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I occasionally buy lottery tickets just for fun. It's enjoyable for me to fantasize about what I would do if I suddenly never had to worry about money again. I
by exion 11y ago
I occasionally buy lottery tickets just for fun. It's enjoyable for me to fantasize about what I would do if I suddenly never had to worry about money again. I think about quitting my job, going back to school and learning about something I care more about (I didn't care for my major) and doing some travelling. I only buy one ticket every month or so. This $1-$2 actually gives me mental enjoyment, more so than a candy bar at least.
However, last time I bought one the woman next to me bought $80 worth of mega millions tickets. To be blunt at the cost of sounding unkind, she looked like she was a lower class individual. I truly felt bad for her (for reasons I won't elaborate on for conciseness) and I thought about all the people spending a decent sum of cash on something that is analogous to flushing money down the toilet.
I think the lottery does much more harm than good to society as a whole and should be done away with. The people who get into spending loads of money on these tickets are ones who are - generally speaking - uneducated and in a position where they don't have much going for them. Instead of being proactive and trying to improve their lives (easier said than done though, i know), they get caught up in this dream that destiny will save them from a life of difficulty. Obviously those susceptible to addiction are most affected and taken advantage of here, as mentioned by some other comments. It's not really a "tax on the stupid" because these people are more of a cost to society by wasting money and putting themselves in harder positions.
Not to mention the people who DO win the lottery don't often find themselves living the peachy life they would expect.
- titfn 11y agoI agree that lottery is bad for society but the only reason that the government is doing it, I think, is because it was worst when organized crime had control over it. But I do think that the government should reinvest all profits in education (not necessarily gambling related), gambling therapy, etc...
- tracker1 11y agoThe problem with that, is they wind up cutting education funding from other sources in favor of lottery funding. That said, funding isn't the biggest problem in education. The bigger issues are teacher pay vs. other costs don't encourage those who would be better teachers. Just because someone dreams of working with kids, or being a vet doesn't mean they have the natural skills needed to do so, or that the training they receive is appropriate for the task. Too much of this is driven by emotions over statistics and policies backed by those emotionally/politically driven ties. The U.S. already spends more per student than most other countries do, and we're behind many of them. This isn't a money problem it's a political one. From the publishing companies to churches, the teacher's unions and everyone opposed and in between. There is far too much politics in and out of the classroom. Kids need to learn that life isn't fair, not everyone wins, and that sometimes you will lose. That doesn't mean you give up and stop trying.
- mcv 11y agoWhile having organized crime run lotteries is certainly bad, some of the examples of predatory advertising mentioned in the article are absolutely despicable and unworthy of a government. If the government runs lotteries, it should only if they have ascertained that a total ban would send lottery players into the arms of organized crime, and government should only run those lotteries with the health of these addicts in mind, and not with any kind of profit motive. Advertising should be of the form: "If you absolutely have to play a lottery, here's how to do it, but be aware that you will lose money and very likely not win anything", and certainly not of the form: "This could be your ticket out of this mess!"
- titfn 11y agocompletely agree
- lotu 11y agoIt's not just winners typically don't find themselves living peachy, winning a large lottery is one of the best ways to ruin your life. Fully 1/3 of lottery winners eventually declare bankruptcy. Not only that they have a x20 chance of being a homicide victim, and 120x of homicide by a family member. Basically all of your relationships are likely to be destroyed by greed, and you will die alone and unhappy. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/24vo34/whats_the_happiest_5word_sentence_you_could_hear/chb38xf https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/24vo34/whats_the...
- rdc12 11y agoI wonder if (not the homicide stats) being aware of these stats would improve your chances of not ending up in a weeker finanicial position, avoiding the common traps kind of thing.
- tracker1 11y agoI buy one a few times a month for the same reason.. only ever one ticket on a given drawing, and usually when the jackpot is over 100 million.