In a sense, we all take part in a lottery every time we buy a Snickers bar or pick up a fifty-dollar scratch-off at the check-cashing store or buy a Powerball ticket. These aren\u2019t state-sponsored lotteries, of course, but the principles behind them are the same. These arrangements all depend on chance, and they\u2019re designed to keep people coming back for more. It\u2019s a kind of addiction, and lotteries aren\u2019t above using the same psychology as tobacco companies or video game makers.<\/p>\n
In the case of lotteries, it\u2019s often argued that they\u2019re a \u201ctax on stupid\u201d or that players don\u2019t understand how unlikely it is to win. But that\u2019s not entirely true: Lottery sales are responsive to economic fluctuations, and they\u2019re marketed heavily in neighborhoods disproportionately affected by poverty, unemployment, and other social problems.<\/p>\n
Though the casting of lots to make decisions and determine fates has a long record (and several instances in the Bible), lotteries as a means for material gain are relatively new. They started as a way of balancing state budgets without raising taxes, and they became especially popular during the late-twentieth century, when inflation and the costs of the Vietnam War made it hard to keep public services running on a steady basis. States could either raise taxes or cut services, and both were unpopular with voters. So the solution was to turn to the lottery for help, which proved wildly successful. It\u2019s a model that many states still use today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a sense, we all take part in a lottery every time we buy a Snickers bar or pick up <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n