>


Can you convince me that Gotham City, as written, would be better if Wayne quit being Batman and put most of his money into the city?

No, but maybe I can convince you that he already does that (the money part). Bruce is already one of the biggest philanthropists in the DC world. Medical centers, job training, soup kitchens, infrastructure programs, scholarships, orphanages, anything that exists to help the people of Gotham exists because of the Wayne Foundation. 
People who say he should pay more taxes, and that that would help Gotham don’t understand how taxes work. The city would never be able to tax Wayne in any substantial way. Any increase in taxes he’d face for amounts that would materially affect Gotham’s budget would come from the state, or the federal government, and they wouldn’t give it to all to the city. And even if Bruce lobbied for increased taxes on billionaires, Luther would oppose him and outspend him on lobbying. He doesn’t spend his billions on charity like Bruce, so he’d just buy or threaten congress until they killed the bill.
So Batman/ Bruce Wayne grew up Rich. Had a shitty childhood, parents where killed in front of him for “ money”. And Gotham is surrounded by multi-millionaires ( referring to court of owls). 
Superman ie Clark kent grows up in smallville on a farm in a little podunk town. And Clark Has a healthy childhood ( minus the superpowers). But Martha and John grow to be old on the farm. Clark doesn’t “become” Superman till after he moves to metropolis. 
The point I’m trying to make here is that gothams problems are not something more money could fix. It’s a societal thing that needs to be fixed. 
Simply put- Money don’t buy happiness. >


It’s a societal thing that needs to be fixed.

Yeap.  Gotham and the real world are the same in that regard.
All of us can see the biggest things wrong with society (money in politics, for example) but no one does anything about it.  That's because the people at the top don't want it fixed. >


All of us can see the biggest things wrong with society (money in politics, for example) but no one does anything about it.  

Iiiiii… don’t know if that’s true, the whole ( all of us can see the things). There’s a good majority of people in the real world who agree with the elites. 
But the same goes for Gotham. Think about it someone voted Oswald in to be Mayor. 

That's because the people at the top don't want it fixed.

See here I’ll agree that they don’t want it fixed. But at some point the people do need to take some responsibility. They are voting them in, they are allowing these people to run amok in their city. 
And that’s why Batman ( not Bruce) the actual Batman does more for Gotham than Wayne money. Batman is a symbol of standing up to the corruption and the criminals. Which will inspire the citizens to stand up as well. >


You're still gonna need a smart, well-trained ninja

In the grand scheme of things, do you really need a ninja? Like, actually? Is there any scenario where pouring of billions of dollars of tech into one guy who runs around and punches people actually makes sense? >

Exactly, batman has been as this for years and has he made any meaningful progress for Gotham City? 
(Depends on what universe you look at) >


Exactly, batman has been as this for years and has he made any meaningful progress for Gotham City?  
(Depends on what universe you look at)

Gotham was already headed for hell on a train with no brakes and no conductor.  I like to look at it as Batman finding ways to slow the train and get people off safely where he can.
Has he lowered the crime rate?  No.  Did he prevent a mass casualty event and stop the city's complete destruction on numerous occasions?  Yes.  I wonder where that rates on the "meaningful" scale. >

Practically every "super villan" in Gotham were created by Batman. It wasn't super serum powered undead giant that killed his parents, it was thugs. But after bat hit the scene Arkham was filled with super powered lunatics.
Without bat we wouldn't have to worry about city scale attacks from laughing plant ninjas. >


Without bat we wouldn't have to worry about city scale attacks from laughing plant ninjas.

Poison Ivy was a rich girl who was experimented on, went insane, and became an eco-terrorist.  If Bruce had died with his parents and never became Batman, nothing would change for her (except maybe her plans to destroy Gotham would more likely succeed).
Penguin, a bullied outcast from his family turns to crime.  Again, Bruce not existing changes nothing for him.
Firefly, a pyromaniac criminal, his origin having nothing to do with Batman.  Mad Hatter started off killing people in high school, again nothing to do with Batman.  Victor Zsasz was a hitman for the mob before Batman.
The often-repeated sentiment that Batman created his villains is horsepoop that can be disproven with a little research. >

In fact, one Batman the Animated Seried episodd features all villains making a mock court against Batman, trying to prove that he is responsible for their crimes, only to realize that sithout Batman they'd wind up the sake.