When I was living in New Hampshire there was a “feel good” story in the Boston Herald about a guy with a host of financial difficulties: car about to get repossessed, behind on rent and about to get kicked out, down to his last $20. He was sent out to buy food for his kids but instead he bought lottery tickets and hit some big scratchoff prize, 50 or 100 grand. The first thought I had was “what about all of the people in the same situation who spent the last of their money and lost?”
It’s no secret that the number of lottery tickets sold in a neighborhood is inversely proportional to the average income. But who is really paying for all of those tickets? Do you think that if a family that is already on the edge blows their money on a dream that they will A) Suck it up and make do with less until the next check comes in or B) Go to the government for more handouts? Sure, the lottery is a tax on the stupid but when the stupid don’t have any money to begin with who actually pays that tax? We do.
No Doubt
It's a grotesque cancer relentlessly sapping health from the entire body.