The Scam No One Sees 

Just the "its a tax on the poor" is a little demeaning to the poor. It's a tax on gamblers, and it just so happens that there are more lotery gamblers among the statistical group of the poor than among the rich (perhaps there are just as many rich gamblers too, just gambling on cassinos or horses, or shit, stock markets?). But saying its a tax on the poor implies all poor people are irresponsible gambling fools that waste the money away at scrach offs, which is very incorrect, the high amount of money spent on lotery by the poor on the statistics is raised that high by a small cohort of that population.

It's a tax on the ignorant. Anyone who understands odds and probabilities would never give a dime to the lottery.

@@eduffy4937 People who are perpatually poor, often are like you desctibe. Some others are just temporarily poor, but slowly taking steps into higher incomes. Just as some people are rich not because they manag their money well, but because their grandpa did, and they themselves are just chipping away at what they inherited for free. Socio-economic inertia is a thing.

Nah it's a tax on the stupid.

It’s a poor person’s 401k plan.

True indeed

Most state lotteries were setup to benefit education in some way

300 million $ went to Missouri schools from the Missouri lottery in 2022 alone. I don't like the word scam cause it carries a negative connotation. Sure someone getting rich, but its 1000x better than pretty much every other business in terms of overall contribution to society imo.

@@PherPhur yeah only if in your head a new whatever $300 million business is not going to decrease the prices of that product. Probably in your head collages and university are not money making business either. Basic question if you have excessive amount of collages, dairy, or some other products or specific food in your area will it going to be cheap or expensive?

They volunteer for it though

But he is not "calling it out for what it is". The lottery is not a tax on the poor. Taxes are mandatory, the lottery is not.

@@Thewinner312 While participation in the lottery is technically voluntary, its regressive nature, disproportionate impact on low-income individuals, and broader societal implications suggest that it functions, to some extent, as a tax on the poor.

@@Mr_T. You have just said literally nothing. You have only queued up a few pseudo-intelligent words that don't mean anything. Like how is something "technically" voluntary? Either you have to do something or you don't. Nobody has to play the lottery, making it voluntary. Just saying the word "technically" before a fact, doesn't change that it's a fact.

@@Thewinner312 Damn conservatives, always thinking in black & white. Gemini seems on the mark for a pseudo-intelligent AI. There are situations where an act appears voluntary on the surface but may have underlying factors that limit true free choice. Here are a few examples, including the lottery: 1. The Lottery: Limited Economic Opportunities: For people in poverty, the lottery might appear as a chance for a better life, a way out of their economic hardship. However, the odds of winning are very low, making it an unrealistic solution. This lack of realistic alternatives creates a situation where the lottery, despite its low success rate, seems like the only option. 2. Unfair Contracts: Power Imbalance: Someone in a desperate financial situation might agree to a loan with unfair terms because they urgently need the money. While they technically agree to the contract, the unequal bargaining power creates pressure that limits their ability to make a truly free choice. 3. Coercive Advertising: Exploiting Vulnerabilities: Advertising that preys on insecurities or fears can manipulate people into buying unnecessary products. The act of purchase might be voluntary, but the underlying pressure or emotional manipulation reduces genuine free will. 4. Limited Education or Information: Deceptive Marketing: Someone might agree to a service or product based on misleading marketing. Without complete information, their decision is not based on a truly free choice. 5. Addiction: Compulsive Behavior: People struggling with addiction may engage in harmful behaviors voluntarily, but the addiction itself limits their ability to make rational choices. Key Points to Consider: Voluntariness and Pressure: The presence of pressure, limited options, or manipulation can make an act appear voluntary but cast doubt on the true freedom of choice involved. Context Matters: The context surrounding a decision is crucial. A seemingly voluntary act might be less so when considering the underlying circumstances. The lottery example highlights the limitations of free will when economic hardship restricts realistic options. People are "voluntary" in their choice, but the context of poverty makes the lottery seem like a more viable option than it truly is. By understanding these complexities, we can have a more nuanced understanding of human behavior and decision-making.

