Sure wager is lottery exploitation of poor

Minneapolis Star Tribune ^ | 12/31/02 | Paul Campos

[rhema]

Last week's record Powerball prize generated a windfall of publicity for that multi-state lottery. Several cable news channels gave live coverage to the press conference announcing that one lucky ticket buyer had won a nine-figure jackpot, and in subsequent days the national media dedicated extensive coverage to the story.

[Nick Thimmesch]

You bet.

[cake_crumb]

"Funny that they would say they were when they were arguing against individual liberty and responsibility. I guess I could make sense of an argument against the state sponsoring vice, but then it does now (e.g. welfare for the poor = theft from the productive)."

Yep. The entire article is an odd contradiction in terms, which is what generally happens when a some lefty orbiting the planet in some alternate universe takes the time to try to pose an argument from an allegedly moral angle.

[Fred Mertz]

State lotteries, by contrast, give back only 50 percent of the money wagered on them.

With the feds taking about 50% of the 50 percent, I figure the take-home is about 25%, if that. Am I correct Sam?

Like you, I despise state run lotteries. When I worked in DC I was the closest thing to a white person in line to buy two dollars worth on Fridays.

[steelwheels]

Friends of ours will buy a ticket or two when the jackpot is high. The rest of the time, they ignore the lottery. I do see it as a tax on the poor.

Talk about stupid, 4 million or 80 million both amounts are life changing. I love to see so called "poor people" pay their share. God Bless Texas

[cake_crumb]

"I don't know of any "rich" people who would waste money on the state lottery with its millions to one odds (of winning the big prize)."

I know plenty of them. Being financially independent is no barrier to wanting to get richer, or playing for fun or even compulsive gambling.

My perspective comes from knowing quite a few people who would easily be considered at least financially well off and still play for the fun of it, and from being the daughter of a financially independent, compulsive gambler. My dad doesn't blame the state or the casino or the track for somehow forcing him to bet. He knows it's his own weakness, but figures since it's his only vice, what the heck. It isn't hurting anyone but him (occasionally)

It's no one's job to tell him what is good for him and what isn't.

[steelwheels]

people will find something else to blow their money on. That's why they are poor people

Here are a few more reasons Sam.... sickness, death, injuries, accidents, corrupt employers, corrupt insurance companys, bad investments, layoffs, injustice, wars, victim of crime, divorce, corrupt judges, corrupt lawyers, victim of circumstance... do I need to go on?

[cake_crumb]

"I can agree with that point. Here in Georgia, we have lotto but no casinos. Georgians by the thousands drive to Mississippi or North Carolina, with their money, and spend it in casinos."

I agree with that one point of Sam Adams' posts too. Here in PA, people simply drive to the nearest reservation or right over the Canadian border. I've argued this point with the state for years. Why waste OUR tax money raiding small town bars where people get into quarter ante games of Three's, spend a buck on sports polls, etc? Heck, PA even makes it illegal to buy any type of lottery tickets outside prescribed locations...so everybody just drives across the border and spends PA money in New York State. It's utterly stupid and a complete waste.

Government shouldn't be allowed to handle money of any type. I know of no government that is any btter then UTTERLY terrible at it.

[SamAdams76]

I know plenty of them. Being financially independent is no barrier to wanting to get richer, or playing for fun or even compulsive gambling.

But people who have become financially independent know more than anybody else that the state lottery is a fool's game and not a valid way to increase one's wealth. As I said before, there is nothing "fun" about picking six numbers out of 30 at odds of millions to one. If one is a compulsive gambler, one would choose to go to Las Vegas where the odds are considerably better (and the games more fun).

It's no one's job to tell him what is good for him and what isn't.

I agree. If you read my earlier posts, you would see that I couldn't care less if there was a casino on every street corner. My beef is with the government running a monopolized gambling operation, playing "bookie" to their citizens, while making gambling illegal for everybody else. I do not think the proper role of government is to run a lottery. I believe gambling should be legalized.

[leadpenny]

You forgot the tax on high-end cars and other non-necessities.

I'll assume you left off the "/sarcasm" tag. For me a car is a necessity. If I could get by without them, I would. It's also why I drive an older, less expensive used car. I don't want to give the state any more than I have to. It's my choice. I don't play the lotteries primarily out of principle. I don't drink or smoke mostly for health reasons but am well aware I am not feeding the beast in my abstention.

