Im only in season one but why do they keep up the life of crime after they are already millionaires? In a few episodes in they are counting hundreds of thousands of dollars out if not millions. Why not just pack up and leave after a while. Go over to fly over country and open up a legit business? It is just crazy they keep it up after they have enough money to live more than comfortably for the rest of their lives.
shareBecause they're greedy, power hungry and materialistic.
shareIf I were in the organized crime thing I would make the money I needed to live really comfortably then just get out. Id screw everyone else and disappear somewhere else and screw all the people who worked below me needing work, someone else would come along to take over so they wouldnt be too mad.
shareAside from the greed factor the other poster mentioned- which is probably the principal reason- I wonder how easy it actually is to just pack up and f-off out of the lifestyle with a ton of disposable cash?
Money needs to get laundered, pulled out of investments and overheads and this would probably have to be over a long period of time, rather than one quick withdrawal, thus negating a fast getaway with your millions.
Folks will still need to be paid off, especially the people who will keep you out of jail: when salaries stop coming in, people may well start talking to the authorities or, more than likely, kill you to death. Also, your suppliers and network would depend on you to keep operating- you'd have to find an alternate customer for their services (or face the wrath of The Greeks!)
And I don't know how cheap it is to disappear and stay off the radar. Suddenly closing down any business- especially those populated by people who can't do much else and have an affinity with firearms- is bound to put some noses out of joint.
Obviously it would be good to have an escape plan 'when you spot the heat around the corner', but I think to retain your millions, a long term, secretive, get-out plan would be the way to go: keep squirreling away and have a definite action plan for leaving day.
Of course, this is all based on conjecture from other TV shows and movies. Anyone got any better ideas on how the quit The Game with all your cashmoney?
He was off the books till the police found out who was running anything. Just dissappear to the middle of the country. Bury the money and open some businesses
shareYou also have to consider, that in essence, they are very provincial. They only know Baltimore, and some of them, just their little slice of Baltimore whether it be the east or west side. Remember when Bodie, I believe it was, was going to Philly, when the Baltimore stations faded out and the Philly radio stations faded in, he did not even understand what was happening. He had never been out of Baltimore before, except to the juvenile facility. Another another example was that Wallace couldn't handle living in the country, it was only a few dozen miles away, but he had only been there once before. All he knew was the project life.
But I do believe for most it, is just greed and lust for power. Plus most, are undeducated, they would have no idea, how to start over somewhere else. Frankly, in real life, for characters like this, I don't think that it even occurs to them.
The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new. Samuel Beckett
It's not impossible. A lot of hip hop media moguls started out as drug dealers. And laundered their money into succesful record labels. But most of fhem had some form of higher education tho. And then there was eazy-e who got swindled by his lawyer. Its hard but doable. But youll need the brains to make it work. Kinda like how stringer wanted.
shareTequila, you make some great points. I always wondered why real life criminals didnt just disappear or close down their criminal enterprise. For instance Frank Lucas, he had millions, why not stop when you realize the cops are on to you?
shareBecause of the same reason Warren Buffet still works for a living even though he doesn't have to. Because of Status. After awhile the desire to make money is superceded by the desire to be better than the next person, to establish a legacy. It gives their life a sense of purpose.
Que Sera Sera
That's what the scene with Marlo challenging that guy on the corner is about or
Avon saying " I'm just a gangster I guess" it was never really about the money for them.
Melvin Williams (who played the church deacon) set out to be the greatest drug dealer of all time. He was proud to sell the most dope in Maryland's history. He claimed he sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth even though he did several stints in prison.
You should check out some of his interviews.
Simple they're not millionaires. They're drug dealers making millions. Its kind of hard to stop being who you are.
shareIt didn't work for Michael Jackson, why would it work for them?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmK8-13LTqI
I Excel and Prevail
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Isn't that what Stringer was trying to do? He figured that they were successful enough to go legit, but he still had the gangster in him, even though he tried to deny it. Avon wouldn't have it though, he just loved the thug life too much.
AWW *beep* IT'S WAYNE BRADY SON!share
not exactly, Stringer was never trying to go legit and never wrestled with whether he wanted to go legit or not. He just wanted to distance himself from the street activity while still collecting profit from the work of others.
shareAs far as the business side of things go, it would be difficult to simply drop everything and leave a multi-million dollar organization with intelligence gathering capabilities, high level connections, and a quick trigger finger. That's an exit that has to be planned thoroughly and executed perfectly. Especially if he/she has a high ranking position in the organization. That plan would take lots of time to carefully plan and execute. A lower ranking person would have an easier time and a better chance of success, but probably lacking in the money department...
And lastly on the personal side.. Anyone involved in such a situation would undoubtedly be surrounded by family, friends, and "co-workers". In order to "take the money and run" and actually get away with it he/she would have to keep the plan a well guarded secret and share only with the people he/she could trust. Most members of any organized crime group don't approve of members leaving, and tend to worry about snitches. Anyway, it's hard for a normal upstanding citizen to leave everything and everybody they know even in the best circumstances. Imagine how hard it would be to leave without a trace, and with knowing that (depending on exact situation) your leaving could possibly put someone you care about in danger..
Granted there are plenty of other factors I skipped over and other, better, examples to be made. I just wanted to give my 2 cents and say it's not as easy as "take the money and run".