In America, lotteries have been around for more than two centuries. They were used in the colonies to help fund a variety of projects, from building roads and wharves to founding Harvard and Yale. They\u2019re still popular in many states today.<\/p>\n
But despite their popularity, there are a few things about them that should worry anyone who\u2019s concerned about gambling and social inequality. One is that they\u2019re a regressive tax. The bulk of lottery playing, and the vast majority of the proceeds, come from the middle and upper-income tiers of the population. The poor don\u2019t participate at all, or they do so in disproportionately smaller amounts than their percentage of the population.<\/p>\n
Another thing is that they don\u2019t really work to promote financial literacy. Lottery advertisements tend to convey the message that winning the lottery is a fun way to pass the time, and that it\u2019s okay to spend a small amount of money in order to increase your chances of becoming a millionaire. But this is not exactly the best message to be spreading, especially when so many people end up losing.<\/p>\n
Finally, lotteries often rely on a message about how they\u2019re beneficial because they raise money for the state. But again, research shows that the popularity of a lottery does not correlate with a state government\u2019s actual fiscal situation. In fact, it\u2019s not uncommon for a lottery to win broad public approval even when the state\u2019s budget is in great shape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In America, lotteries have been around for more than two centuries. They were used in the colonies to help fund a variety of projects, from building roads and wharves to founding Harvard and Yale. They\u2019re still popular in many states today. But despite their popularity, there are a few things about them that should worry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n