4 ms·

Clearly you've never lived in a major city or around poorer people. I've seen people drop the kind of money that would make me cringe to spend on lottery ticket

Clearly you've never lived in a major city or around poorer people. I've seen people drop the kind of money that would make me cringe to spend on lottery tickets every week for the last 10 years that I've lived in Boston. It's a joke to suggest that people are pressuring family to invest in their companies in the same way that the lottery pushes itself on those least able to afford it. The lottery is a lot more effective at preying on its victims than any salesmen that I've ever met. The lottery is a tax on the poor dressed up to look good by politicians who seek to gain from it. A single lottery ticket is nothing but the people I see never just buy one. They buy a lot of them.

enjo 16y ago
It does happen. I've met more than one family where an elderly mother and/or father where forced back into working because they invested in their entire life-savings into their child's (or nephew's, niece's, etc...) hair-brained get-rich-quick scheme. That said, I don't see how it's governments role to make sure people don't screw themselves over. Bring on casinos, lotteries, and open investement as far as I'm concerned.
- jswinghammer 16y ago
  I agree with the exception of the lottery. I'd rather not have the state involved in this. I just don't like my tax money funding (even if the lottery more than pays for itself) something I consider immoral.
  - detst 16y ago
    How is your tax money funding the lottery when you admit that it more than pays for itself? In fact, the lottery where I live pays hundreds of millions of dollars into a school fund every year; money that your tax dollars otherwise would have to pay for.
    - jswinghammer 16y ago
      I suppose I have to support some of the infrastructure it uses before it becomes profitable. I just don't want the state involved in that sort of activity. It's the same reason I wouldn't like war even if we paid for it with the spoils.
gte910h 16y ago
>Clearly you've never lived in a major city or around poorer people I live in one of the very odd Atlanta zip codes that abuts a very poor zip and very wealthy zip (byproduct of segregation in the past). BMW's and Lotuses drive through the Taco Bell which is across from Section 8 Housing. (Here is the taco bell if you want to see, no Beamers in the drive thru at the time of photographing): http://bit.ly/a1RHMe http://bit.ly/a1RHMe Of COURSE there are compulsive gamblers: They exist in every population. I actually DO see people play the lottery all the time (and when it's over 100 million, I sometimes purchase a ticket or two). And I'll say, people of all stripes buy lottery tickets. But again, I show you the size of commitment between business investment and lotteries. While in aggregate, people may spend lots on lotteries, at any one time, they are not forced to spend 1-50k dollars to do so. However with business investment, they spend those much larger amounts, and MUST spend those larger amounts to "play the game" so to speak. While some crazy people may spend hundreds per week on the lottery, exceedingly few spend thousands. Exceedingly few spend their savings. However with BUSINESSES, people think "Oh, this is a SAFE investment" and they DO spend money they shouldn't spend and instead should be saving. (And yes, the compulsive gamblers have no savings, we know that, and they're not going to have any savings if you let them invest in websites either). If you look at the data contined in: http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/emily.oster/papers/powerballnote.pdf http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/emily.oster/papers/powerball... You'll see, lottery funding comes across from ALL income groups, and the vast majority of lottery sales come from the middle 60% at all times. (Fig 1 on page 15)

enjo 16y ago

It does happen. I've met more than one family where an elderly mother and/or father where forced back into working because they invested in their entire life-savings into their child's (or nephew's, niece's, etc...) hair-brained get-rich-quick scheme. That said, I don't see how it's governments role to make sure people don't screw themselves over. Bring on casinos, lotteries, and open investement as far as I'm concerned.

jswinghammer 16y ago
I agree with the exception of the lottery. I'd rather not have the state involved in this. I just don't like my tax money funding (even if the lottery more than pays for itself) something I consider immoral.
- detst 16y ago
  How is your tax money funding the lottery when you admit that it more than pays for itself? In fact, the lottery where I live pays hundreds of millions of dollars into a school fund every year; money that your tax dollars otherwise would have to pay for.
  - jswinghammer 16y ago
    I suppose I have to support some of the infrastructure it uses before it becomes profitable. I just don't want the state involved in that sort of activity. It's the same reason I wouldn't like war even if we paid for it with the spoils.

gte910h 16y ago

>Clearly you've never lived in a major city or around poorer people I live in one of the very odd Atlanta zip codes that abuts a very poor zip and very wealthy zip (byproduct of segregation in the past). BMW's and Lotuses drive through the Taco Bell which is across from Section 8 Housing. (Here is the taco bell if you want to see, no Beamers in the drive thru at the time of photographing): http://bit.ly/a1RHMe http://bit.ly/a1RHMe Of COURSE there are compulsive gamblers: They exist in every population. I actually DO see people play the lottery all the time (and when it's over 100 million, I sometimes purchase a ticket or two). And I'll say, people of all stripes buy lottery tickets. But again, I show you the size of commitment between business investment and lotteries. While in aggregate, people may spend lots on lotteries, at any one time, they are not forced to spend 1-50k dollars to do so. However with business investment, they spend those much larger amounts, and MUST spend those larger amounts to "play the game" so to speak. While some crazy people may spend hundreds per week on the lottery, exceedingly few spend thousands. Exceedingly few spend their savings. However with BUSINESSES, people think "Oh, this is a SAFE investment" and they DO spend money they shouldn't spend and instead should be saving. (And yes, the compulsive gamblers have no savings, we know that, and they're not going to have any savings if you let them invest in websites either). If you look at the data contined in: http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/emily.oster/papers/powerballnote.pdf http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/emily.oster/papers/powerball... You'll see, lottery funding comes across from ALL income groups, and the vast majority of lottery sales come from the middle 60% at all times. (Fig 1 on page 15)