pay $0.49 to rent a movie for 5 days. In return I get $0.49 worth of entertainment. Yes the money is gone, but the memories will be with me forever. About 1/3rd of the money I spend is on housing - money that is essentially taking money from my left pocket and putting it in my right pocket. When I sell my house I get a lot of that back. Plus if the house goes up in value, I'm earning money that way as well.

I was under the impression that prisoners had to buy their luxuries. If that is true, then no you don't live for free in prison.
 
Originally posted by: amoeba
Originally posted by: Mill
Originally posted by: dullard
I'd rather work and earn $100,000 a year than be imprisoned for $100,000 a year. Your numbers make the decision so obvious. Even if it had to be 2 jobs (16 hours a day), you'll be better off than 24 hours a day in jail.
Click to expand...

You are ignoring how much of that 100,000 you'd consume on living your life. At best, you'd be putting half of it in savings, but I seriously doubt that anyone make 100k does that. So, you'd probably be putting away 20k at the most, and it wouldn't be anywhere near 1 million -- especially if invested for you over the 10 years. The logical flaw is that making 100k doesn't really mean you are making that. As a ward of the "state" so to speak, your prison care is free. You don't pay a dime...
Click to expand...


The reason you aren't saving half is because you aren't living a prison lifestyle. If you just subsisted on prison grade food and prison cell sized apartment, you can probably save 90% of your 100k while still having the freedom to move about, etc...
Click to expand...

But that's what I'm getting at, I'm wondering how much people value their freedom. In a society in which we are quick to say "There ought to be a law" or "Let's jail people 30 years for marijuana" I wanted to see how much people value their freedom. Obviously, we place a high amount of value on it, so why are we so inclined to take other's freedom away? Whether it comes from heavily legislating public areas such as parks, lakes, etc or from the numerous victimless crimes we've created and jailed people for.
 
It's tempting.

You'd get to know people... you'd get a lot of idle time. It would be a very beneficial experience for many people. If you've got a nice life making a good deal of money, and you've got all the friends you need, and don't want any drastic life changes... then I don't see any reason why you'd want to. But if you're unemployed and bored with life, then why not? I'd do it if circumstances were right... but I'd want my fellow inmates to also be in there for the money too.
 
Originally posted by: dullard
Originally posted by: Actaeon
Invest the rest in stocks? Buy my own franchise?
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My comments from another thread:
Many people who suddently get $1 million do something like this:
They quit their job, buy a $500k house, blow $200k immediately for fun or debts, and then invest the $300k that is left. Well the $300k that is left will only net you maybe $11k a year with good investments. How many people here can live on $11k a year even if there was no mortgage? Not many. Especially when you think the property tax on that house is probably $8k-$10k. That leaves this "millionaire" with $1000 to $3000 a year to live on. Bankruptcy soon follows.
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You make a good point, but I wouldn't put myself in that position. I couldn't see blowing $500k on a house alone, and I really couldn't see myself throwing $200k into "fun". I don't have any debts right now either.

I'd spend maybe $150-200k for a house (nothing too fancy, in FL, its not as expensive compared to other places), spend my $75k on my Corvette. That'll leave me with about $700k to mess around with to invest, I am sure something would get done with that cash. If I was bored enough, I would get a part time job.

You made a very good point, but I just don't think I would blow that much money, that quickly. I am sure something would get done with that $700k, wether I am buying a franchise (food), invest in stocks, or just put it into interest in a bank account.

Meanwhile Mill's latest offer is even more inticing. Interest = good!
 
I don't get your reasoning, Mill. Because we value our freedom so much, that is why we make the taking away of freedom a punishment.

Shouldn't it be much more a deterrent if people really value their freedom?

 
Originally posted by: Mill
But that's what I'm getting at, I'm wondering how much people value their freedom...."Let's jail people 30 years for marijuana"
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It varies from person to person. Lets take your marijuana example (30 does seem high, but I'll use it). I personally value my freedom and would do nearly anything to avoid that 30 years in jail. Others would gladly smoke it and risk suffering for 30 years. They obviously don't value their freedom as much as me.

 
$10,000,000 min. There is no way I would do it for a million. Hell, just start a business (any business) and if it works you can easily be worth a million in a decade. Even if your first one fails, there is plenty of time to try a few more and make the cut off. I guess if you are really lazy, it might be worth it.

But, a million is not that much money these days.
 
