Let's do some real math.
The lottery is estimated at $1.3 billion. That's 1,300,000,000 dollars. The US has a population of 323 million (SOURCE, I'm rounding up because I can). Simple math tells us that (WITHOUT ACCOUNTING FOR TAXES) $1.3 billion / 323 million people is $4.025 per person. I think we can all agree that would be a giant let-down if the money was divided that way. What about some other ways?
[all calculations are not accounting for taxes]
$1.3 billion for each of the 3.6 million teachers (source) is about $360 per teacher. Not too shabby, it would almost cover the $400+ average amount each teacher spends out-of-pocket on classroom supplies, instructional materials, and books annually (source).
About $53 for each student who is eligible for free or reduced lunch (source), which makes about 20 lunches for each of them (source). That's ~960 million lunches.
$433 for each of the 3 million nurses in the US (source).
$108,000 for each summer camp in the US (source). $118 per camper or $865 per staff member at those camps.
But beyond what could happen, let's just understand what most likely will happen: 1-3 "lucky" individuals will receive a portion of this money. They will either use the money to help fuel their ambitions or waste it on frivolity (article | biased "source").
I think if the lottery teaches us anything, it should teach us how small sums of money from masses can make a difference, it just needs to go through the right channels. Taxes do just that for our country, and as tax season begins to approach, we should take a look at who controls where our tax money goes and if we have the power to change that.
I'm going to make this into an infographic if I care enough.
