Professor Elam

Accounting & Investing Info for San Antonio A & M

recent posts

about

The Big Lottery

I have written about how pop psychology, socionomics, affects markets. There is a great psy phenomenon involved in the creation of lotteries. As a business student you have taken statistics and understand or should, the probability of winning a lottery ticket. However this is not the case for most folks. Indeed, for you or I 10,000 prizes might actually get us to buy a ticket, not one prize in 100 mil
lion. But that is not the way the uneducated masses see it. They see that they have the same equal chance of winning as anyone else. Sure the odds are equal for everyone, which is to say nigh impossible. Neal Boortz, co author of the Fair Tax puts in this way.

1 WINNER AND 76 MILLION LOSERS

People are checking their lottery tickets this morning to see if they’ve won the $370 million Mega Millions jackpot. The 12-state has determined that there are two winning tickets. One in New Jersey and one in Georgia. Two soon-to-be-miserably-unhappy saps.

Now is as good a time as any to remind people that not only is the lottery a tax on the stupid, but you aren’t going to win. But as the sheeple line up to thrown their money down a rathole, politicians are smiling. Why? Because the lottery is a great way to tax people without taxing people. Hey..somebody’s gotta win, right? Wrong.

According to published reports, you have a 1 in 76 million chance of winning. That means you have a greater chance of being struck by lightning, or waking up next to Reese Witherspoon. According to one website that tracks such things, there is a better chance that you will beaten alive by a mountain lion. But none of this matters…such is the desire of the ignorant masses to take the easy way out to wealth, they’ll be lining up at the liquor store by the millions trying to cash in.

It is a sad, sad testament to the American psyche that fully 50% of the people in this country think that they’re going to retire on their lottery winnings. Pathetic.

By the way, have you ever heard of a happy, well-adjusted lottery winner? Didn’t think so.

Posted in

4 responses to “The Big Lottery”

  1. Jordan McClary Avatar
    Jordan McClary

    Whats further more is can you tell me how many of the people who win the lottery know what to do with all that money. You would think they would understand the idea of investing and making that money further grow. But we have repeatedly seen in the new and in articles how those who win the money, somehow blow through just like a cocaine addict does with alot of coke. It doesn’t go far, there not use to having it, and being uneducated they make to many mistakes and end up loosing more than they won.

    Like

    Reply
  2. Jordan McClary Avatar
    Jordan McClary

    Whats further more is can you tell me how many of the people who win the lottery know what to do with all that money. You would think they would understand the idea of investing and making that money further grow. But we have repeatedly seen in the new and in articles how those who win the money, somehow blow through just like a cocaine addict does with alot of coke. It doesn’t go far, there not use to having it, and being uneducated they make to many mistakes and end up loosing more than they won.

    Like

    Reply
  3. Dennis Elam Avatar
    Dennis Elam

    IT would be paternal if the lottery prize at least came with a year of reputable CPA advice.

    Like

    Reply
  4. Jason Raper Avatar
    Jason Raper

    I have heard that over 70% of lottery wiinners are bankrupt w/in 5 years. I agree that of you have such money that you should be set up with an advisor, that can limit the amount that you spend per year. Por athletes have this amended to their contracts because in the past so many of them were blowing thru the money before they retired. It is not as hard to live without as most think.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment