The stupid tax.
I admit, I have played Powerball but only when the jackpot exceeds 80 million. Somehow that allows my ego and conscience enough dignity to play.
The reality is- is that these types of lotteries are absolutely the worst gamble on the planet. It amounts to little more than surrendering your hard earned money. The only sure winner is the states' and the Federal government who without ever so much as purchasing one measly ticket- manage to steal half of every lottery winner's treasure.
Small wonder that gambling and lotteries were illegal up to the point that government saw an opportunity to steal even more money from the citizenry. Suddenly, that horrible vice of gambling became palatable and acceptable to governments everywhere. They love the lottery.
So last Saturday night, with the jackpot cracking 100 million, I bought a five dollar quick pick which in fact became a ten dollar quick pick- the cashier informed me. It seems that the Powerball people, not satisfied with simply stealing everyone's money, decided to double down and steal twice as much.
When you offer such a good deal at odds of 100 million to one- apparently this gives you pricing power and marketability. Fantasy and hope sells.
I opted out of the cigarette tax last year. This year I am opting out of the stupid tax.
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5 comments:
It used to be worth a dollar now and then for a nice daydream, but I'm not playing anymore.
Fantasy and hope are all that are left of the American dream for some of us.
The saddest comment I ever saw was to the effect that some survey reported roughly 30% had answered "lottery winnings" as part of their retirement savings plan.
It's no better up here in Canada. The big lottery pooh-bahs live very well on taxpayer largesse while the jackpots keeping shrinking as a percentage of the ticket proceeds. But then again, what other way can you get people to line up and voluntarily pay even more in taxes?
Dude, stop talking like a leftist. They didn't "steal" your money, you GAVE it to them, voluntarily. (Unlike your tax dollars, but that's a rant for another time.)
Me, I'll play every so often...it's a buck. When I used to smoke, I went through more than that in American Spirit Periques before breakfast. Even at two dollars, who really cares? They're just keeping up with the devaluation of our currency. (A hundred mil just doesn't buy what it used to, ya know.)
I play because I do know something about math: The distance between zero and one is infinity. That's right; one chance in eleventy zillion is infinitely better than no chance at all.
Admittedly, once you have purchased that one chance, it becomes exponentially harder to raise your chances of winning in any sort of statistically significant way. That's why those who spend hundreds of dollars on lottery tickets are dumbasses. But a buck or two now and then is really a non-issue.
Interesting rant Wraith. I am not gonna comment on the leftist remark but that is some low shit.
Of particular note, there was a gal in line ahead of me...one of those nerdy beotches who fills out those lottery cards with their winning formulas on them. Of course, she fucked one up which added an additional 3-4 minutes of check out time.
When the smoke cleared, the clerk said that will be 32 dollars. The woman replied, "that's the most I have ever spent on the lottery."
Like I said, the stupid tax.
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