Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be. – Sonia Ricotti

Welcome to “Thursday Numbers!” In case you’re a first-time visitor, this is the weekly column where I take a look at the numbers that are in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary sometimes sprinkled with sarcasm.

This week’s topics include the Mega Millions lottery, outside money in Montana’s U.S. Senate race, VP Pence and the NFL, unemployment, Taylor Swift, Dow Jones, campaign material, unemployment rate, gas prices, and much more!

548,000,000

That’s the Mega Millions lottery jackpot for Friday night. (MegaMillions.com)

That’s a nice chunk of money…

21,000,000

That’s how much outside money has been spent in Montana on the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Jon Tester and challenger Matt Rosendale. (MTN News)

This is pretty incredible. Just imagine the good things that could be done with that money.

325,000

That’s how much it cost taxpayers for Vice President Mike Pence to not watch the NFL game between the Colts and Niners last year. Readers may remember that Pence and his entourage left the game after the National Anthem when several players kneeled during the anthem. (HuffPost)

It appears it was all planned, too.

214,000

That’s how many people filed new claims for unemployment last week. (USDOL)

166,000

Singer/Songwriter Taylor Swift has some clout! After she urged people to register and vote, more than 166,000 people across the United States submitted new registrations on Vote.org between Sunday and noon on Tuesday, with about 42 percent of the registrants falling between the ages of 18 to 24. (NY Times)

Good for her – we need younger people to vote!

831.83

That’s how much the Dow Jones industrial average closed down, which was the third-largest one-day point drop in its history. (Business Insider)

Buy, buy, buy…

30

So far, that is how many pieces of campaign material I have received at my house regarding candidates or issues on the November ballot.

Maybe this will help the U.S. Postal Service get out of debt…

3.7

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in September, the unemployment rate fell to 3.7%, the lowest since 1969. (USDOL)

This is good.

2.91

That’s the national gas price average for this week. It was $2.48 a year ago. The map shows Montana at $3.01. (AAA)

I thought someone said the price of gas was going down…

 

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