number of u.s. families who are in poverty (as of 2020): 6,550,000

with each year that goes by, your odds of winning the lottery drop substantially. this is partly because they change the rules on a regular basis, and also because more people join the betting pool.

even if the rules haven't changed since the last time you played, you odds don't improve the more you play, even if you buy multiple tickets. in fact, if you bought 100 million tickets over the course of your life, your odds of winning are the same every single time: virtually nonexistant.

the united states has not changed its minimum wage since 2010. it currently stands at us$7.25/hour. that equates to us$15,080 per year. 

a 1 bedroom apartment in most major cities in the u.s. averages more than $12,000/year.

1 in 3 u.s. college students skip 1 or more meals a day because they can't afford food.

sutter and marshall, the 2 men who started the gold rush of 1849, never found any gold to speak of, and died poor.

half of americans are one unfortunate $2,000 event away from bankruptcy. one in four of these folks make more than us$100,000 a year.

a survey in 2012 found that 40% of people wished that they could skip christmas, due to financial pressures.

in the u.s., 27 million families - 1/5 of the population - receives less than us$8,000 per year. not per person - per family. of these families, 72% are white, 19% are black, 5% are asian, and 2% are 'other'.

37% of public school teachers in the u.s. spend an average of $35 per month buying lunch for students who can't afford it.

only 28% of american public school students have enough money to pay the full price for their school lunch.

12% of americans live in poverty.

more than 51% of american citizens make less than us$30,000 a year.

many casinos and payday lenders specifically target military bases and retirement homes.

in 1950, literally half of the world lived in extreme poverty. in 2005, that dropped to 1 in 5. if the trend continues (and that's a big if, in the age of oligarchy), that number will drop to 1 in 40 by 2050.

in the u.k., you pay 70 cents per minute to call the police to report a crime. this also applies to financial helplines, tax offices, the pension office, and other government organizations.

detroit's unemployment rate was higher in 2009 than it was during the great depression.

in 2013, 51% of american public school students qualified for free or partially-comped school lunches. (translation: more than half of them were poor.)

about 1,000 homeless people live in the flood tunnels under las vegas.

according to a study commissioned by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, 52% of americans can no longer afford the house that they currently live in.

some states in the u.s. have instituted mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients, presumably to cut down on the amount the states spend. here are how many welfare recipient tested positive:

• arizona - 1 out of 87,000
• florida - 21 out of 51,000

in other words, less welfare recipients took drugs than the general population. it actually cost the states more to test the welfare recipients than they saved. not long after, a federal judge ruled that drug testing welfare recipients was a violation of the 4th amendment - but by then, this meme had already been busted, even though it keeps coming up even today.