In any case, I'm standing there in a line of 3-4 people when it occurs to me, "What could the guy up front possibly be doing that is taking this long!" Money Order? Finding the right pack of cigarettes? Lost his debit card? What!? After maneuvering to get a better look I find myself both saddened and mortified to find he is counting out pennies, and dimes to gather enough money for the last of 4 lottery tickets! Literally counting (out loud) his lose change to muster enough.
Beside the point that he was holding up a line of legitimate customers ...(yeah I said it!) LEGITIMATE customers that were waiting to make purchases of goods, he was apparently incapable of completing the basic math necessary to complete his dubious purchase.
Let's discuss the lottery for a minute...
There are several things that upset me on a day to day basis, my boxer eating perfectly good fence panels for sport, my oldest daughter shopping like she's on a mission to break me, my ex-wife (in general) and the lottery. Simply put, the lottery is a tax on people that are missed by capital gains tax, property tax, gas tax, or any other tax that a person's income, lifestyle or possessions (or lack thereof) exempt them from paying. It's a "catch all" that allows the state to collect additional revenue without the risk of state representatives having to vote on a tax measure. Although someone WILL win the drawing each time, and as the advertisement says,"You can't win if you don't play", let's examine the economic fallacy of the lotto.
The average player spends between $5-$10 a week on tickets with the occasional win of $1-$100. Continued for a full year this person would spend nearly $500 per year on... Air. Unless they were luck enough to win a few times in which case the may win their money back. Why not put $500 in a CD or money market account so that the next emergency that comes about can be dealt with without the assistance of paycheck loans or credit cards? I just don't get it. Especially not while my coffee is getting cold!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Fort Worth
