[BJWilliams]

you never know what could happen:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/23/to ... l-jackpot/

[blwall1416]

I'd start a new hobby - every weekend I'd crash a wedding, leave a $10k check to the happy couple with a note to the bride that said "Thanks for last night."

[LUconn]

What does that title have to do with this? I want to live in your world BJ. I imagine it's a lot like a Full House episode.

[Hold My Own]

More like Family Matters

[LUconn]

That was pretty much just the ethnic version of Full House.

[ALUmnus]

Are you saying white people aren't ethnic? What do I say when I'm asked my ethnicity on a form or census? "Not fortunate enough to be born ethnic."

[RubberMallet]

i thought only food was ethnic.

[RubberMallet]

as for the winner, we had a guy like this win the lottery here in illinois. these peopel were rednecks to the core. they won like 100 mil 15 years ago. they bought up a ton of property on the mississippi river. we are talking like 400 acres. on the property is a borrow pit (lake dug to build up an interstate) they started building their entire family half a mil homes on the lake. they also started buying all sorts of crap. they did the yearly payments. but they basically would buy all sorts of stupid crap and it took 10 years to finish the homes. the guy who won was a "handyman" who was pretty much unemployed. they also ran into tax problems.

however, i still don't know if they'd of finished them if they'd of taken a lump sum. chances are they would of spent all the money on dumb crap.

i wish we were able to follow up on lottery winners years into the future

[SuperJon]

If you've only got $28 to your name, why the heck are you wasting a dollar on the chance you might win? That just shows this guy is wasteful with his money.

[ATrain]

If you've only got $28 to your name, why the heck are you wasting a dollar on the chance you might win? That just shows this guy is wasteful with his money.

Considering he went from having only $28 to millions, I'd say he got a pretty good return on his investment. The first scratcher ticket I ever bought as a legal adult (never had the desire to try cigarrettes, so I bought a lottery ticket lol) I won $40.

[LUconn]

as for the winner, we had a guy like this win the lottery here in illinois. these peopel were rednecks to the core. they won like 100 mil 15 years ago. they bought up a ton of property on the mississippi river. we are talking like 400 acres. on the property is a borrow pit (lake dug to build up an interstate) they started building their entire family half a mil homes on the lake. they also started buying all sorts of crap. they did the yearly payments. but they basically would buy all sorts of stupid crap and it took 10 years to finish the homes. the guy who won was a "handyman" who was pretty much unemployed. they also ran into tax problems.

however, i still don't know if they'd of finished them if they'd of taken a lump sum. chances are they would of spent all the money on dumb crap.

i wish we were able to follow up on lottery winners years into the future

Discovery Channel has had a few lottery follow up shows. They almost all take the lump sum and most of them go broke fairly quickly. The lottery is a tax on those unable to do math.

[RubberMallet]

thats what i assumed. either that or they are old and die and leave it to the feds in estate taxes.

if i win the lottery i'd take 10 mil throw it in the bank to live off the interest. take care of any bills/loans etc, and give the rest away.

[olldflame]

If anyone with half an ounce of financial knowledge or inate discipline wins one of these, they are a fool to take anything but the lump sum. In a normal economy, just the ROI on that amount invested wisely will be almost as much as the payments, and without touching the principal.

[RubberMallet]

If anyone with half an ounce of financial knowledge or inate discipline wins one of these, they are a fool to take anything but the lump sum. In a normal economy, just the ROI on that amount invested wisely will be almost as much as the payments, and without touching the principal.

the best yearly cd with just a couple thou are like 1.5% right now.

off a quarter mil thats a payout of almost 4 mil a year just off the interest.

[SumItUp]

the best yearly cd with just a couple thou are like 1.5% right now.

off a quarter mil thats a payout of almost 4 mil a year just off the interest.

The $258 million jackpot had a cash payout just below $125 million. After the Feds took their 39.6% and Missouri their 6%, the balance to be paid the winner is $68 million. Based on the 1.5% annual CD rate, the annual payout would be just over $1 milllion ($1,020,000) per year. That $1 million would also be taxed at a rate of 45.6% annually leaving a return of $556,920 annually. For a guy that had less than $30.00 in his bank account, he could still live well on $1,525.00 per day, but it is a far cry from the unlimited supply of money that most imagine.

The obvious winners in every lottery jackpot is the federal government.

[RubberMallet]

oh yeah, that crap is taxed so heavily its outrageous. and the 1.5 is a bottom rate. any schmoe with a brain should be able to pull 3-10% out of the market easily.

[LUconn]

I watched the simspons last night for the first time in like 3 or 4 years and Homer won the lottery. They were presenting him (Barney actually but I don't want to explain everything) a check for 6xx,xxx (he won 1,000,000) and the crowd cheered and then they presented one to uncle sam for 3xx,xxx and the crowd cheered. Uncle sam says "This money will be funding a study put together to figure out what to do with this money."

[SumItUp]

oh yeah, that crap is taxed so heavily its outrageous.

So are incomes over 370K. I agree, it's outrageous.

[LUconn]

We can also include inheritance tax in there as well. You know the money that was ALREADY taxed when it was earned.

[ALUmnus]

I read this a few weeks ago about the origin of the income tax, it's well worth the time.
http://mises.org/daily/1597
Not as much info as you'd get in a book, but gives you a good understanding and perspective about the tax's origin and how it's progressed through the years.

Can you imagine being in the top tax bracket in 1945, when your rate was 94%?

Frank Chodorov wrote "Whichever way you turn this amendment, you come up with the fact that it gives the government a prior lien on all the property produced by its subjects." The United States government "unashamedly proclaims the doctrine of collectivized wealth. . . . That which it does not take is a concession."