Seattleite’s guide to spending $700M Powerball jackpot
Aug 23, 2017, 11:39 AM
If you’re a Seattleite truly concerned about the city you live in, you might consider throwing down a few bucks today for a Powerball ticket — if only to invest your potential winnings into the city’s future.
Here’s a quick list of options that need funding, in case you forgot:
1. Fix homelessness. If lawmakers say it’s truly about a lack of affordable housing, why not buy Seattle’s homeless population real homes? For $423 million, which is the lump sum after taxes, you could buy 604 homes at $700,000 each. Crazy, right? Now imagine three people in each home. That’s 1,812 people. Congrats. You just proved many things, but mostly that someone can fix homelessness.
2. Since we’re on the subject, Paul Allen spent $30 million on a homeless hub. It’s a “resource hub for Seattle-area families with children who are experiencing homelessness,” according to the mayor’s office. You could buy 14.
3. Or maybe renovation is more your speed. You could make over six courthouses in Snohomish County, plus have some fun money left over. This has been an ongoing debate for years. I know, it’s not in Seattle, but silence is golden.
4. Education is a worthy cause. Write a check to the state Legislature, so that we don’t have to hear about the McCleary decision … at least for a few years. Governor Inslee once told Dori Monson, “We owe the kids of our state several billion dollars. Now that’s billion with a ‘B.’ We’re not talking about chump change here.” So you’re not THAT rich.
5. Bring the NBA back to Seattle. That’s still a thing. You can’t afford to buy a team and construct an arena, so choose wisely. Oh, and you can’t fix the roads and thus traffic pouring in and out of the city before and after games.
The prize has grown so large because no one has matched all six balls in more than two months. The jackpot grows after every drawing. If no one wins tonight (drawing at 7:59 pm PST), the jackpot grows to $1 billion (before taxes).
Powerball is played in 44 states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We’re pretty sure other cities have problems, too, but you have a chance to make Seattle great again.
