The Lottery As a Social Safety Net
The lottery is a form of gambling in which players pay a small amount of money, select numbers that are randomly spit out by machines, and hope to win prizes. It is a common feature of American life, and it can be very lucrative. It can also be a source of controversy, with criticism focused on the effects it has on poor people and problem gamblers.
There is, of course, an inextricable human impulse to gamble, and the lottery appeals to that in us. But there is much more to the lottery than that: it’s a massive marketing tool, dangling the dream of riches for millions of Americans who don’t have access to the kind of wealth generation that could otherwise allow them to live comfortably and provide their children with an opportunity to succeed.
In this sense, the lottery has become a substitute for a social safety net that has begun to break down in our country. In the immediate post-World War II period, state governments were able to expand their array of services without burdening working people with very high taxes. By the early 1970s, that arrangement had started to unravel as incomes flattened, retirement and health-care costs rose, and the promise that hard work would eventually yield financial security eroded for most families.
State lotteries, which are government-owned and run, sprang up in the wake of this erosion. The first recorded ones were in the Low Countries in the 15th century, where towns used them to raise money for town fortifications and to help the poor. After states took over, they regulated the games and progressively expanded them.
To promote their games, state lotteries spend billions on advertising. While some of that money is devoted to public service, much of it is spent on persuading people to spend their own money on tickets. This, in turn, drives up the cost of each ticket and increases the size of the prizes on offer.
Because of the way state lotteries are run as a business, they must constantly seek to maximize revenue. This means that they have to make their promotions appeal to as broad a demographic as possible and, in doing so, advertise the possibility of huge jackpots. The effect is a kind of denial of the reality that most people will never win. But it is also a perverse way of reminding people of the possibility that one day, they will. And that’s why so many people play. It’s like that little voice in the back of their head telling them, “Somebody has to win; it might as well be you.” That’s a very big gamble. But a big gamble can also be a very risky move. So, how do you know whether to play?
