Originally posted by pawnhandler I was telling my stepmother a couple weeks ago that the lottery is a tax on people who are poor at math (a relative's words). This conversation was on a Sunday. She called me on Thursday to let me know that she won $10,000 on Powerball. 😳
Certain aspects of wisdom may skip generations. Then, again, perhaps without your gentle comments
she would have been without a counterpoint on which to leverage her 'let's play anyway' decision.
One time I spent two weeks in Reno... in a moment of sin.... I managed to gamble away a few hundred dollars with nothing in return.. Was God pleased how I managed the money He had blessed me with?
Originally posted by epic0002 One time I spent two weeks in Reno... in a moment of sin.... I managed to gamble away a few hundred dollars with nothing in return.. Was God pleased how I managed the money He had blessed me with?
God would have forgiven you if you had sent some of it to me first. Word.
Originally posted by epic0002 One time I spent two weeks in Reno... in a moment of sin.... I managed to gamble away a few hundred dollars with nothing in return.. Was God pleased how I managed the money He had blessed me with?
God didn't bless you with that money. You earned it by using your own capacities (unless you
stole it in another moment of sin). Do you pay for cable television? Do you pay for internet
access? Do you let the water run until it gets warm before getting in the shower? Do you have
a cell phone? An iPod?
Do you think it's a sin to go to a movie? Out to an expensive restaurant? A family vacation
to Colorado?
There are a billion ways you could be managing your money more like Jesus would prefer. A
few hundred spent on entertainment is not a 'moment of sin,' unless all moments of
entertainment are sins.
Originally posted by kirksey957 What about the school of thought that it is basically a poor man's tax?
When I was worse off financially than I am now, I used to buy scratchers once in a while. My logic was that I did not have the self-discipline to save that dollar. I knew I was going to spend it, and on something wasteful since I had no self-control and I knew it. Now, what will it be spent on? Twinkies? Or a lottery ticket?
The logic that declares lottery tickets statistically a loss assumes a perfectly rational person. Most people are not perfectly rational, and therefore, oddly, buying the ticket can be a rational decision. The ticket has a chance of leading to profit. Buying Twinkies does not.
Originally posted by AThousandYoung When I was worse off financially than I am now, I used to buy scratchers once in a while. My logic was that I did not have the self-discipline to save that dollar. I knew I was going to spend it, and on something wasteful since I had no self-control and I knew it. Now, what will it be spent on? Twinkies? Or a lottery ticket?
The logic that decla ...[text shortened]... ket has a chance of leading to profit. Buying Twinkies does not.
I'm not sure if that holds
The logic that declares lottery ticket statistically a loss is mathematical and statistical logic. I don't think it assumes anything about that rationality of the purchaser.
It might make you feel better to buy a lottery ticket than a twinkie and it might give you more hope than buying a twinkie, but it statistically has approximately the same chances as making you money as buying a twinkie.
Also, the lottery ticket could have arguably less worth since a twinkie at least has some (albeit very little) nutritional value.
Originally posted by PsychoPawn The logic that declares lottery ticket statistically a loss is mathematical and statistical logic. I don't think it assumes anything about that rationality of the purchaser.
It might make you feel better to buy a lottery ticket than a twinkie and it might give you more hope than buying a twinkie, but it statistically has approximately the same chances ...[text shortened]... e arguably less worth since a twinkie at least has some (albeit very little) nutritional value.
I won $300 on a scratcher once. I've never in my life saved up $300 one dollar at a time. Have you?
Originally posted by PsychoPawn The logic that declares lottery ticket statistically a loss is mathematical and statistical logic. I don't think it assumes anything about that rationality of the purchaser.
It might make you feel better to buy a lottery ticket than a twinkie and it might give you more hope than buying a twinkie, but it statistically has approximately the same chances ...[text shortened]... e arguably less worth since a twinkie at least has some (albeit very little) nutritional value.
That model fails to account for opportunity cost. Those without self discipline will face different opportunity costs than those who have it. To a typical undisciplined person, the opportunity cost of buying lotto tickets isn't very high - not nearly as high as the mathematical analysis assumes.
03 May '08 20:28
Lotteries
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