No, The Powerball Payout Will Not Solve Poverty

I still can not believe that no one has yet to win the Powerball, and the jackpot is headed to the billions. I didn't get a ticket this last round, although I might this round, although I know my odds of winning are hopeless.  But of course, there's always a chance... right?  That's why we play after all, and why so many are playing now than ever before.  There is no absolute certainty that we won't  win.  However, there is something that I am certain about:  A mass payout won't resolve poverty.

There's a meme that's been going around (seen above) claiming that if the new jackpot was divided out equally to every single person, we'd all at least get $4.3 million.  It was such a bold statement, that it went viral.  At least for a while.  That's till someone looked at the math before continuing to share, and realized a big flaw.  If there's 300 million people, and each took an equal share of the $1.3 billion, the math does equal 4.33, just not 4.3 million, or 4.33 thousand for that matter.  It's literally $4.33, as in four dollars and 33 cents each.  DOH!

While the concept was great, and we appreciate the positive thoughts on it, sometimes you just have to do the math, as this NSFW video excellently states.

[VIA Factually]