Covert Career Funding for Your Child: Ethical or Not?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the ethical implications of covertly funding a child's career to create the illusion that they have earned their success independently. Participants explore various methods of financial support and the potential consequences of such actions on the child's perception of self-achievement and reality.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant poses a hypothetical scenario about using lottery winnings to ensure a child's employment and happiness while maintaining the illusion of independence.
  • Another participant suggests that faking investment earnings would be unethical and impractical, as the child would likely notice discrepancies in their financial progress.
  • A different viewpoint proposes creating a job or research position for the child that aligns with their qualifications, making the support appear legitimate.
  • Some participants discuss the possibility of using a trust fund with conditions to manage the child's financial support while maintaining a semblance of independence.
  • Concerns are raised about the feasibility of creating a "fantasy world" for the child, questioning the practicality of such an approach without isolating the child from reality.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing opinions on the ethics and practicality of covertly funding a child's career. There is no consensus on whether such actions could be justified or how they might be effectively implemented.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the complexities of maintaining the illusion of independence for the child, noting potential social interactions that could undermine the intended deception. The discussion remains speculative regarding the ethical ramifications of these actions.

brainstorm
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This is a hypothetical question: let's say I win the lottery and I want to use the money to make sure my child is always employed and happy. Is there a way for me to transfer the money to the child in a way that they think they earned it on their own as if it were any other kind of investment spending in the economy? Also, if someone would actually do this without telling their child, and the person believed that they were living their own life independently of their parents' wealth, would this be ethical?
 
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Heh, if you somehow could get a broker or accountant to put their livelihood on the line (I'm sure this is a crime), you could fake earnings from the kids investments. Although the kid would have to grow up to be an extraordinarily naive person to let this happen since anyone making any investments will want to see their progress and be able to see its a sham when his mutual fund went up 20% on his balance sheet while any stock quote site will say otherwise.
 
Pengwuino said:
Heh, if you somehow could get a broker or accountant to put their livelihood on the line (I'm sure this is a crime), you could fake earnings from the kids investments. Although the kid would have to grow up to be an extraordinarily naive person to let this happen since anyone making any investments will want to see their progress and be able to see its a sham when his mutual fund went up 20% on his balance sheet while any stock quote site will say otherwise.

What about creating a job at a company? Or even a research position in an academic institution where the kid "fits in?" I'm thinking there's any number of jobs that the kid could be reasonably qualified for enough to make it believable to everyone involved.
 
It would probably be better to do this through a trust fund with conditions on the receipt of money. Otherwise, if one had interest in a company, such as being a director, one could conceiveably direct some research or funding involving one's child.
 
Astronuc said:
It would probably be better to do this through a trust fund with conditions on the receipt of money. Otherwise, if one had interest in a company, such as being a director, one could conceiveably direct some research or funding involving one's child.
That makes sense, but it is more overt than I was thinking. I'm thinking about someone who really wants to make their kid think everything they achieved was totally on their own. . . in order to re-enforce self-esteem you know.
 
brainstorm said:
That makes sense, but it is more overt than I was thinking. I'm thinking about someone who really wants to make their kid think everything they achieved was totally on their own. . . in order to re-enforce self-esteem you know.
I really don't see the point in discussing someone creating a fantasy world for a child where the child would have to either be completely isolated from the rest of the world for it to work or everyone the kid came into contact with would have to be in on it.

This isn't what this forum is for.
 

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