If I won the lottery...

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

If I won the lottery.... Secretly, for about the last four months, I have fantasized about winning the lottery. (It helps that the Mega Ball or whatever-it-is billboard is right on my way home.) Granted, to win the lottery, it helps to play it, I am sure. But deeper than that, I have pondered the question, if I had a100 million windfall land in my lap, what would I do with it. I think I know. 1. I would buy/pay for Stephanie Baker's house. (Of course she would get to keep it.) 2. I would pay off my brother in law's law school debts. 3. I'd give every last dime of the remainder to the National Debt. I'm serious. I think I am just wacked out enough to do it. My first concern, (and no offense to past lottery mega bucks winners who read my blog) but, I don't want my kid learning to live off of lottery money, so to speak. There is nothing wrong with having lots of money...I just want him to learn how to make it by providing value to people as opposed to it landing in his lap. But even more than that concern, is the financial status of our nation. I would pledge all the rest of the money, get insance media attention for doing so, but ask every American to give whatever they could, from $1 to $1000...towards paying down the national debt and sending a message to our politicians that we cannot mortgage our future any longer as we have. (Actually, I pray to God it actually isn't already too late...it would take a miracle...I am fortunate enough to believe in miracles.) I am absolutely devastated in my hopes while listening to all three of our current presidential candidates. We have a MASSIVE trainwreck heading our way economically due to the national debt, and we have for years, but none of them are stressing this much at all, it seems to me. Many of them seem to be coming up with programs, that while they seem noble, will only end up costing us even more money...that we don't have...so we 'print up more' and devalue our currency...etc, etc..and it is all one big whirlwind. I think that myself, and other Americans, are really going to need to step up,and sacrifice, and say, "I will pay the taxes, and ask for minimal services/special interests in return." It will take a generation (or two) to live that way, in order to let the younger ones have the kinds of standard of living that we have enjoyed. This all leaves me with a disheartened feeling for folks that could expereince some really hard times compared to the lives we have lived so far...