D&D and the rising pandemic

[MarkB]

And what if the kid isn't planning on going to college? Do they get nothing? Do they get the $300,000 (substantially less than the $1 million).

The prizes are only going to a total of ten people across the entire state. Not exactly mass inequity.

 

[Cadence]

And what if the kid isn't planning on going to college? Do they get nothing? Do they get the $300,000 (substantially less than the $1 million).

If you just give them the cash...

Would the parents actually control the young one's money if they got it right now? (I guess it could be put it in a time delayed account that would let them take it out for a short list of emergencies).

And for some of the kids, do they actually have any say in the matter?

Motivational money is best targeted at those who need the most motivation, right? I'm guessing hesitant parents are really hard to motivate about their kids (or can the 12-15 yo get the jab without a parent?).

 

[MoonSong]

Wow, all this talk and to think that I technically get paid to attend college. (I just had to be born on the right place, to the right parents, talk the right dialect and work in the right place)

A bit back on topic, if you got vaccinated and didn't get an immediate reaction, you can still get a reaction weeks later. It happened to me, I basically had a miniature episode with Covid-like symptoms. Good thing it was only a reaction. I wouldn't want to catch the real thing.

 

[Umbran]

you can spin it any way you want, but 1.000.000 is 3 scholarships and lots of change.

So, it isn't about "spin". It is about having a different perspective.

 

[Umbran]

And what if the kid isn't planning on going to college? Do they get nothing? Do they get the $300,000 (substantially less than the $1 million).

To be honest, I am not really so invested at looking free gifts in the mouth to have dug into the terms that deeply.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Unless the Covid lottery laws were written up in such a way as to make the awards non-transferrable, a winner could make a broad range of altruistic or profitable actions with the money awarded.

 

[Deset Gled]

And what if the kid isn't planning on going to college? Do they get nothing? Do they get the $300,000 (substantially less than the $1 million).

There's another component to this: taxes. If the scholarship is set up properly, it is likely that the winner would not have to pay taxes on it. Everyone that wins the money, however, will owe a large chunk of that prize to the government. This is another reason why winning a $300k scholarship is potentially better than winning $1M cash.

If someone wins a scholarship but opts not to go to college, it is likely that they can convert the $300k from scholarship money to fungible money, and will probably pay a tax to do so.

Also, going back to your earlier question, in PA when a minor wins a large some of cash it is given to their legal guardian. Putting the prize as a scholarship is one way to guarantee the parents can't take control of the prize. I suspect this is similar in MA.

 

[Zardnaar]

Each minor has about 8x the chance of winning and the program has over twice the funds per kid in the population than per adult. Proportionately speaking the overall pot for kids is twice the size of the pot for adults.



In raw dollar amount, you might think so, but... it means the kid will likely enter the working population with a college education, and no debt to speak of. That is a huge benefit.

I will likely be paying off my student loans until I die. I have friends who got through school without debt, and they've already retired, because they could save far more than I could.

Boomers here got free university then pulled the ladder up on Gen X.

Then the Millennials got interest free loans so my generation got it the hardest. You only pay about 20-25% though.

Boomers also got the cheap housing and free everything so there's a few salty over that.

 

[Zardnaar]

you can spin it any way you want, but 1.000.000 is 3 scholarships and lots of change.

That is free college degree, a house, so no rent money and very good car without credit line for it. And no worries for life expenses while you study. Talk about a head start.

Around 50% tax. That buys a cheap house here. A million dollars might get you an above average house in one of our more expensive city you need around 2 million for a really nice house.

 

[cmad1977]

Second year in a row of very little flu.


Unexpected side effect of Covid/MiQ. Don't think I've even had a cold since 2019.

My kids pediatrician said he hasn’t seen many/any sick kids for over a year.

 

[Zardnaar]

My kids pediatrician said he hasn’t seen many/any sick kids for over a year.

Nice.

No surprise travel bubble hasn't done much for tourism.


People don't travel as much it seems even if they can.

Usually an over priced tourist trap. Now just overpriced.

 

[ccs]

Nice.

