Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ubc-cs.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcsri!ubc-vision!ubc-ean!ubc-cs!acton From: acton@ubc-cs.UUCP (Donald Acton) Newsgroups: can.politics Subject: Re: Lotteries Message-ID: <1147@ubc-cs.UUCP> Date: Thu, 11-Jul-85 17:02:23 EDT Article-I.D.: ubc-cs.1147 Posted: Thu Jul 11 17:02:23 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 11-Jul-85 18:41:45 EDT References: <1121@ubc-cs.UUCP> <1110@mnetor.UUCP> <695@lsuc.UUCP> <1218@mnetor.UUCP> <702@lsuc.UUCP> <1243@utcsri.UUCP> Reply-To: acton@ubc-cs.UUCP (Donald Acton) Distribution: can Organization: UBC Department of Computer Science, Vancouver, B.C., Canada Lines: 54 Summary: In article <1243@utcsri.UUCP> clarke@utcsri.UUCP (Jim Clarke) writes: > A rational person who knows something about probability and has >alternative ways to improve his or her situation does not buy lottery tickets. >Therefore to buy lottery tickets you must be either (1) stupid or (2) hope- >lessly poor. I consider it immoral for politicians who are neither stupid >(in spite of our common prejudices) nor poor to offer this kind of temptation >to people whose money would be better spent buying milk. To suggest that all people buy lottery tickets because they are hopelessly poor or stupid is a rather condescending attitude to adopt towards a large segment of our society. Many people buy lottery tickets as a form of entertainment fully realizing that they won't win. While anticipating the draw they can dream about what they would do if they won all that money and that has a certain entertainment value. Yes, I know you don't need a lottery ticket to dream, but that ticket makes the probability of that dream coming true a lot higher than if you didn't have a ticket. I don't want to leave the impression that the only hope or dreams that these people have is the 'weekly lottery' but instead that it is a fun thing to do just like going to a movie, or going out for a beer with friends on a Friday evening so that you can kill off a few brain cells. People who are otherwise rational may smoke, drink, ingest hallucinogens, eat to excess, or read the Globe and Wail. All these activities are viewed by their participants as enjoyable and entertaining even if the actions are of a dubious nature. As a result there is no reason to suggest that lottery tickets won't be bought by otherwise rational people even if they know something about probability and aren't poor. It is unfortunate that people buy lottery tickets for the reasons that Jim has outlined. It is also unfortunate, but true, that some of the types of people who buy lottery tickets instead of milk also buy cigarettes and alcohol which is just as big a waste of money. You can't legislate common sense and even if you could I don't think you should. If you decide to ban government lotteries do you get rid of bingos and the lotteries run by the Lions and Kinsmen too? Do you ban lotteries even when the vast majority of people who buy tickets aren't poor or stupid? Are lotteries themselves an immoral act or is it just the promotion of them by the politicians/advertisers as a panacea for personal and governmental financial problems that is immoral? > >I'd rather pay higher taxes, thanks. > I'd like the government to reduce its spending all round and then we wouldn't have to contemplate the possibility of more lotteries or increased taxation. (Maybe we could even have reduced taxes, but that is a concept foreign to politicians.) Donald Acton PS I have never bought a lottery ticket but on occasion have been guilty of reading the Globe and Wail.