When you get to that state you should look at yourself from 3rd person view and realize that you're just fooling yourself and it's unproductive in long run. Life is not a race it's a marathon

If they spent that money and time wasted daydreaming trying to actually build a business or get a better paying career or better themselves they’d be in a greater position. Problem is a lot of people are just lazy and want the easy way out of things.

@@b-rare if youre happy daydreaming then thats winning life

It is hard to argue that those people are not making an informed decision. It is not the economically optimal decision, but neither is paying for lessons in watercoloring, or a huge ass Wroom-car or collecting pokemon cards or whatever other things people spend (waste?) their money on. From a certain point of view, buying a lottery ticket in order to derive greater enjoyment from watching the lottery on tv is not much different from paying for a netflix subscription or membership of a golf club.

Thats the logic of someone with almost no hope left, the odds dont matter when its the only way out you can see

If he wins it’s a personal expense. If he loses it’s a business expense. 😂

*Team: "bet"

Irs: you might regret this

Johnny has it all figured out. His life is a business expense from the electronics to the travel.

Good fucking luck explaining that to the tax man

But I bet you didn't win and are just $5 poorer.

​@@chrisbuckley1785now that is a good bet 😂

What’s the problem? Jobs replace ppl like they never knew the ppl existed 🥴

People ALWAYS way over estimate their chances of winning

Sounds like your research for that class did not go well. Honestly, part of that is probably simply because you were a student who government bureaucrats do not have to take seriously. Credentials would have gotten you further. And if not, you could have used some of the skills journalists develop (if they are any good.)

@@ems4884 You shouldn’t need credentials to access records that they publicize as public. If they want it to be private they shouldn’t promote it as such.

@@TheArob yeah, that’s pretty sus for a government to be covert about public information

Is there such a thing as FOIA requests for state documents?

Yeah, so the funds barely did what they said it did. A tiny little vein of help for the seniors and I suppose the main majority of the funds went elsewhere.

The "anti-government" crowd are usually the most susceptible to other money scams too like MLM, pyramid schemes, and other Ponzi and get rich quick schemes. Best not to mention that to them, it's fun for them and education for you.

It's just annoying seeing our income being taxed multiple times over in numerous states.

I don’t want to be stating the obvious, but the government isn’t the only one that runs lotteries. It would just be another private corpo. Like the PNE with their free house lottery? Have you seen that? The only practical solution would be to ban lotteries altogether

@@popopop984 We cannot do that anymore. Look at what happened when alcohol was banned. lmao People. The best and only path is to educate people, and i'm not talking about schools. Just give the the info, make them realize what they are doing (basically what this video does too).

It's not a tax. The key distinction is that taxes are involuntary and enforced by legal penalty. Buying lottery tickets, while dumb, is entirely voluntary.

You're more likely to be attacked by a shark in the middle of the desert.

But if you win, you can help millions of more. It all starts with a dream honey, you will never win if you don’t play. A two dollar play is worth multi million dollar possibility to me.

@@montaiahypolite5275 you are not going to win the lotto!

We should do a RU-vid , how much money I save from not buying a lottery ticket , so basically save the the same money over 10 years I bet it’s 20-40 k

@@MediaMusik777 I've kind of already done that without the RU-vid video, and before and after I started buying lottery tickets.

@@MediaMusik777 Anyone who wastes between 20k and 40k on lottery in ten years needs to sort out their priorities. That sort of money could go towards paying off a mortgage or ending some kind of debt.

Some people win from buying FIRST EVER TICKET!!!!

So? It's still extremely rare and doesn't mean that millions are still being conned out of their losses. It still doesn't justify all the poor gambling addicts whose lives are ruined.@@elenaefremova7463

Yep, the worst thing to happen to a gambling addict is them actually winning something, they double down and spend the winnings and more

they felt too rich to spend their money on themself, therefore, just throw away that trash money into a gambling paper

That’s true because I once stepped on someone’s dropped lottery ticket at a car wash that ended up being a $500 winner.

kino

Thank you, I was going to make this point as well, but you nailed it.

