Reflections on the Powerball
Today, the Powerball jackpot is going to be in the vicinity of 1.5 billion dollars. I bought a single ticket, having spent upward of 50 dollars on previous drawings that contributed to tonight's jackpot. There have been a few discussions on Facebook about what one would do with such a windfall.
I admit, I have a list of things. About 250,000 in debt, including some debts of honor that are not legal debts but rather moral debts. 100k in barebones home fixes, probably 100k more in upgrades. A new car? A really good violin. Fact of the matter is, even in my wildest dreams, I can't really see myself spending more than a million dollars. So that's not even a dent in the Powerball jackpot.
So, if wealth is power, and with great power comes great responsibility, by the transitive property, with great wealth comes great responsibility. I therefore am confronted with the conundrum, to whom am I responsible? I suppose I could say first and foremost, God and Country. Alright, let's examine this. God. I have a reasonable belief that at the minimum, I should tithe 10%. That, I believe is a bare minimum. There are no loopholes like in the US Tax Code, 10% is 10%. However, I keep on thinking about the various times in the Gospel where a rich person's gift was nothing next to a poor person's gift, due to the percentage of total wealth that the respective gifts represented. More on this idea later.
As far as country, my obligation is clearly defined as whatever a tax professional versed in the US Tax Code can argue is my obligation. So, the obligation is a mixture of tax professional fees and actual taxes. I clock this number at around 40 percent.
That's about 50% of everything toward God and Country. How about Family and Friends? I know that in the event of winning any sort of money, there will be invariable requests for money, with varying levels of need. I think that should it come down to it, I need to set up a family trust, and out of it would come various monthly allowances. The reason I would do this is to just avoid the embarrassment of a family member having to come to me and ask for money. Face it, my family is prideful.
As far as friends, I'm not sure if giving out money would be constructive. I am reminded of the parable about fish, and teaching how to fish. I think I would be more comfortable giving any one of my friends a job. At the very least, I would like to hire enough of my friends to have someone watching my house 24/7. So, that could come out to maybe another 10%.
So far, I've looked at 10% for God, 40% for Country, and 10% for Family and Friends. That still leaves 40% unaccounted for. Some people would invest, or try and grow the money at the very least. Not sure if that's me. I think that I have a greater obligation with the money, to do good in the world. Call me egotistical, but I think if I am going to use the money for good, I should better be able to pick and choose what form of good is made. With that in mind, I think I'll be making a charitable foundation.
Anyhow, I had to get this out of my head. And it's a slow day at work.
I admit, I have a list of things. About 250,000 in debt, including some debts of honor that are not legal debts but rather moral debts. 100k in barebones home fixes, probably 100k more in upgrades. A new car? A really good violin. Fact of the matter is, even in my wildest dreams, I can't really see myself spending more than a million dollars. So that's not even a dent in the Powerball jackpot.
So, if wealth is power, and with great power comes great responsibility, by the transitive property, with great wealth comes great responsibility. I therefore am confronted with the conundrum, to whom am I responsible? I suppose I could say first and foremost, God and Country. Alright, let's examine this. God. I have a reasonable belief that at the minimum, I should tithe 10%. That, I believe is a bare minimum. There are no loopholes like in the US Tax Code, 10% is 10%. However, I keep on thinking about the various times in the Gospel where a rich person's gift was nothing next to a poor person's gift, due to the percentage of total wealth that the respective gifts represented. More on this idea later.
As far as country, my obligation is clearly defined as whatever a tax professional versed in the US Tax Code can argue is my obligation. So, the obligation is a mixture of tax professional fees and actual taxes. I clock this number at around 40 percent.
That's about 50% of everything toward God and Country. How about Family and Friends? I know that in the event of winning any sort of money, there will be invariable requests for money, with varying levels of need. I think that should it come down to it, I need to set up a family trust, and out of it would come various monthly allowances. The reason I would do this is to just avoid the embarrassment of a family member having to come to me and ask for money. Face it, my family is prideful.
As far as friends, I'm not sure if giving out money would be constructive. I am reminded of the parable about fish, and teaching how to fish. I think I would be more comfortable giving any one of my friends a job. At the very least, I would like to hire enough of my friends to have someone watching my house 24/7. So, that could come out to maybe another 10%.
So far, I've looked at 10% for God, 40% for Country, and 10% for Family and Friends. That still leaves 40% unaccounted for. Some people would invest, or try and grow the money at the very least. Not sure if that's me. I think that I have a greater obligation with the money, to do good in the world. Call me egotistical, but I think if I am going to use the money for good, I should better be able to pick and choose what form of good is made. With that in mind, I think I'll be making a charitable foundation.
Anyhow, I had to get this out of my head. And it's a slow day at work.