Originally posted by: Mill
Alright - let me add a caveat, then. The money is invested for you by top advisors once you enter the prison. That is 1 million dollars compounded annually by whatever the rate of return is.
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Still an emphatic no fscking way. At best, that might be 3 million by the time you got out. If I went back to working hard instead of just fscking off like I do now, I wouldn't be that far behind that 3 million and I'd have had the freedom to live my life in between the working hours.

Now, a million a year, I might actually go for something like that. The trade off might be worth it.

 
Originally posted by: amoeba
I don't get your reasoning, Mill. Because we value our freedom so much, that is why we make the taking away of freedom a punishment.

Shouldn't it be much more a deterrent if people really value their freedom?
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My reasoning is *why* are we so quick in taking away freedom, instead of actually sitting back and realizing what we are doing. Does jailing someone for prostitution help me any more than it harms me? Likely not. My argument, is that people value THEIR freedom, but are quick to take away the freedom of another. Why is that?
 
After ten years in prison, you would need a million dollars in plastic surgery to reconstruct your asshole 😉

Ausm
 
hell no

1. can't spend any real time with your family
2. no women
3. no privacy

i think i'd rather lose all of my possessions right now and be homeless than go to prison for 10 years earning a million dollars

10 million IMO is a more reasonable number but i still probably wouldn't go for that

cuz ten years me being 22 right now

22-32 i would feel like i have missed out on a whole lot
 
Originally posted by: Actaeon
You make a good point, but I wouldn't put myself in that position. I couldn't see blowing $500k on a house alone, and I really couldn't see myself throwing $200k into "fun". I don't have any debts right now either.
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The original comments were from a lottery winner thread. These people are hounded 24 hours a day from long lost relatives begging for money. That easilly eats up that "fun" money. And yes you can live cheaper elsewhere. I just took an easy number to play with. With $700k you can likely expect to earn maybe $25k a year with really good stock investments (as for the franchinse you could lose it all or make a lot more). $25k is still small, but yes it is quite livable if you already have a house and nice car.

Inflation would eventually eat you up. After 10 years, that $25k would now be worth just $19k (I'm assuming 3% inflation for this thread). After 30 years, that $25k is worth $11k. After 50 years (age 29 + 50 = 79), it is worth $6k a year in todays dollars. That is when you will likely have tons of medical bills and nearly no social security since you haven't been paying in over the years.

 
Life is a prison either way, on one hand your confined by solid bars and the other is being at work, stuck in traffic, bills, car payments etc etc.
At least in the prison of 9-5 I can see my wife at the end of the day. I'll take my prison in the office, not the cell please.
 
Originally posted by: dullard
Originally posted by: Mill
But that's what I'm getting at, I'm wondering how much people value their freedom...."Let's jail people 30 years for marijuana"
Click to expand...
It varies from person to person. Lets take your marijuana example (30 does seem high, but I'll use it). I personally value my freedom and would do nearly anything to avoid that 30 years in jail. Others would gladly smoke it and risk suffering for 30 years. They obviously don't value their freedom as much as me.
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Or you could say they use their freedom more, because they are willing to do something even if it is against the law. It is the argument of whether something be against the law means it is right/wrong or if we should have so many laws. This isn't an argument about legalization or anything, I'm making a point that we are quick to invent new laws and ways to restrict the freedom of others, even when in the end it restricts our own freedom.

No one would vote to have their car's radio purposely limited above a certain volume, but people would vote to make it illegal above a certain volume. Why the difference? It is essentially the same thing(throwing out the argument about private places, highways, etc) except the person is counting on the law not being applicable to them. When people cry for laws or vote for them, they never think it applies to them. They are trying to "get" the other people. We've gotten into this puppet game of controlling other people's live - whether it be due to our own lack of personal responsability, or because we are just negative tormented people.
 
Here's another thought: What if you were allowed the freedom to visit family, live in your own house, good meals, TV, etc, but at any time a person or a group of people could control what you get to do. Most of the time you'd be free to do what you want, but one of so many selected people could come along and force you to do something different. Nothing bad like eat sh!t or sexual acts or anything, but I'll give an example. Let's say you want OJ and a poptart for Breakfast, but instead they require you to have Oat Bran and a Banana. Would you lose that amount of control for 10 years for a million dollars? You'd still have most of your freedoms, but they'd be subjected to change on a moment's notice, albeit on an occasional basis.
 
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