It's not "desperate." I'm poor, but I can also do math, so it's a tax on people who are stupid. This often includes poor people, and we should be realistic about who is paying for these things.

@@joeis18 This to me sounds like somebody telling someone else that professional wrestling is fake. The vast majority of people who watch wrestling know its fake, and still chose to enjoy it, while I know a ton of people that know full well that their chances of winning the lottery are close to nil, and yet choose to participate anyways. It's the same kind of comment that leads addicts to hide their addiction, because they're afraid of being seen as dumb (as often repeat that kind of comment to themselves, leading to worse outcomes). Assuming that everyone who plays the lottery is "dumb" isn't realistic, it's detrimental, and leads to avoiding the problem instead of resolving it.

It's a tax on hope from the poor.

@@CeeJayLerod Yeah but Wrestling is fun to watch and is worth the money. I get what you are trying to convey though and you are right to some extent, but while the majority of people who play lottery fully know it is unlikely to win, not that much know that it's more likely that they get struck by lightning twice than to win the jackpot.

😒 they have habit of pulling tickets out there ass or asking for another ticket right as you close the transaction

@@aleks-wy6uf 🤣 yeah bro, yet they keep complaining that they have no money and they need a winner and shit ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ buts it's probable I'm stupid

They're absolutely the scummiest. Some black woman even said, "ima beat yo ass".

Same experience. People won 10$ and buy more to tickets from that smh

"Yo, I need a pick 3 double down power play."

People don’t be realizing but that gambling addiction can be worse than drugs

@@YTISASF as someone who struggled with both a gambling addiction and a drug addiction in the past, I can 100% confirm that the gambling addiction was far worse than the drug addiction. At least in terms of how hard it was to stop. But there are other factors as well. A gambling addiction is far easier to hide from family and friends. And that makes it way easier to get away with without anyone realizing you need help.

Damn bro hope things get better you. He’s definitely addicted to gambling, living with someone like that is never easy. Good luck to you

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

@@xerowolf4242 exactly there is no physical sign of dependency like their is with most drugs. I was the same way too and I’m blessed to have gotten over that point in my life without completely ruining it. Glad you overcame your struggles as well

Alternate universe

I would hope if he had, he'd pull a Mr. Beast and help some poor people with eye surgery or something good like that.

​@@deivclayton I would hope if he had he spend it on a big fireworks show, and a lifetime supply of doritos

He wouldn't complain if he did.

Why was I really hoping this would happen?! 😂😂

Excellent, here they should give to the elderly

*tax on the uneducated

@@quasii7 he gets it. If you wanna play deconstryction games, then go all the way with them. Don't just switch one bad generalization for another.

i also have a feeling that people who win are actors!

hg

I don't like the lottery because it takes advantage of the uneducated, but I think calling it a tax is silly when it is voluntary. (Setting aside those who do or don't believe in free will vs determinism) no one forces people to buy a lotto ticket. To me it is less a tax, and more just a predatory scheme.

😢😢😢 They would not have nothing on it never will hear about it

The charity aspect is good

I'm sorry to hear about cancer. I know it has to be tough and exhausting, physically and mentally. And yeah, I believe that any financial stuff should always be the LAST thing a person fighting cancer should be thinking about. That's so much extra stress to put up with on top of it all. Anyway, I hope everything is going well for you ♡ 💪Keep fighting, hun and much love and hugs to you! ♡ And FUCK CANCER. I hope and pray for a cure someday very soon.

