Lottery Essay
JD Hatefi
April 10, 2014
Essay 3; Arguable Essay
Lottery: Winning is Losing
Imagine a world where spending a dollar gives you millions in return. For the rest of your life you live comfortably because you took change out of your pocket. Everyone would right? That sort of ideal is exactly what makes the lottery one of the biggest grossing businesses to date. People from all around America spend a dollar on lottery tickets to hopefully win the jackpot of $656 million. Whether rich or poor, the outcome is far too great to grasp. In fact, statistics show the poorer tend to be the ones spending the most on the dreamy reward, which theoretically makes sense due to the fact that they’re the ones most desperate. But are lottery tickets a scam? Then, if so, why do we people keep purchasing? Lotteries prey on the poor and even the lucky winners feel they were cursed. Lotteries weren’t always in existence and were banned in many countries including the US. That is until World War 2 happened; the government was in debt so they allowed the lottery to increase revenue without raising taxes. That all sounds great and dandy, but it isn’t without its major flaws. The chances of winning in the 2012 US Mega Millions lottery were a likelihood of 1 in 259,000,000 or the Powerball jackpot with a chance of 1 in 175.2 million. There’s a more likelihood of being struck by lightning (one in 3 million), attacked by a shark(one in 11.5 million), or even becoming a billionaire(with an astounding one in 785,166). (Investopedia) Its ridiculous and insane how rare the chance of a win is and, let’s face it, why not just become a billionaire. Logically assuming, the more desperate are the more likely to spend on the lottery. Why would any system use the poor to fund for economic problems? The power of greed is a major contribution as to why lotteries are a bad idea. Lotteries should be re-banned due to the fact that they pick on the poor, bring bad policy, and are simply a waste of money.
April 10, 2014
Essay 3; Arguable Essay
Lottery: Winning is Losing
Imagine a world where spending a dollar gives you millions in return. For the rest of your life you live comfortably because you took change out of your pocket. Everyone would right? That sort of ideal is exactly what makes the lottery one of the biggest grossing businesses to date. People from all around America spend a dollar on lottery tickets to hopefully win the jackpot of $656 million. Whether rich or poor, the outcome is far too great to grasp. In fact, statistics show the poorer tend to be the ones spending the most on the dreamy reward, which theoretically makes sense due to the fact that they’re the ones most desperate. But are lottery tickets a scam? Then, if so, why do we people keep purchasing? Lotteries prey on the poor and even the lucky winners feel they were cursed. Lotteries weren’t always in existence and were banned in many countries including the US. That is until World War 2 happened; the government was in debt so they allowed the lottery to increase revenue without raising taxes. That all sounds great and dandy, but it isn’t without its major flaws. The chances of winning in the 2012 US Mega Millions lottery were a likelihood of 1 in 259,000,000 or the Powerball jackpot with a chance of 1 in 175.2 million. There’s a more likelihood of being struck by lightning (one in 3 million), attacked by a shark(one in 11.5 million), or even becoming a billionaire(with an astounding one in 785,166). (Investopedia) Its ridiculous and insane how rare the chance of a win is and, let’s face it, why not just become a billionaire. Logically assuming, the more desperate are the more likely to spend on the lottery. Why would any system use the poor to fund for economic problems? The power of greed is a major contribution as to why lotteries are a bad idea. Lotteries should be re-banned due to the fact that they pick on the poor, bring bad policy, and are simply a waste of money.