What Would You Do with a Billion Dollars?

The 1.6 billion dollar jackpot multi-state Powerball lottery I blogged about yesterday sold three winning tickets: one in California, one in Tennessee, and one in Florida.  

So the lives of at least three people (maybe more) will be changed forever, and we can only hope it is for the better.

So, what would you have done with your winnings?  

After I wrote my post yesterday on the American mega-lottery Powerball and its 1.5 billion dollar prize in last night's drawing, I got an email from my guest photographer.

I had said "I'll take obscurity, and happiness, over the misery of winning the lottery."  In turn, she replied:

"Such wonderful words! A distant cousin of mine won $1 million and ended up bankrupt. here have to also be people out there who bettered their lives and other's lives and who gave a lot to charity after winning. But I think you need an attorney and a mindset to just keep on living your true life and not give it over to spending money.

That said, I would get a new car, pay off everything, and turn Project Paw [a local no-kill cat shelter] into the Crystal Cathedral---no more cages. All glass and screened-in balconies for all. Then I'd pay off (name of a good friend of her's) mortgage. Fix (a name of a disabled vet she helps out from time to time) roof. The list goes on and on. So, just in case, get your wish list started!"

One of my blog readers commented:

" My sister and mom bought a powerball ticket. If they win, they will share the money with the rest of the family. I will buy a house near the river and I will buy up some of the wetlands around here and have a conservation easement put on that land. I will also have nature trails put through the wetlands so people can enjoy nature."

So, I got to thinking.  My wish list would include one of these (once I had an attorney and a financial advisor in place to make the lives of my immediate family more secure):

-promoting community gardening where I live, near the small city of Binghamton, New York.
-starting a "matching funds" drive to get some of our many eyesore buildings torn down. and replaced with housing to benefit senior citizens.  Our community has so many seniors and so few housing options for them.
-promoting our local farmers market and, at the same time, finding ways to make the downtown Binghamton market thrive AND its offerings more affordable to the many impoverished people living in Binghamton.
-starting a drive to find an early test for pancreatic cancer, a cancer that has impacted both sides of my family.

Naive and overambitious, perhaps?  Well, obviously, I didn't win.

How about you, dear readers?  What would be your wish list if you won a billion dollars?

Winter Wonders - Powerball

Yesterday, we got the first snow accumulation of the winter.  Given I live in an area that can get upwards of 120 inches of snow (in the metric system, that translates to "lots of snow"), that shows what a different winter we have had.

It isn't just us (and if you want to see our totals, check out the stats for "Binghamton".)

When I moved to this part of upstate New York in the mid 1980's this was a normal sight by October.

But snow, or climate change, isn't what we are talking about in the United States today.  No, what we are talking about is a true Winter Wonder, never before seen in our country.

In the United States, Powerball is a multi-state lottery.  Residents of 44 states, plus the District of Columbia (our capital is not in a state) and a couple of other American entities such as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, participate in Powerball.  Every Wednesday and Saturday night, a series of numbers is drawn.  If you purchase the winning ticket...well, you've won a lot of money.

Maybe, because of taxes, it isn't as much as you think.  And the odds of winning are not great.  Since sometime in November, there has not been a winner.  So the jackpot has grown, and now is around 1.5 billion dollars U.S..  As in "billion".

1.5 billion U.S. dollars translates into a lot of money.  Just think.  Designer clothes.  A fancy car.  A fancier house.  Gourmet food.  Servants.  World travel.  The end of your problems.    Doesn't it sound nice?  (By the way, if you are reading this outside of the United States - yes, you can buy a ticket.  Although, I'm not suggesting it.  Why?  Keep reading.)

So, at work yesterday, the topic was "have you purchased a Powerball ticket?"

My answer:  no.

Years ago- to be exact, over 30 years ago- I knew someone, on a professional basis, who won the New York State lottery.  I'll spare you the details, but it did not end well for him, or his girlfriend. They ended up in court, suing each other over who purchased the ticket, and if the other party had been promised half the winnings and...I have a feeling, by the time it was over, that he wished it had never happened.

He is not alone in wishing he (or she) had never won, if you believe a major New York City newspaper.  Bankruptcy rates approaching 70%..drug overdoses...even winners being murdered.

I speculate the disasters following a lottery win are due to a combination of factors - not knowing what to do when you receive a large sum of money, greed, and losing judgement.  We all say "oh, it won't change our lives; we'll be the same person."  Or "I'll give most of it away".  Wrong.

Still, I don't envy (that much) the people who will win tonight - if there is a winner.

I decided I would rather spend the money on a high quality dark chocolate bar, although a losing Powerball ticket, I figure, has fewer calories.  I'll take obscurity, and happiness, over the misery of winning the lottery.

What about you?  If you live in a place with Powerball, did you buy a ticket for tonight's drawing? Do you have a plan for if you win?  If you don't play lottery games, why not?