Sadly, we have this instead of socialized healthcare

That's shit mate. No one deserves fuckin cancer. Hope the money helps you kick it's arse. Good luck with the fight and I hope the universe lets you win the lottery of life 🙏🙏🙂

Yep a portion of money being used, are for charitable works. And also recently almost 400 people won the jackpot on a single night. You better check it out.

the harms of gambling outweigh the benefits by a thousandfold

Most of this video is fluff... like at least 80%+

@@Monkehrawrrr Huh?? What's ya problem with this vid? He has to put some entertainment value in it or no ones gunna watch it. And he came to the right conclusion. Did ya want it to just be 30 secs long and for him to say the lottery is a tax on the poor, stupid and desperate and that's it with no context......100% of your comment is incomprehensible. 🤷‍♂

Down here in Australia we literally have the highest rate of gambling in the world and there's heaps of gambling ads on the TV followed by some quick "gamble responsibly" bs and a gamblers help line phone number the Government forces em to up to pretend they care even though the Government makes a shitload outa taxing gambling. There's slot machines or poker machines or pokies as we call em in every pub or club. Most countries like the U.S. only allow em in casinos. But they're bloody everywhere down here.

Or if they just stopped, that would be another good option.

Another thing the Dutch has done right

And he means it

better than cigarettes i guess

Cancer?

@@charlesgale4257 Yeah my father smoked so much, that he could have probably bought a house if he saved all that money over the years. Can't say what's worse.

@@alittleeager1485 And you should say that about everything. It's just that cigarettes are way worse than any of those things. Super expensive, and you are still hungry after you smoke. At least if you are eating a burger each day you took care of one of your basic needs.

The fed an state tax rate is true

The potential to just keep it all and pretend there are secret winners is too great as goverment is by definition ritualized corruption and manipulation of the general public. Power always corrupts and there is never enough money or power for the corrupted to be satisfied.

You don't live in Japan quit lying you weaboo.

I think that means that nobody’s winning.

Announcing who won the lottery is honestly pretty screwed tbh.

@@henvdemon AFAIK in US, in many states you can refuse to be announced. But because lottery is mostly used by low education people, they usually don't understand they can refuse to be announced and don't hire lawyer before collecting their winnings. There are lawyers who specialize on lottery winners and will help you to do everything without broadcasting your name, but most winners just rush in, agree to everything and get the money, without any planning or hiring the lawyer/adviser, because, well, they are mostly low education part of the society. There are also options on taking the winnings using trust instead of as a person. But yeah, even in states that allow this, many people still go with media rush. And even if your name is announced as a winner, the only things announced are name, city and the store you got the ticket. You can simply move the state/city and change the name after that, you will have money for that.

Utility at its finest.

Forget the soda, herbal tea is cheaper & healthier.

source?

​@@adikul358 search up denver7 betterhelp. There is an article about it.

@@adikul358 there are many, a quick search will show you some studies

Advertising therapy is trendy these days… we all need to talk to someone about our feelings 🤡

Burden of proof is on the accuser. Yes, I looked it up and you have a valid point, but all the people reading your comment without a source is shady in itself. That's how disinformation spreads.

Ive even read that its way, way more common for lottery winners to end up worse vs the opposite. Like only a few make the right choices

They also are swarmed by scammers. Rich people can hire loyal advisers because those advisors know that they can achieve a long successful career advising people with stable and high income. Also conventionally rich people have connections to other powerful people who can share the reputation of these advisors. Not only are lottery winners less financially aware, there's no practical reason for anybody else to give them good long term advice.

I've heard of lottery winners waiting to come forward, and paying someone to claim it for them to be anonymous.

Apparently you're a lot more likely to die if you win the lottery. Like... By a lot. For money reasons.

​@@Dominator9572 That's a pretty smart move, and taking the money over time is the only way to go... How could anyone possibly need so much at once that they'd be willing to lose half of it altogether?

That's actually phenomenal return for them. At my job we would pool together half that amount for Powerball, about 35 of us, $10 each, and every time we would win between $6- $15. So the people you're talking about did very well Edit- I don't mean $6 - $15 EACH, I mean total for us to split 🤣

Amen

Totally agree Move out of the way!

