The lottery (and gambling generally) is also a disgusting side-effect of free-market economies. It enables those 5% of ticket buyers who are buying 54% of all

The lottery (and gambling generally) is also a disgusting side-effect of free-market economies. It enables those 5% of ticket buyers who are buying 54% of all tickets to experience a false sense of economic security or maybe possibility. In terms of intellectual toxicity, the lottery (and gambling) is right up there with religion. In my opinion, it is a manifest moral failing on the part of state governments, regardless of the fiscal details. If only -- if only -- there was another source of hope besides the accumulation of more consumer goods.