Some see a dark side to Powerball frenzy — the toll on poor players

[Liberal_in_LA]

Isaiah Gonzalez has played the lottery for more than two decades. He thinks he's won about $15 in that time.

"If I had started putting away a dollar here and there 20 years ago, I probably would have saved up $1,500 or more," said Gonzalez, 51.

The Long Beach resident often struggles to earn enough money painting houses to eat and pay rent. Still, the possibility of a jackpot compels him to play.

"What if I win?" he said. "I want the money because life is hard right now. And who wouldn't want an easier life?"

_____

Customer Roberto Lopez, 58, a parking attendant and father of two teenage boys, said he recently cut down on buying scratch-off tickets because he believed that he had become addicted.

"I was losing more money than what I was winning," he said. "Sometimes I felt a sense of guilt."

Still, he hoped to buy a Powerball ticket before Wednesday's draw, dreaming of a better life for his family if he won, Lopez said.

"If not, then it's back to fighting the good fight," he said.

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0113-powerball-people-20160113-story.html

[Warpy]

1. It's the only retirement plan older Boomers have left

since the pensions got looted and the 401K plans got gutted in 2008 and never recovered, thanks to exorbitant management fees.

I don't fault anyone for buying a ticket, even if s/he can do the math.

[frankieallen]

3. "401K plans got gutted in 2008 and never recovered, thanks to exorbitant management fees."

Hahaha, ya, ok....

[NobodyHere]

4. My 401k is well above what it was in 2008

[Warpy]

5. You're lucky. Underpaid workers with small contributions

were pretty well wiped out in 2008.

[clarice]

12. Then why buy lottery tickets???!!! Makes no economic sense. nt

[Warpy]

14. The extremely small hope of winning something

is better than no hope at all.

I guess you've never been poor.

[clarice]

18. I think that you missed the point.....oh well. nt

[LiberalElite]

10. My 401K took a hit then but it was

invested pretty conservatively. I would not describe it as having been gutted in any shape or form.

[happynewyear]

2. Just spent $20 today

and if I hit the Powerball, off I'll go to retire in Hawaii! YES I WILL!

I figure it is the only chance I'll ever have to become a billionaire so if it takes $20 to have this possibility even once in my life, well, I'll take it!

[1939]

8. Go for it

http://www.humoar.com/when-you-see-girls-like-this-on-instagram-remember-who-owns-the-boat/

[cwydro]

6. CNN did a piece on the sad end of lottery winners the other night.

It was pretty sad.

Wish I'd taped it.

Many people just cannot handle that kind of money.

[LiberalElite]

11. Some end up worse off, right? nt

[cwydro]

16. Much worse.

There were some pretty horrifying stories.

[Orangepeel]

7. That's what? About $7.00 a month?

So instead of going to the movies, he wants to fantasize about winning a lot of money. So what?

[Igel]

13. That's not the comparison.

First, assume that he'd have saved $1 or $2 dollars a week or month, carefully putting it away for the future. Without spending it on something that he could get by without. The odds of this hypothetical circumstance happening are evaluated to be close to 99%.

Second, compare it with the foolishness of wasting on something that he knows he didn't win. He knows the odds of winning were 0.

Third, rule out every other possibility--buying the occasional cup of coffee, buying lunch instead of going without, upgrading your dinner from chicken thighs to breast meat or adding some broccoli. Deny any motivation other than winning.

Sounds ridiculous, but that's the minimum needed for the kind of reasoning you find.

[LiberalElite]

9. I won about $80 in Lotto once -

A co-worker who is heavily into all the lottery games and probably also plays the Numbers has little booklets she consults to choose winning combinations. When I told her this story and added my suspicion that I had probably spent $100 before I won the $80 she said "you can't think like that!"

[cwydro]

17. When I lived in Florida, I had TWO friends (grr), who won some good bucks.

One of them won TWICE, and she won up into 6 figures. I know she spent a bunch on it regularly too.

My other friend (a close friend) won about 30 grand. Bless her heart, she went through it in just a few months, despite my warnings. One of the most generous people I know - she bought all her close friends something she knew they wanted, including me.

She still plays, but has never won that much since.

[Egnever]

15. Some see a dark side to breathing

1,500 isn't going to make a bit of difference in anyone's life long term. The entertainment he got over the years playing the lottery and dreaming was likely much more impactful to his mental health than the 1500 would have been anywhere else.

[Jim Beard]

19. I bought one powerball machine choice or whatever. I put down my $3 and waited for the clerk to give

me my $1.5 billion. It is my first ticket and the clerk said it did not work that way. First one since Texas started the lottery, not even a scratch off.

My gripe is I see the poor, and I know them, spend TOO much for tickets but my biggest complaint is the states say it is going for education. In Texas it does BUT, they just reduce the regular education budget the amount of the lottery income, shifting the burden more to the poor and lower middle class.