😂 funny I always say the same

Just the other day I was at the train station trying to buy my sandwich and coffee before I caught my train and the person in front of me was cashing in their tickets and deciding how many more tickets to buy with their "winnings" 🤦‍♀️ I was getting super antsy thinking I'd miss my train. The line behind me grew to like 7 people when it started with just the one lady. I really don't think these transactions should happen person to person at a place like a train station 😅

I do not think it is unethical, it is a service you can take it or leave it. The government has to use their more wisely and addicts are a problem. There is also a good reason for higher earners to not take the service as for me 20M more would not change my life significantly. It will most probubliy mean more work.

rather have the lottery instead of taxes personally. Be alot more appealing tbh.

It's not a tax literally nor figuratively. You pay a set fee for a chance at a set reward. That's literally it. Where that money goes is irrelevant. A tax is money paid directly to a government for a service. This is not that. And I think it's on ethical to deny people who are poor the chance to win millions of dollars for a tiny charge. It's also arrogant because you're assuming that the poor are stupid and don't know what they're doing. They know the odds of winning are incredibly low.

I’m an accountant who should never been seen in a casino

Yes! Tax doesn't have to be taxing. Another one tobacco especially in Australia,Ireland and the UK. Its over $20 dollars for a pack of cigarettes in Aus

Winnings are tax free in most countries I think

@@ZachBobBob not in any country some countries tax your winnings for example the USA

@@altrimdjaferi8167 Yeah the USA is an outlier is what I'm saying

Same as Canada

@@altrimdjaferi8167 the usa would tax us on air we breathe if they could. Nothing is off the table for those parasites.

And the state government, and in some places the city government, as well.

Lol you may be hopeless but at least you still funny

Jesus can give you hope. No depression can stay when you find your identity in Him! There's so much purpose for you.

i like how u saw the positive here. i bless u

The mental health equivalent of being immune to malaria because of sickle cell anemia

Sounds like you haven't found the right game or type of gambling! ;)

Daaanng . It's soo strange to me how a person can be against drugs and alcohol and other Addictions yet they themselve are stuck in gambling(which in your dad's case is lottery) and they don't even realise thats what addiction is.

​@@forrestyt1302 Mental gymnastics. Alcohol, Ciggaretes = bad Lottery = good

yep. but once in a while, someone is wrong.

Funny enough actually, I did win the lottery. My name's Shane Missler, and I won 450 million, several years ago.

​@@O2TGif u were winning even a million u wouldn't came in the comments and reply to proof the reality of lottery u could be quite busy for that haha

Bing joker lottery Win Win Win Win Johnny lottery Pottery Win 20 million dollar. It's good thing because we made money part time. Start tickets for 1$ buck to 10$ dollar Spam

It is a scam, pray it never gets okayed in your state

Whether you save those few dollars for a beer, an investment or give it away to a church or homeless stranger, you will have done yourself a service, Mr Friday.

@@Alsatiagent for some reason people around me beg for it

They do have enough funding. Public schools have even more funds available than private schools.

@@LisaCulton maybe where you're from schools have enough money but not here in America

@@Primo_extracts That was in South Carolina where my son had been enrolled in both a public and an expensive private school and I looked up the (publicly available) spending per student in the public schools... And found out that thousands more were spent on the public school children as compared to the upscale private school. Very interesting.

No government institution will ever have "enough funding."

@@LisaCulton In SC, are private schools that don't discriminate with student enrollment allowed to claim some form of government funding? But, I wouldn't be surprised, since most things are supplied by the school in public schools, but you have to pay for almost everything in private schools. I don't actually know if your private schools include extraneous expenses in tuition costs. Most of the private schools I know are pretty expensive since tuition doesn't cover the other costs like equipment, food, books, specialized uniforms, etc.

Do they rig the lottery ?

