You’re at the gas station thinking about which lottery ticket to buy. You never think about the chances: the chances of you dying on your way to buying a lottery ticket are higher than you winning the lottery; your odds of winning the big lotteries are about 1 in 258,890,000: So you go ahead and buy a lottery ticket. But why do people enter the lottery with these chances? Is the lottery a good idea?

Too many people every year lose a lot of money over the lottery without them getting their money back. This is just one reason on why the lottery is a bad idea.

The lottery yields too few winners. Millions of people enter into the lottery, but what is the ratio of people who win, to the people who lose? I can tell you it isn’t 1-1. People enter into the lottery because they have the will to win, when their chances are slim. People are gambling and they don't even realize it. They are spending their money without a guarantee of getting it back, that is gambling. We've all heard the statistics. Your chances of winning the Powerball jackpot are about one in 175.2 million. You know the saying, “1 in a million” That means your chances are low? Well this brings that to a new level. You're more likely to die from a bee sting (1in 6.1 million), be struck by lightning (1 in 3 million) or have conjoined twins (1 in 200,000)(). So why do we continue to do this? The lottery is cheap. It gives you a chance to win. Not a guarantee. People forget that. When people spend small amounts of money, people tend to ignore the money they spend. But, that money adds up. On average, households that make less than $12,400 a year spend 5% of their income on lotteries, according to Wired. That is about $620 a year. They look for the cheapest possible way to ‘earn’ money. Spend a small sum to get more back, that is the basis of an investment. People think they are making a good investment, but the good part nearly never occurs.

Well, you might argue that the taxes of the lottery goes to good, but as I have said, mostly poor people are the ones who enter in the lottery. And since the government takes a tax off that, it is a poor tax; tax on poor people. Aren’t we trying to get poor people to not be poor? Then what is the point of this? It is like giving a hungry person food but then taking some for yourself. These people are normally poor and are happy when they win, but they don’t win enough to actually make gains. The government wins with each ticket,  taking the money from the poor.

The lottery promotes irresponsible behavior - compulsive gambling. When people buy lottery tickets, they think they have to chance to win - they are “taking a gamble.” But, as I’ve proven, most people will never even earn their winnings back. To repeatedly “play” at something where one is bound to lose is illogical. It makes no sense. So, why do it? Compulsion - like an itch a person can’t scratch. Richard Richardson, of the Maryland Council on Compulsive Gambling, says, “‘Lotteries are the cause of the rise of new classes of compulsive gamblers - women and teens. They are more likely to play the lottery than go to a casino or the race track. It's less time-consuming, and it's not conspicuous.’" (CNN). Yes, less conspicuous, but still gambling, and equally damaging to a person’s bank account. And people who dig themselves into holes, tend to continue to fantasize about rescue. “Because we're in a recession, people love to have a rescue fantasy," human behavior expert Dr. Wendy Walsh comments. We managed to convince people who would never gamble in their lives to gamble, creating a whole new generation of gambling. This is irresponsible, not only on the part of individuals, but upon governments who claim to want to build an economy, not destroy it.

Since the lottery is considered gambling by many, it has the same effect on families as, say a slot machine would. It takes money from you and your family without giving it back, or anything back for that matter. Gambling can lead to destruction of marriages, children and family. Since you spend some of your money on this, you have to drop whatever you are doing to go and see the lottery picking on TV or on the internet.  As for the addicted gambler, one in five regular gamblers, and one in ten of their spouses, will attempt suicide (CNN). It is very sad to have an addiction which can lead to family destruction. Also, the people that spend money and time to buy lottery tickets are normally people in poverty. People in poverty need the money to spend on essentials. But if those same people spend most of their money on lottery tickets, they start to not buy the essentials, food, coats, water, a place to live and much more. If they are already poor, they are getting themselves into an even deeper hole that would be nearly impossible to climb out of. By chance, maybe someone will drop a ladder for you. But very unlikely. By chance you’ll win the lottery, but very unlikely.

So, your back at that gas station. This time, you remember your common sense and remember the chances. One in 175.2 million. You walk away from the Gas station wondering what to do with your money, Overtime, you could make an actual investment, that you would actually get money out of. ‘Guaranteed’. A real, investment.