Getting rich by doing the right thing

The big advantages of Social Policy Bonds are their efficiency, transparency and stability of policy goals. But a less obvious benefit, pertinent at a time when the rich are being taxpayer funds are being used to bail out shareholders of banks that pursued disastrous policies but are deemed are too big to fail, is that they are means of accumulating wealth by performing public service. Social Policy Bonds, when issued by government bodies, would express society's goals: investors would gain by peforming functions that are inextricably linked to public benefit. Working successfully to achieve universally desired social and environmental goals would be seen as a laudable way of becoming rich. There are likely to be all sorts of intangible and unforseeable benefits from having people or institutions become rich in this way. People may see corporations' non-Social Policy Bond activities relatively less socially desirable. They may be more prepared to rein in the less attractive of such activities given that Social Policy Bonds provide a socially beneficial way of becoming rich.