@@kawaiipoop3160 Well, for the powerball it's not really rigged.. everyone buys it making the prize bigger, until they show the winning numbers but the odds of being that special person are very very low.

​@@kawaiipoop3160no, the mathematical and statistical odds are just shit for the gambler

I love how people win lotto every week, but apparently lots of people are getting struck twice by lightning every week. Must be such a boring news topic that nobody even bothers to report on it anymore. Your statistics suck.

​@@kawaiipoop3160they don't need to. just do the math. here where i live they have to legally put the odds in the little thing you put the numbers in it's simple school maths, just apply to the lottery your curious about to see how hard it is

I wonder if things will change now scamolot have lost the lottery. I have played both the lottery and euromillions from the start and never won more than £200 and in fact have only won twice both being under that 200 quid. I feel that it is just a tax on the poor and they play on the fact that the poorer element of society play it in the almost impossible belief that oneday those numbers will come up. But they won't will they.

Idk my mom's allotment has had loads of funding from the lottery so it's good occasionally sometimes

A lot of recent British Olympic success was bankrolled by the lottery. It allowed athletes to give up their part time jobs and train full time.

The public has no say when it comes to where the money goes. If you look into who/what gets lottery funding you'd be very surprised, if not shocked and even outraged.

In GB instead of buying lottery tickets you can just make a one off investment in Premium Bonds. These go into a monthly draw FOR LIFE, the prizes range between £25 and £1m. Your heirs get the money back when you die. So all you lose is the interest you would have got on your investment.

Wow we are over taxed here our founding fathers are rolling in their graves

I believe here in quebec the prize money is taxed as it counts as revenue

​@@blueburyrs949 Quebec is a waste of resources, too.

@@blueburyrs949 False, In Quebec, it is TaxFree

@@SpaceXToMars thank you for the correction

@@blueburyrs949 my pleasure

Yup. Tryna talk my friend out of this habit but he wont listen. Lottery preys on willing, desperate, and broke people making them even more broke. Sad stuff.

@@Jspec03 If they are already broke they are broke either way.... Even if they win something that might not change....

That's pretty similar to most privatisation that occurred under the LNP. From CommBank to the power companies, they seem to love giving nationalised things to their buddies on the cheap

@@infernalstan886 same in the UK. Conservatives here love selling our public utilities and public services to private groups and their buddies. Rotten lot they are

That's not true. The Lott is a State Government owned corporation. QLD. Some goes to state coffers whilst the rest goes to charities.

They just award contracts for people to run it. Still state owned.

Who checks the legitimacy of the lotto and how prone are they to bribes?!

Glad you lived(living) a good life with no lotto scams

@@imibuks-replit Thanks! I Thank GOD because he made me too "cheap" to buy lotto tickets LOL! for this reason I have never visit Las Vegas, no way Jose! : )

@@TheMELTDOWN911 I tried gambling when I was a kid, and I like to say that I was lucky to have never won any money. So in a sense, I really got lucky early. People who got "lucky" early, are still hooked hopping they can repeat that. The thing with me is, I barely respect the money I earn, and I still spend excessively. If I were to get a huge pile of money, it would destroy me completely. It's not just the money, but it would revive my ego and my illusions that universe does look after me after all. I would never recover my working habits, as I would now live in a universe where it is indeed possible to gain a lot of money without putting in a serious effort. I could never focus on work, because I would knew that there is a easy way out. It would make me a gambling addict forever. So, I prefer living this boring life, where I have to work hard for everything.

@@julius43461 You are the leader of your own destiny, never give up, but respect money, I guess I do respect money because when was a kid had nothing, my dad left us, so most of my childhood had nothing no toys no new clothes no fancy tennis shoes, only could afford buying second hand clothing, my childhood and teenager years were really bad, I even thought to be a drug dealer, Thank GOD I had a Mother who kicked my behind all the time, now at 51 and retired from work only living from the rent of my properties, really appreciate the way mom raised me, with a frickig belt on the hand at all times, I suffered a lot as a kid, I could even say I was abused, but Thanks to that, I live free now, good luck my friend and please respect money is the only way to be free, see I can afford a new Mercedes or BMW, but I drive a 2008 Ford Focus....