[SamAdams76]

My point was about people who willingly keep themselves poor by making poor financial decisions (such as playing the lottery), not about people who got that way through misfortune. I don't know why you would bring that into this argument unless your intention was to somehow shame me for speaking ill of poor people. Of course many people suffer misfortune and become poor through little or no fault of their own but it makes little sense to compound the misfortune by playing the lottery.

[spectre]

Thank you, Billy. I stand corrected.

First mistake I've made all year!

sw

[cake_crumb]

"Polls" was supposed to be "pools"...my hands are cold...hard to type with gloves on...getting ready to cut the finger off them...

[cake_crumb]

"But people who have become financially independent know more than anybody else that the state lottery is a fool's game and not a valid way to increase one's wealth. As I said before, there is nothing "fun" about picking six numbers out of 30 at odds of millions to one."

I know plenty who would disagree with you about that...heck, I waste $5 or $10 bucks a month on it myself. New York Quick Draw mostly...it's fun. Like I said, I know people who drop a hundred or two a week on it. THAT is inconcievable to me, but it's their thing. I can't tell you why, but it IS fun for some people. I waste a buck a week on the football pool or baseball pool or race pool...whatever season pool it is, and I waste $10 bucks on the Super Bowl pool. Makes the games or races more interesting if nothing else.

I agree with you that the government has no right to monopolize gambling the way it does...the government seems to think that it's monopoly on "sin" is ok... althewhile decrying those same "sins", "weaknesses", whatever. Heck, flip over a lottery ticket, even an instant win ticket...on the back you'll find the 800 Gamblers Anonymous hotline of all things. The lottery is here, though. Government makes big bucks on it...and will NEVER give up it's monopoly on it.

My only point is that no one forces people, whether they're rich, "poor" or somewhere in between to buy those tickets.

[RKV]

It makes me sad when I hear of people who are addicted to gambling or other compulsive behavior. I am sorry for their families and the others they harm. But it is NONE of my business what they do (within the limits of just laws) and NONE of my problem what they do to their families. I'll take care of mine and they get to take care of theirs, or not. Their failure does not legitimize the theft of my productive efforts.

[cake_crumb]

"Their failure does not legitimize the theft of my productive efforts."

Absolutely. THEY are responsible for their own actions. WE are not. Encouraging the compulsive gambler to blame the government for his lack of control ( I feel sorry for obsessive compulsives too, but like you, know that I didn't make them that way ) rather than himself is, as is all lefty buck-passing blame-shifting, destructive to the affected individual, that individual's family and ultimately to society.

This article makes me think there's a McDonald's-type class action lawsuit in the works. Instead of suing the government for "forcing" them to scarf a dozen Big Macs a day, they'll sue the government for "forcing" them to spend their hard-earned Welfare checks on lottery tickets.

[pabianice]

LOL! A Communist rag like this one, whining about redistribution of income...!

[Sparta]

The state-funded lotteries should be privatized. Let the market run the lotteries.

[cake_crumb]

"The state-funded lotteries should be privatized. Let the market run the lotteries."

Better yet, private lotteries should be made legal, then state lotteries would die the death of all bad competitors in a competitive capitalist market. 'Course, we won't hold our breath.

[meyer]

How are lotteries any worse than investing in the stock market?

The stock market, on average over the length of its existance, has returned a net gain of somewhere around 6-8%. It produces a gain due to growth. You aren't betting on numerical odds, you're investing in the ideas of the leaders of the company you choose to produce a money-making idea. Yes, there are up and down periods, but over the long haul (and that can be very long), a diverse portfolio will gain. Its almost guaranteed. Almost...

The lottery is purely a game of chance, but the odds don't match the payout. First, the initial odds of winning are purely numerically based. Second, those odds aren't close to matching the actual payout - that is, if a given lottery has a 1/10,000,000 chance of drawing the winning numbers, you can bet (no pun intended) that the average payout is a lot less than 10,000,000 dollars. This is known as the 'house edge'. Since the state is the "house", it gets the edge. I don't have exact figures, but the total lottery payout vs. money taken in is something like 50%, more or less.

[meyer]

In my opinion the biggest story about the latest Lotto craze was untold. From sweat to ticket, Americans shelled out approximatley 787 Million dollars into this ponzi scheme. The government kept 674 Million by virtue of their monopoly.

Which essentially says that its a whole lot worse than I thought if you figure in the tax portion of the game.