This diary was inspired by NBBooks' comment in Webranding's diary, "A Conversation with my Rich Republican Father." NBBooks suggested that a good way to spend a windfall would be to buy a progressive TV station, radio station, and newspaper so as to purvey the truth rather than propaganda.
Don't we all have lottery dreams? One of mine is buying some land to create a sustainable Pagan community that would grow cereal grains, vegetables, and fruit. Another is the idea of an apartment hotel for the homeless, which I'll describe after the squiggle. What are YOUR lottery dreams? What would you do with the money? It would be interesting to hear from this community. I'll bet there would be some dazzling and far-ranging projects!
I entered the following piece in a Washington Post columnist's contest for ideas for job creation. Naturally, it never came to anything, but perhaps you'll find it interesting.
This is my idea for a job-creating variation of the Swedish Apartment Hotel.
A building suitable for conversion to multiple apartments would be bought in a neighborhood with access to public transportation—Metro, bus service, and bike lanes.
Studio apartments would constitute most of the living space, with some units set aside for two- and three-bedroom apartments, with ground floor apartments for the physically challenged (wheelchair bound).
However, most of the ground floor would consist of services: the management office (including HVAC and janitorial services); Food Central; the coffee shop; the computer room; the video game room; library and writing room; the day care facility; the laundromat; and landscaping. There would be a front desk for Security and the concierge.
Each studio apartment would consist of a sleeping area, living area, and eating area. Each apartment would have a bathroom and galley kitchen, PLUS a dumbwaiter for Food Central.
These apartments would be simply furnished with a bed, chest of drawers or dresser with a mirror, and nightstand in the bedroom; sofa, coffee table, armchair, and TV in the living area; and a table with four chairs in the eating area. The galley kitchen would contain a microwave, small oven with cooktop, sink, and small fridge.
Food Central, operating from the ground floor, would prepare meals for the residents and send them up by dumbwaiter. (Residents in ground floor apartments occupied by the wheelchair-bound, would eat lunch and dinner in the coffee shop.) For the sake of simplicity, only lunches and dinners would be prepared and distributed by Food Central. Residents can get their own breakfasts as this is not an elaborate meal.
All residents (formerly homeless) would have to sign a contract to be clean, sober, and productive. Here’s how it would work.
Almost everyone has some kind of talent for something. Food banks and other entities that serve the homeless have discovered that willing, able-bodied adults can be trained in food preparation and cooking: thus there will be jobs for residents who desire such training.
The idea is that each resident would be able to live at the apartment-hotel for up to three years. This is long enough to establish a good record for the most important attributes of employment—showing up on time, showing up consistently, and being productive.
Residents would have to pledge to remain drug-, alcohol- and tobacco-free for the duration of their residence. Any mind-altering substances or tobacco found in their apartments will disqualify them from eligibility to remain at the apartment.
There are persons who are neither willing nor able to cook for themselves or do their own laundry and cleaning. These would be the consumers of Food Central and the laundromat and janitorial services. Of course, they’d have to pay extra for this.
I envision the residents earning “credits”--say each “credit” would be worth $1. Each resident, after passing the eligibility interview, would be invited to work in one of the aforementioned services.
However, even if someone—say a wheelchair-bound grandmother—is unable to work in the office, library/reading room, or coffee shop, there are other things she might do. If articulate, literate, and pleasant, she could be a concierge. Loving grandmas are always needed in the infant portion of the day care to cuddle and kiss the babies. Or she could sit in the coffee shop, crocheting and dispensing the kind of common-sense, motherly advice that comes from a lifetime of experience.
Residents would have the goal of looking for an outside job after two or two and a half years. Once employed, their goal would be to accumulate savings for the first and last month’s rent for an outside apartment, plus a security deposit and one month’s operating expenses. At the end of two-and-a-half or three years, residents in good standing would be allowed to take all their furniture with them to their new place. (This would create a demand for more furniture, thereby resulting in jobs.)
The coffee shop would have a TV (not on all the time) and would of course serve coffee, tea, and healthful snacks. The ground floor residents could eat there. Others would drop in to say hello. A coffee shop would foster a feeling of community.
The more computer-savvy residents could superintend the computer room. This would be open for people doing homework and other quiet activities. The library/reading room would be a quiet place, very pleasant, with comfortable chairs, good lighting, and perhaps carrels for writing letters by hand. The video game room would be for youngsters.
Women with children can’t work unless they have day care, so a day care facility would be needed. Able-bodied men might wish to work outside as landscapers or inside as cleaners. Weekly or monthly cleaning services could be offered to the residents, but this of course would cost “credits” that would be subtracted from the monthly accumulation.
As the success of the apartment-hotel becomes established, perhaps other services could be added, to wit:
A shuttle bus to transport residents to jobs inaccessible by Metro or bus, AND to community college at night. Women do not like to venture out after dark alone.
A separate building containing a basketball court (for indoor winter sports) plus an exercise room for Pilates, yoga, and aerobics, and space for a supervised “homework club” for older children.
A garden plot where vegetables, herbs, and flowers could be grown. Vegetables and herbs would go to Food Central, of course; and flowers for the front desk, coffee shop, management office, and other rooms.
Many jobs would be created in this way. Admittedly, it would be some time before such an enterprise could become self-sustaining, but it would certainly be worthwhile.