There are some thing money can’t buy, but these days not many. Today, almost everything is up for sale. Here are a few examples.
A prison cell upgrade:$82 per night. In Santa Ana, California, and some other cities, non-violent offenders cay pay for better accommodations -a clean, quiet jail cell, away from cells for nonpaying prisoners.
Access to the car pool lane while driving solo : $8 during rush hour. Minneapolis and other cities are trying to ease traffic congestion by letting solo drivers pay to drive in car pool lanes, at rates that vary according to traffic.
The service of an Indian surrogate mother to carry pregnancy: $6,250. Western couples seeking surrogates increasingly outsource the job to India, where the practice is legal and the price is less than one-third the going rate in the United States.
The right to immigrate to the United States : $500,000. Foreigners who invest $500,000 and create at least ten jobs in an area of high unemployment are eligible for green card that entitles them to permanent residency.
The right to shoot an endangered black rhino:$150,000. South Africa has begun letting ranchers sell hunters the right to kill a limited number of rhinos, to give the ranchers an incentive to raise and protect the endangered species.
The cellphone number of your doctor : $1,500 and up per year. A growing number of “concierge” doctors offer cell phone access and same-day appointments for patients willing to pay annual fees ranging from $1,500 to $25,000.
The right to emit a metric ton of carbon in the atmosphere: 13 euros (about $18). The European Union runs a carbon emissions market that enables companies to buy and sell the right to pollute.
Admission of your child to a prestigious university:? Although the price is not posted, officials from some top universities told The Wall Street Journal that they accept some less than stellar students whose parents are wealthy and likely to make a substantial financial contributions