http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/michigan-woman-still-collecting-food-stamps-winning-1-201751693.html


I'm trying to see her side of it, but I'm having a very hard time... even if half her winnings went to taxes, that's still $500,000. That's more than I could make in a decade working.

Sadly, I see this as a pretty certain end to the story. Most folks that win lotteries fritter away the money within a few years. From what I saw of her in an interview (admittedly only half watched it), I doubt she is an exception.

As for the story itself, this is what I will point to in the future when someone asks me what I mean when I say that we live in an 'entitlement society'.

Yea, that is pretty lame. And now she has two houses? WTF? So she wins, is irresponsible, and we still have to buy her food for her.

Man, she is a bit of a leech. Anyone else winning such a huge amount of money would go off benefits.Or keep working (if they are working). To keep getting benefits with this windfall? Selfish. Article says she has two houses. wtf. was that before or after she won?. Isnt there some form of asset test to receive benefits over there? (article seems to indicate there isnt)

What a leech. And people wonder why our economy has tanked.

This just strikes me as pathological. It's not really her, but in some ways that is, but she's been trained to collect her stamps every week. Like smoking, drinking, it's just something she does. I assume she doesn't quite 'get it' with regard to her new fortune.

She could just have people rent them out for heaps of money, and then she could still afford to live. However said, 1 million is alot of money and she could ditch a job and live 10 years $100,000 a year quite comfortably. Or, since she seems to be living by herself, 20 years @ $50,000.

nope
she paid tax on that money. in australia you don't but in usa you do.

and for simple people like her 1 million dollars is not a lot of money. it is only if you are smart and can control your spending not many people can do that though.

Abuse of the system is abuse.

Kinda sad, because in a way, it's not that hard if you are remotely reasonable.

You just need to take the lifestyle that you were brought into and... not upgrade it.

It is a lot harder for folks that are brought up in luxury and lose their wealth later on.

Acquired habits are a lot harder to shake off, reasonable or not.

There were some statistics that a percentage of lottery winners would go bankrupt since they were hit with shock, and lack of financial expertise. So karma is sweet for someone like her.

Not quite so sure about maintaining same lifestyle (especially if you come from a poor or not so well off background - a big win changes your life whether you like it or not to a degree). A windfall like that would really tempt one to go crazy at least initially:). Being able to control yourself is the main problem ;)

1 million is A LOT of money. :) Around here, you're good to go with ~250 EUR per month. But yeh, it is different in the US, I understand.

Reminds me of an article I read in a newspaper some time ago

It was about a Female in the UK who came from a very poor neighbourhood who was aged 19 when she won the lottery - Her Winnings Roughly 2 Million Pound Sterling

Forward 2 years - She is 21, She is homeless, a drug addict and has absolutely nothing left - The money that she won was all completely spent