the hoosier lottery is a curse. working the job i work affords me the opportunity to see the whole spectrum of american society in an eight hour shift. pauper to millionaire and the thing that blows me away is the similarity between everyone. the mindset of 'let me get all i can get legitimately (by working for it), and then let me have some more.' how can they all advance themselves you may ask. the answer is simple...lottery tickets!
on an average powerball cycle (sat. and wed. night draw until someone hits the jackpot) i sell around $1500 in tickets at $1 apiece, not counting scratch-offs. millionaires by in lots of $5 hoosier, $5 powerball. paupers by a dollar on each. both leave the store praying that this time around will be thier night. the odds of hitting the jackpot are 1:120,526,770 for powerball and 1:12,271,512 for hoosier. now the thing that gets me most is not the millionaire buying tickets, he can pay for my license plates all he likes. the thing that gets me is the poorer person coming in and putting down $20 for lottery and scratch-offs and then using the foodstamp card to buy 2 20oz. sodas and as many candy bars, where is the sense in that!! if ever there were an example of sound investment planning this is not it.
blatent abuse of the wellfare system really steams me. don't get me wrong i'm all for families that make less than $20,000 per year per household getting the assistance they need to make ends meet, and there are some who legitimately use the funds allocated by the state, but more often than not, the scenario described above is how it plays out.
people talk and talk about social injustice and the vicious cycle that poverty creates. here's the thing if you want to get ahead in this life you've gotta go without more times than you indulge yourself. you've gotta stay in when you really want to go out; scrimp, save, invest (properly). above all, you've gotta be smart and stretch every cent as far as you can make it go for your needs until you earn the right to spend on your wants.
case-in-point: andrew carnegie got off a boat in new york with six cents in his pocket, built US Steel and became a 'titan of industry'. he didn't get there by spending those six cents in the closest bar to the harbor or letting it ride on chance. he worked and worked and worked and worked until he got the prize he was after.
the lottery would have you believe 'fun is good', i say fun is the reason i see far fewer millionaires than paupers every single day.
on an average powerball cycle (sat. and wed. night draw until someone hits the jackpot) i sell around $1500 in tickets at $1 apiece, not counting scratch-offs. millionaires by in lots of $5 hoosier, $5 powerball. paupers by a dollar on each. both leave the store praying that this time around will be thier night. the odds of hitting the jackpot are 1:120,526,770 for powerball and 1:12,271,512 for hoosier. now the thing that gets me most is not the millionaire buying tickets, he can pay for my license plates all he likes. the thing that gets me is the poorer person coming in and putting down $20 for lottery and scratch-offs and then using the foodstamp card to buy 2 20oz. sodas and as many candy bars, where is the sense in that!! if ever there were an example of sound investment planning this is not it.
blatent abuse of the wellfare system really steams me. don't get me wrong i'm all for families that make less than $20,000 per year per household getting the assistance they need to make ends meet, and there are some who legitimately use the funds allocated by the state, but more often than not, the scenario described above is how it plays out.
people talk and talk about social injustice and the vicious cycle that poverty creates. here's the thing if you want to get ahead in this life you've gotta go without more times than you indulge yourself. you've gotta stay in when you really want to go out; scrimp, save, invest (properly). above all, you've gotta be smart and stretch every cent as far as you can make it go for your needs until you earn the right to spend on your wants.
case-in-point: andrew carnegie got off a boat in new york with six cents in his pocket, built US Steel and became a 'titan of industry'. he didn't get there by spending those six cents in the closest bar to the harbor or letting it ride on chance. he worked and worked and worked and worked until he got the prize he was after.
the lottery would have you believe 'fun is good', i say fun is the reason i see far fewer millionaires than paupers every single day.
posted by Babylon_is_Fallen at 1:10 AM
1 Comments:
funny you should post about the lottery -- my sociology professor and i banter about it all the time. like you, she and i are disgusted with the whole marvel. except, it sounds like you might be fed up with the people -- she and i are fed up with the system. the thing is, blake, the people who do make it out of poverty with a blaze of glory and a fairy tale story in their pockety have had a push or shove in the right direction from someone who cares.. (i.e. a teacher, a parent who shows interest, a shop owner... etc.) mr. carnegie had someone who truly cared, genuinely wanted him to succeed. most poverty stricken people just don't have that -- what they have is the desire to have and live like the "other", more affluent society is this country of ours. instant gratification is another attribute that festers in the poor world. sure, it's good to save and scrap, but with the stresses of everyday life - they don't. and no matter how much you blog about it, it won't change it. people do what they are taught. example of that, YOU are like your dad.
case-in-point: i'm pretty sure you have seen my cousin who, nearly every payday of her life, buys a lot of lottery tickets. she's poor - and has two kids and should be saving and scraping and showing her girls the right way. guess what? she's not. she spends the money the way she thinks she can get more -- her motives might be a little selfish, they might be focused on her girls...e ither way, they all three miss out. one time, a few years back, she hit $10,000 on a scratch off. those are the only facts she sees.
you display your conservative-they can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps idea -- and that's fine, because i respect you -- and people have their own doctorines on life... but, in my opinion, thinking that people can help themselves while stuck in a cycle isn't helping anyone at all.
jesus wants us to help.
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