If I Had A Million Dollars

John Oliver is smarter than I am.

In fairness, he has a team of writers and lawyers backing him up, as well as the budget of a growing HBO show. But he did something really amazing yesterday: He forgave nearly $15 million in medical debt, and he only used about $60,000.

There were two things that let him buy the debt so cheaply: One, it was charged-off debt being resold to collection agencies, which is nearly always pennies on the dollar, and two, it was past the date of possible legal collection, which meant that the debtor could no longer be sued in order to collect. (This doesn't make what he did any less significant, because had that same expired debt been sold to a 'normal' collections agency, that agency would have harangued the people on their list and avoided telling them that they couldn't be sued, and most of them would have ended up paying anyway.)

And John Oliver just forgave that debt. $15 million, that people owed just because they needed medical care and America thinks medical care is a luxury best left to the free market.

I wish I'd thought of that.

Not that I have $60,000 lying around. And I never will. I've never exactly been rich, and at times I've been financially what you might call "in serious distress." (After all, I graduated high school just in time for the economy to hit a brick wall face-first.) Even if I had more than enough money, though, I wouldn't. Anything I don't need for my acceptably comfortable existence goes straight to someone who needs something. It's the case now, with GoFundMe donations and the occasional Western Union to friends, and it will still be the case if I make a million dollars a year. If I ever get famous, you can quote me on this. I will not forget what it was like to sleep under someone's kitchen table or take two fistfuls of free saltines from the deli to go with my one meal for the day.

So what would I do if I had a million dollars?

I would buy a large rental property and change any tenant without a violent history just enough to pay taxes and maintenance, so that more people could live without fear of eviction, maybe even save up to be homeowners (not a thing my generation can often even consider.)

I would set up a non-profit that helps people with burial expenses for the death of loved ones, including pets, because no one should ever have to choose between groceries and taking care of their lost family.

I would dump considerably more into crowdfunded projects like Crash Course, Sci Show, Sexplanations, Minute Earth, and The Brain Scoop, so that quality accessible education can be free.

What would you do?

And equally important, what could you be doing now?

Keep it in mind.

Ms. Marvel, by G. Willow Wilson

#doinggood #johnoliver #donations #philanthropy