I think I remember him saying in a video that he has a degree in business or economics, something like that

I don’t know man ya should of hired more economists for sure

@@ronjose51 and you should HAVE hired an english teacher

Btw, how is the economic situation in Lanka right now? Hope it's all good.

@@bhavanarayanasripada1354 It's actually looking a little bit more promising, our inflation is reducing and the LKR is appreciating against the dollar. We are really tightening our belts, we have high import bans, but on the converse our exports increased due to the earlier LKR depreciation against the dollar. Also all eyes are on the government, they know they cannot afford another mistake ridden with political myopia. We are doing our best! Also thank you so much for your concern. It's really nice of you to inquire.

Smart guy yk

Can we get a better fact of the day

@@celticsfaninthedesert4778 the fact itself is already better than you so idk abt that

So

Can we get serious now? OMG.

Do you play baccarat 😉

Usernamecheckout

@@diabolivirtusen-tavares-ea4645 I did for several years!

@@Tristanboskie nice nice 😁 I just quit 2wks ago.... did all the neccessary things to stop myself from going to play

@@diabolivirtusen-tavares-ea4645 I had to do the same thing brother, I was convinced I was a baccarat god until I ended up destroying all my savings. 50k in a month gone. I was given a trial of pain medications and lost total control. Self exclusion is what gave me my life back! I appreciate you sharing this my friend! I hope all is going well now brother!

That is the psychology behind it. The imagination of being able to spend an ungodly amount of money is what convinces people to buy for the first time. It's fine if you can spare those few dollars a year but if becomes dangerous if you lack self control. The addiction pitfall you could end up in is horrible and very difficult to get out of.

@@brosaus Pretty much the only time I ever touch the lottery is when it gets really large and coworkers start doing pools to try and win it. And mostly for the joke of "you aren't winning and quitting and leaving me here by myself", I don't ever expect to actually win or start thinking about what I could do with it. And I never even think about the stupid thing when one of those work pools isn't happening. I could take the $2 and buy a candy bar or something. Still mostly a waste of money and bad for me, but at least I get to enjoy eating it for a few moments and that's more pleasure than a lottery ticket will likely ever give me.

Even as a person of no color, I share your experience with my parents, who lived payday to payday.

@JOE-BlDEN No color. I suppose I'm transparently clear.

@JOE-BlDEN Don't believe in religion.

@JOE-BlDEN I do believe in my creator, God. Just not made up Corporate religions that benefit from control, power and money over and from the masses, by threatening them with hell, for non compliance. God's love is free.

@JOE-BlDEN But it matters WHAT you are told to believe. Hmmm

Your family was destroyed after a win? Your story sounds interesting and worth sharing.

The lottery has particularly bad percentages. Good casino games generally return 95-98% of total bets to players. Still the odds are with them, don't get me wrong, but if I wanna gamble I'll always go to a casino- I've had some nice wins over the years.

@@mateyp3365 coping comment. "some nice wins over the years" most certainly means "lost money in total"

I lost a couple hundred at the blackjack table trying to impress a cute blonde girl. Soon my money was gone and so was the girl lmao

Yes. Instead of hoping on some infinitesimally small chance of winning a percentage of millions of people's minimum wage jobs, they could have been taught in school to put that money into a savings account early, or use it to save up and start a business, or any number of other possibilities that have much larger chances of actually making money _and_ benefitting society at the same time. Instead, they are tricked into thinking the whole scheme isn't a scam.

​@@LabGeckoyeah cus a couple dollars will ever actually help if you put it in savings

The problem is the average low income lottery spender spends hundreds of dollars of their income every year on this stuff. These tickets add up over time

I agree!