Some time ago, I saw a tweet that posited that if Bruce Wayne merely funded a universal basic income, he could eliminate crime in Gotham City in one foul swoop. It's the latest instance in the effort to paint his efforts as the Dark Knight as superfluous and even hedonistic.
Now, to be fair, as far as UBI is concerned, there is some truth to it. There would be a lot fewer "Joe Chill" style criminals roaming the streets and preying on the citizens. The thing is that a vast majority of the crime in the city ISN'T poverty driven. The organized crime rings are very well funded and even the rogues gallery aren't strapped for cash either. Though many of them are depicted robbing places, they're not poor. Penguin is very well to do, Victor Fries was a scientist, Two-Face was a district attorney. And I'm sorry, but giving the Joker $1,000 a month seems like a terrible idea, but that's just me.
Be that as it may, there may be ways for Bruce to put his vast resources to better use. In order to determine whether or not that's the case, we have to look at what he's currently doing with his money.
First and foremost, there is his business, Wayne Enterprises. While it may not be the economic backbone that LuthorCorp is said to be for Metropolis and/or Smallville, it is a power player, creating a lot of jobs in Gotham. These aren't dead-end "McJobs" either, but well paying career type positions. This is a good thing on several fronts.
Bruce also does quite a bit of charity. He doesn't "horde" his wealth, rather tries to channel it to help. He has the Wayne Foundation, but is also frequently shown attending events to raise money for various causes. Now, a cynical reader might just say that this is part of him playing a character so as not to draw suspicion. The thing is that Bruce would still use this as a means of addressing issues and solving problems. Even in his darker portrayals, that was still a main motivator for him.
The third thing, and it's almost galling that so many gloss over this, but he also FUNDS THE FREAKING JUSTICE LEAGUE!!! In every iteration it's Bruce who provides the resources to let the League do what it does best and protect Earth. Taxes can be effectively allocated and improve things on some levels, but there's no way that Bruce paying more would allow Earth to better protect itself from the likes of Darkseid, Brainiac, or the White Martians.
So, while we've established that the accusation that Bruce Wayne isn't doing enough is laughable. There could still be some room for improvement. I mean, Goku didn't just sit back and rest on his laurels after hitting Super Saiyan, right?
One thing that comes to mind is a new asylum in Gotham. Arkham is an iconic piece of the Batman lore, but it kind of....sucks? It's great for atmosphere, but the security isn't very good, it's run down, and the treatment success rate aspires to shoddy. Having the Joker be beyond therapy is one thing but you'd think Harvey Dent, Edward Nygma, or Jervis Tetch would be able to see some sort or sign of rehabilitation at some point.
Arkham itself is most likely a historical landmark so having it renovated would mean a lot of red tape that Bruce would likely not want to bother with. As such, a new asylum would be the best way to go. He can put in top of the line security measures to keep the more dangerous inmates in, whilst also hiring better therapists to treat those inside.
Another thing Bruce can do is ForeverDonor. Now, the Wallet Squirrel guys don't exist in the DCU and the site (unfortunately) doesn't exist in ours either (for now?) Still, Bruce knows the power of passive, compounding income. It's not that much of a stretch for him to come up with the idea himself and use his company and personal resources to build a site that acts in the same capacity.
One advantage that Bruce has is that he regularly rubs shoulders with the high society types. It wouldn't be that hard for him to coax some of his wealthy compatriots to set up accounts to get the snowball rolling. Heck, even Lex Luthor might set up an account to help usher in that bright new age for humanity that he's always going on about. The fact that it's all automatic means that it's something that Bruce wouldn't have to divert any attention towards. Just set up the site and his own account, move some money there and then the problems start to solve themselves.
Beyond that, maybe zero in on crowdfunding? It would be a great way to get that "trickle up" effect going, paying off people's student loans or helping people with medical bills. This also generates tax revenue to boot. He might not be able to fund all of the projects the way that Tony Stark did for that group of MIT students in "Civil War", but it would still help people and create a potential ripple effect as time goes on.
So, there you go. It turns out that Bruce being a primary defender of the planet, does use his resources well. There's room for improvement, but he doesn't deserve the bashing that he seems to be getting lately. If anything, our billionaires need to try to be more like him and jump the bars that he's set.
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