4 ms·

Gambling is one of the worst things and the unfettered spread of gambling is a attempt to further squeeze the middle class. A16z and YC should be shamed for inv

by Ritewut 10mo ago

Gambling is one of the worst things and the unfettered spread of gambling is a attempt to further squeeze the middle class. A16z and YC should be shamed for investing in them but line goes up so who cares.

munificent 10mo ago
> a attempt to further squeeze the middle class. I think it's both a cause of and a symptom of the middle class disappearing. Part of the compulsion towards gambling and lotteries is this sense that there's no other viable path upwards from where you are. If you can't even imagine a reasonable chance of success from starting a small business, finding a better job, going back to school, or some other healthy path towards security and prosperity, then literally rolling the dice starts to seem like the most tangible (if unlikely) path towards wealth. People gamble when they believe they don't have any better opportunities to spend their meager amount of discretionary income on. (Of course, there is a separate compulsion towards gambling that is more a direct mental illness like alcoholism. But if you see a large-scale rise in gambling, I think you need to look for societal causes.)
- chung8123 10mo ago
  To me this is more about our reduced attention span than no upward mobility. People want instant returns now and cannot imagine building their wealth slowly. The middle class is at the top of this since they have the money to invest.
  - kkukshtel 10mo ago
    This is the most boomer response. The idea of a long horizon to build your wealth against implies some faith in the future, which a lot of younger people no longer (righfully) believe in. But for a lot of the working public it seems a lot like they will not get to benefit from a future promised to them, and so have no stock in trying to work with the system to believe in it. https://reallifemag.com/play-to-lose/ https://reallifemag.com/play-to-lose/
mothballed 10mo ago
I prefer to gamble on the price of commodities and productive assets. It makes me feel superior to those that bet on a horse.
- triceratops 10mo ago
  Wanting to feel superior to others is 90% of the reason people spend money on non-essentials. You're in good company.
- zzgo 10mo ago
  The advantage of betting on a horse is that the next race is in 10 minutes. You buy a call on the price of MSFT, for example, and you're going to be waiting a while before you can place another bet. And there are notoriously betting groups around the world that have made fortunes off of betting on horse racing. I'd bet that they feel superior to people betting on commodities and productive assets when they could be betting on horses.
deleted 10mo ago
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by Ritewut 10mo ago

munificent 10mo ago

> a attempt to further squeeze the middle class. I think it's both a cause of and a symptom of the middle class disappearing. Part of the compulsion towards gambling and lotteries is this sense that there's no other viable path upwards from where you are. If you can't even imagine a reasonable chance of success from starting a small business, finding a better job, going back to school, or some other healthy path towards security and prosperity, then literally rolling the dice starts to seem like the most tangible (if unlikely) path towards wealth. People gamble when they believe they don't have any better opportunities to spend their meager amount of discretionary income on. (Of course, there is a separate compulsion towards gambling that is more a direct mental illness like alcoholism. But if you see a large-scale rise in gambling, I think you need to look for societal causes.)

chung8123 10mo ago
To me this is more about our reduced attention span than no upward mobility. People want instant returns now and cannot imagine building their wealth slowly. The middle class is at the top of this since they have the money to invest.
- kkukshtel 10mo ago
  This is the most boomer response. The idea of a long horizon to build your wealth against implies some faith in the future, which a lot of younger people no longer (righfully) believe in. But for a lot of the working public it seems a lot like they will not get to benefit from a future promised to them, and so have no stock in trying to work with the system to believe in it. https://reallifemag.com/play-to-lose/ https://reallifemag.com/play-to-lose/

mothballed 10mo ago

I prefer to gamble on the price of commodities and productive assets. It makes me feel superior to those that bet on a horse.

triceratops 10mo ago
Wanting to feel superior to others is 90% of the reason people spend money on non-essentials. You're in good company.
zzgo 10mo ago
The advantage of betting on a horse is that the next race is in 10 minutes. You buy a call on the price of MSFT, for example, and you're going to be waiting a while before you can place another bet. And there are notoriously betting groups around the world that have made fortunes off of betting on horse racing. I'd bet that they feel superior to people betting on commodities and productive assets when they could be betting on horses.

deleted 10mo ago

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