MABFAN's Musings - The $200 Million Lottery Plan

11:45 am April 25th, 2008




			MABFAN's Musings - The $200 Million Lottery Plan The Blog of Science Fiction Writer Michael A. Burstein

mabfan


	The $200 Million Lottery Plan
	On another discussion forum, I brought up the question of what one might do with lottery winnings. We quickly determined that a $1 million lottery isn't really all that much; if you take it as twenty annual payments, after taxes it works out to roughly $35,000 per year. Not exactly "quittin' money," as a colleague of mine would put it. I proposed $200 million as the amount I would want to win to live as comfortably as I would want while still being able to make the large charitable donations I would enjoy making. And as an exercise for a story once, I worked out a "lottery plan," that is, what steps I would have to take if suddenly winning one of the huge $200 million lotteries. It made sense to think of myself as the winner, since it's more fun that way. :-) And, actually, that's one of things lotteries sell, the chance to dream. So, anyway. The first part of the plan includes switching the answering machine from the listed number to the unlisted number, calling the local police department to hire a 24-hour detail and an escort to lottery headquarters, and then enlisting an accountant, lawyer, and financial advisor for immediate assistance. But the best part of the plan includes the list of charities that I wish I could donate more money to, and how much I would give to each one. (After buying a large house, mortgage-free, with enough room for a library and comic book collection, of course. And yarn for Nomi.) I can immediately think of a few theater companies and museums I'd love to fund, as well as a few synagogues and schools I'd like to help out. After that, though, my imagination fails me. So I pose the question to anyone who wants to play. To where would you donate money if you won the $200 million lottery? Tags: personal

37 comments or post comment


	Comments

	From: sdelmonte	Date: April 25th, 2008 03:51 pm (UTC)		(link)

My synagogue gets first dibs on any donation. Then I would probably give something to The Jewish Museum.

Otherwise, I would have a few carefully selected charities that would include cancer research, environmentalism, Jewish outreach, and fighting poverty. I'd give something to Israeli causes as well, again chosen very carefully.

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	From: mabfan	Date: April 25th, 2008 06:30 pm (UTC)		(link)

Then I would probably give something to The Jewish Museum.

I would suggest a "Simon Del Monte" wing. :-)

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	From: recordersmith	Date: April 25th, 2008 03:53 pm (UTC)		(link)

Scholarships.

In my case for early music majors, but choose whatever field is your favorite.

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	From: fontosaurus	Date: April 25th, 2008 03:57 pm (UTC)		(link)

My plan is roughly the same as yours, except my training is good enough where I think I'd rather be unobtrusive and be my own bodyguard. (Krav maga, Army hand-to-hand fighting school, and a Springfield Arms XD 9mm should keep me fairly safe.)

Move into a swankier apartment while I have my house built. Buy a brand-new 2009 Nissan GT-R (0-60mph in 3.4 seconds), and travel a bit.

Donations to:
- the Aliveness Project (a local charity that helps people living with HIV/AIDS)
- the Lance Armstrong Foundation
- the Minneapolis Public Library (for expanded hours)
- local food banks and homeless shelters
- Barack Obama's campaign
- various random people on the street ($500 cash, each)
- others as I think of them

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	From: mabfan	Date: April 25th, 2008 06:06 pm (UTC)		(link)

- various random people on the street ($500 cash, each)

Ever hear of the old TV show The Millionaire? It's a similar premise, only with a little more money per person. :-)

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	From: fontosaurus	Date: April 25th, 2008 06:08 pm (UTC)		(link)

Heard of it, never watched it.

I just figured that sometimes it's best to go straight to the need and address it without the need for intermediaries.

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	From: chaiya	Date: April 25th, 2008 03:57 pm (UTC)		(link)

Heh.

malkaesther and I play this game often. She taught me to keep a spreadsheet of the plan, so I could update as needed. :)

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	From: mabfan	Date: April 25th, 2008 06:30 pm (UTC)		(link)

A spreadsheet is a great idea. I think I need to write up my own plan. After all, you never know when the next $200 million lottery will strike.

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	From: aunt_becca	Date: April 25th, 2008 03:59 pm (UTC)		(link)

outside of the shul...
scholarships to my alma mater (undergrad and grad) as well as to local day schools. Cancer, most likely American cencer, will also get donations from us. Some money to go to help training for assistance dogs (may seem like a waste of money for some, but it's really, really important service). I'd have to look at specific jewish charities, but I'd want to make them based in America. As much as I think we should help Israel, as well as jews, there are a lot of others who need our help. Also, Bonei Olam, which is an organization that helps with the cost of fertility treatment for jewish couples. They do amazing chesed. As does A TIME.

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	From: aunt_becca	Date: April 25th, 2008 04:00 pm (UTC)		(link)

does Nomi get an entire room for yearn?

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	From: scarlettina	Date: April 25th, 2008 04:15 pm (UTC)		(link)

She yearns for a yarn room, so I suspect the yearning would be fulfilled. :-)

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	From: asciikitty	Date: April 25th, 2008 04:03 pm (UTC)		(link)

it's not so much that $35,000 a year isn't "quittin' money" it's that it's not enough to be RICH for twenty years.

It's sure thing enough to live on. Enough to be able to take whatever free-lance gigs you wanted instead of working full time and on top of that trying to [write, art, craft, whatever].

that said - with the $200 million I would tend to go for close to home food-pantry type charities. Doctors Without Borders. Planned Parenthood. The Jimmy Fund, and Make-a-Wish, and Dana Farber. Certain environmental groups.

I'd set up some kind of gallery/ studio space for crafters in Camberville, someplace where classes could be taught, and materials purchased, with space to art, and maybe a nominal fee to use the space but nothing huge, because space is hard to come by in Boston.

I'd fund education groups.

Sink some serious money into New Orleans.

and on.

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	From: querldox	Date: April 25th, 2008 05:03 pm (UTC)		(link)

No, it's not "quittin' money". Consider what even 2-3% inflation does over 20 years, plus that you'll not be saving much, if any, for after those 20 years are over and the check isn't arriving.

Occurs to me I'm acquainted with someone in this situation (won 1,000,000 paid out over double-digit years in a trivia thing back during the dot.com boom), and if I'm recalling correctly they treat it as a nice supplement to their income but haven't quit their job at all.

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	From: asciikitty	Date: April 25th, 2008 06:23 pm (UTC)		(link)

I had a really really long post here. I can't type it all in - my tone was awful, and I really don't want to fight with people in MAB's LJ.

35k a year after taxes would be a 100% raise for me. I'd love to be able to afford to freelance. *shrug*

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	From: mabfan	Date: April 25th, 2008 06:26 pm (UTC)		(link)

If I won the $200 million lottery, I'd try to add a $35k per year bequest to you to my list of donations...

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	From: asciikitty	Date: April 25th, 2008 06:28 pm (UTC)		(link)

awww.. thanks!

I try not to get worked up, but I think I'm failing.

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	From: mabfan	Date: April 25th, 2008 06:29 pm (UTC)		(link)

$35K can definitely be enough to live on, but it also depends on many factors in the definition. I know that housing in the Boston area is ridiculously expensive, for example, and can eat away at $35K far too easily. But in other parts of the country, the housing expenses are not nearly as difficult to meet.

I know that if I personally ended up with $35K extra a year, I probably wouldn't consider it enough to quit my job, but I wouldn't turn the money away, either. :-)

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	From: ladyrutile	Date: April 25th, 2008 04:10 pm (UTC)		(link)

Libraries for prisons. At least in this state, prison libraries are made up of donated books, and many of those disappear quickly.

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