Drat! Another lotto I didn't win!

[pagerbear]

How can I go on living?

[Az]

1. Lotto is a tax on those that can't do math

Eww the Lotto is up to 22million. Now its worth playing..... uh huh.

[quispquake]

2. My friend...

calls the lottery "Fools Tax"...sums it up pretty well...

I've been against lotteries since reading 1984 back in 7th grade...lotteries were meant to keep the common man from thinking about the real issues...

Sounds like Orwell was onto something...

pp23

[Florida_Geek]

3. It is a Tax I love to play

:)

[Bunny]

5. Me too!

I realize the odds of winning are astronomical, but I figure, someone's gonna win, and there's no reason why it CAN'T BE ME!!!!! My money is just as good as anyone else's, I'm not disqualified from winning, so I can dream, can't I?? :7

[Tims]

4. I don't usually gamble

but I'll bet you $10 you will loose the next one too. Care to take me up on my bet?

[silverlib]

6. My husband won $3...

but he has to split it five ways with the guys at work.

I voted against the lottery - my husband voted for it. He therefore will not share his five way split of the $3 win!!!

I agree - it's a poor man's tax.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Is He Going To Retire???

Big winnings there.

It's a poor man's tax, yes, but it requires a definition of poor that i don't buy.

The only people who NEVER buy lottery tickets are already multimillionaires. They sell lottery tickets right at the confections stand at the exchanges in Chicago. So, brokers and agents are buying lotto tickets. They're not poor.

Look, i don't go in for it much. I buy $1 when the prize exceeds the odds. If i have $1 in it, my odds are 114 million to 1. But, if i don't spend the $1, my odds are zero. So, from an optimistic POV, my odds increased by infinity!

Now, i guess i agree that the marketing of the lotto is duplicitous because they don't reveal odds on the commercials. They make people think they actually have some realistic chance of winning. But, at the same time, somebody does eventually win.

I guess the poor man's tax issue comes in to play there, because those with the least education (socioeconomic backgrounds defining the quality of education in this country, far too often) will be the ones least aware of the odds of winning. They spend money on the lotto then, without the excess cash to indulge.

But, if they're spending just a buck or two, that's a pretty cheap dream.
The Professor

[pagerbear]

8. Well, unfortunately....

....the folks I see spending $20 or $50 a week on lotto and other lottery tickets appear to be the ones who can least afford it.

I can afford the $4 a week (lotto Wed & Sat, Mega Millions Tues & Fri)I usually spend, if it gives me a fantasy of being able to retire at 41. God knows I won't be able to retire at 70 on my own resources the way our economy is going now.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Like I Said. . .

. . .it's pretty cheap fantasy fodder.

But, if you see people on the backtail of the income curve spending $20 or more per week, then that is a problem.

And, like i said, i wonder how many of those folks would quit doing that if they knew the odds. (Yeah, i know they're on the back of the ticket; in print so small one needs a microscope to read it.)

If it just dissuaded some, that would be good.
The Professor