How lottery tickets ravage low-income families
It’s the dream of dreams. The ultimate fantasy.
Surely you – like I – have spent god-knows-how-many hours daydreaming about winning the lottery. And why not? By most measures, it’s the ticket to financial paradise.
But chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve got a pretty firm grasp on how unlikely hitting the jackpot actually is. And by that extension, you probably don’t spend your grocery money or emergency fund on lottery tickets.
Sadly, this is not always the case.
In one of the most depressing, ever-perpetuating socioeconomic trends, new research from the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty shows that poor people continue to spend about nine per cent of their annual income on lottery tickets.
According to the study, residents of households earning less than $13,000 per year are classified as “poor,” meaning they’re spending about $1,000 annually on lotto tickets.
“The study neatly illuminates the sad positive feedback loop of lotteries,” writes Jonah Lehrer, an editor at Wired magazine. “The games naturally appeal to poor people, which causes them to spend disproportionate amounts of their income on lotteries, which helps keep them poor, which keeps them buying tickets.”
Now, you can’t totally blame lower income families for relying so heavily on the lottery. In situations of financial despair, what other means do they have to escape?
But any way you slice it, there seems to be a reckless pattern among low-income earners that are, well, keeping them poor.
Consider, too, that poor families aren’t taking of advantage of money-wise tools like coupons either, and it’s no surprise that an estimated 20 per cent of lottery players these days are low income participants.
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
Posted by: Lisa | May 31, 2021 6:31:54 PM
Oh Kerianna, here we are again. NO. The VALUED people, as YOU put it...are the ones who try hard. IF they are trying hard, they aren't low-income OR they aren't wasting their money...on something such as lotteries. I have dear friends and family members who are VERY valued to myself. However, they don't waste money on lotteriers or even alcohol because they simply can't afford it. If they are o.k. with that, fine. I'm fine with that also. However, welfare is a different thing again. You do NOT get choices because you have not EARNED the right. The way to earn the right to entertainment is getting yourself off of welfare and when you have extra money, (after living expenses) you get the choice to do with that money whatever you wish. It's YOUR extra money. If you want to gamble, go ahead.
By the way, great point Don!
Posted by: Guy | May 31, 2021 8:29:48 PM
Kudos to Lisa. The bare needs should be taken care of first. If you have $50 left over at the end of the month and you choose to assign $20 to Lotteries, then so be it. Sometimes, that dream of winning is all someone has. I make a very good salary and yes, I spend on Proline which is better on the sports. I won't get rich because you can't win milllions. I also know if I lose, it is spent mainly towards Healthcare which is somewhat on a needy cause. If they didn't get money from Lotteries, I would have to pay more in taxes so I might as well enjoy it.
More importantly, I get very concerned when the many blogs suggest only the poor drink alcohol, spend on lotteries and are spending so called "welfare monies" foolishly. This seems harsh. I am not disillusioned. I just don't believe it. Just look at the data when 50% of Canadians use their Mortgage Credit Line as an ATM and are way over debt. Trust me that those unfortunate families don't have access to a Credit Line so look in the mirror.
Lastly, the world can not work properly without different "Classes". If everybody had a University Education, there would not be enough good paying jobs to go around. You need Blue Collar workers to do the labour and White Collar for the Corporate Offices. Even though I am in the latter class, I am a strong advocate of the Blue Collars who are the real people who take care of the basic needs we require. There will always be poverty because of various circumstances which is why the more fortunate should always feel good in supporting those in need. Never question those who can't give as much. It doesn't suit any of us.
Posted by: MaggieB | Jun 1, 2021 12:42:21 AM
Hmmm ... interesting article followed by a whackload of stereotyping and elitism. Great reading for a Monday evening. Not.
Great point Michelle and kerianna! I happen to know a man that is about the "smartest" man you will ever likely meet (he truly is) but has chosen to live his life in service to others rather than in pursuit of the almighty dollar. So to diminish his "intelligence" based on his income level - get a grip people!
Posted by: idiot | Jun 1, 2021 1:32:35 AM
lower income is relative to your spending habit
a retarded couple with 500k in debt that have high income are still poor
Posted by: Matthew | Jun 1, 2021 1:56:10 AM
@ Michelle. I never said anything about valuing people based on the amount of money they have. But lets face it, it happens all the time here in Canada. I don't believe people play the lottery because they have lots of money or because they are dead broke. It honestly comes down to their ability to assess the situation. An educated person understands that playing the lottery is a waste of time and money. An uneducated person may not stop to think it over, and just continue pursuing their goals by playing the lottery, because they believe there is no other way to reach their goals (although there is). I'll admit it, I used to play the lottery until I stopped to smell the roses. I realized that if I ever won, my life would probably be worse that it is now. I'd be more paranoid, and unsure about my future. By not playing and not being super rich, I have straight forward goals that I am working hard to obtain. I would have no motivation if I had all the money I could dream of, which I do NOT want.
Sorry, Michelle, but you are completely off topic. Some people work in careers that they love even if it pays them next to nothing. All the power to them. That has nothing to do with this.
I agree with Lisa 100%. Our tax dollars are going to support peoples' addictions. Whenever I walk through a run-down neighbourhood, and there's old men drinking outside of their broken down apartment.. all I could think of is that they're drinking away my tax money. Or the single mother whom is too lazy to go out and find a job. I never asked for her children to be born, yet I (and we as a society) are paying for them.
People that play the lottery are playing cat and mouse - they are playing a game of chasing money which will never come to them. And in this case, the cat will (generally) never catch the mouse.
Posted by: Lisa | Jun 1, 2021 8:14:00 AM
To Maggie B, Michelle and Kerianna: I completely agree with Matthew, you missed the point. To all 3 of you, BOTH Don and Matthew made the same point. (I wonder if you caught it??) Some people BELIEVE the only way they will achieve their goals is by playing the lottery. Did you get that?? Now, that being said, I don't think any of us, on this blog, believe that people are necessarily low-income because of their lack in intelligence. I know I believe that with ambition and perserverance, anyone can achieve their dream.
Again to Maggie, Michelle and Kerianna: I agree that money is NOT everything. However, if you truly DON'T need money AT ALL, please prove it by living in the wilderness, growing your own garden, knitting your own blankets and sewing your own clothes. Do you do all this?? If so, I highly doubt you would have a computer right now. If not, then you just proved my point....you DO need money to live.
I honestly can't believe how some people think that other people are owed money (welfare) for putting NOTHING into the system. That's an absurd way of thinking.
Anyway, enough for now. Thanks to Guy and Matthew!
Posted by: grannyone | Jun 2, 2021 9:55:42 PM
A woman in my hometown won 10,000 on a crossword scratch ticket. She got her smiling face in the newspaper and everyone was congratulating her. In her interview she stated she played 100 dollars a week, every week for at least 10 years out of her pension money. She was so flipping happy she won. 5,000 a year for 10 years, well you do the math. I figure she lost at least 40,000 gambling to win this 10,000, not to mention the interest she would of made if she even had put it in a low interest savings account. I felt no happiness for her.
Posted by: Matthew | Jun 5, 2021 1:35:42 PM
I just wanted to say that the recent lotto max draw is ridiculous. They generated over $65 million, and since nobody won, they only gave away about $5 million. So they made $60 million. They are nothing more than scam artists. The government that is. I'm happy to say i didn't buy a ticket and never will.
Posted by: jake | Jun 9, 2021 4:03:56 PM
many canadians do what exactly, lisa.....live on welfare? it seems like that is what you are saying. i hope not, but it could fit comfortably in with the rest of your comments.