No surprise travel bubble hasn't done much for tourism.


People don't travel as much it seems even if they can.

Usually an over priced tourist trap. Now just overpriced.

So all those adds for NZ travel I see on TV aren't working?

I stream all the CW Arrowverse superhero shows as one big 3-4hr block each week from their site. It's free, but comes with adds. I see NZ travel commercials at least once/episode, & often several.

 

[Zardnaar]

So all those adds for NZ travel I see on TV aren't working?

I stream all the CW Arrowverse superhero shows as one big 3-4hr block each week from their site. It's free, but comes with adds. I see NZ travel commercials at least once/episode, & often several.

Apparently not. Think we get the same ads on YouTube. That and Rarotonga ads. Tourism getting it rough but a counter argument has been that it's productivity is so low that you're better off doing anything else. And traveling NZers spend more money elsewhere.

New Zealand economy grows 1.6% in latest quarterly data

The economy has rebounded more strongly than expected as strong domestic spending and building offset the loss of international tourism.

www.rnz.co.nz

Tourism's getting it rough but overall economy is growing. Shrugs.

 

[CapnZapp]

One of the reasons you try to reach “herd immunity” is to protect[/URL]

Sure, except any country where a third of people listens to politicians that are either too ignorant, too stupid, too greedy or just too arrogant to take the pandemic seriously and actively tell people to get vaccinated will never reach herd immunity...

...know any such countries...?

 

[Umbran]

Mod Note:

How about we step back from the politics, please and thank you folks.

 

[Lwaxy]

Find that hard to believe. We're at >50% with 1st dose and ~26% already fully done.

If there's no doctor there should be a central vaccination centre within 100km

We are at 48/23%. However, it is unclear who those vaccinated people are - they must be mostly old, sicker than me, needed personnel or tricked their way to the front line. Or maybe it works better in cities. It does not help to have a vaccination center when they don't get enough doses. We have been waiting for along time, when we should have been done weeks ago due to our priority status. My doc is still working her way throughj old and sick people not able to get to the center.

Finally,we got our first doses yesterday morning, as a surprise drop-in because others could not make it due to the heat. The center could do at least twice times as many people, if they had enough material. Most of the cabins didn't get use.

 

[Mirtek]

We are at 48/23%. However, it is unclear who those vaccinated people are

As of the 18th we're at 50.1/29.6 and it's exactly known who each of those people is. The RKI monitors and publishes daily.

Group 3 was opened start of May because the number of group 2 still un-vaccinated was too neglible to justify holding back group 3. It's now free for all since two weeks as the number of group 3 still un-vaccinated was too neglible to justify upholding any kind priorisation order anymore.

You must be facing a very localized issue. Are you by chance in Sachsen? They're at last spot with 44.7/29.8 which must be due to an usual high rate of people not being interested.

 

[Lwaxy]

Too neglible? Of my very substancial wider family, by today it is only the older ones, me and 2 cousins who got vaccinated, and the older part of us are mostly group 2.

We are in RLP. The rest of my family is in Sachsen, SH and BW.

The RKI knows but I don't. We were among the first to register. We are among the last in group 2 to receive a shot it feels. So I wonder why this is, the people at the center couldn't answer.

 

[Eltab]

There's another component to this: taxes. If the scholarship is set up properly, it is likely that the winner would not have to pay taxes on it. Everyone that wins the money, however, will owe a large chunk of that prize to the government. This is another reason why winning a $300k scholarship is potentially better than winning $1M cash.

Lottery winnings are taxed like regular income (hourly wages). The winners are going to get a special one-time visit to the top tax bracket. It would be a good idea if they put the money in the bank until next April 15th, in case the IRS decides they owe another big dollop.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Besides studying lotteries & the like, I’ve actually had some people close to me experience major windfalls. I’ve learned there’s all kinds of things you SHOULD do if you experience a major windfall, but most people don’t.

Besides accounting for taxes, you should divide the “fortune” into distinct pools: some for fun, some for necessities, some for investment, and if it’s your nature, some for charities. (Which, if possible, should be distributed directly to the charity to avoid taxation issues.)