(no subject)

[which_chick]

Tomorrow is Small Claims Court Day. Huzzah! (I will make a concerted effort to be not nasty and not hominem-attacking and not emotional during the summary of events for de judge or possibly de arbitrator if they make me do that. I will not be snide.)

In other news, it seems that the lottery, which I have always felt was a tax on the stupid, is also (Coincidentally? I think not.) a tax on the poor. "Twenty percent of Americans are frequent players, spending about $60 billion a year. The spending is starkly regressive. A household with income under $13,000 spends, on average, $645 a year on lottery tickets, about 9 percent of all income." Source



I don't play the lottery. I have never actually purchased a lottery ticket in my life. I do not think lottery tickets are "a great gift". I think they're stupid. Don't get me lottery tickets for xmas. Also, I am apparently smart enough to dream about what it would be like to win the powerball without actually having to pony up a dollar to play. (We all need our fantasy lives. With the advent of what I really have to admit is middle age, money has taken the place of cock. It's more fun and less hassle.)

Besides, I figure that my odds of winning *without* playing are only marginally less than my odds of winning if I do play.

Odds of NOT WINNING the powerball if I don't play: 1
Odds of NOT WINNING the powerball if I do play: 146,107,961 in 146,107,962

Is it possible for me to see the difference between 1 and .999999993? (1 is the certainty that I'd NOT WIN every time, .999999993 is the odds of me NOT WINNING if I played.) No. So, y'know, the same, there. It is *the same* if I play or if I do not play. Therefore, I can imagine how it would be if I played just fine without actually ponying up the dollar to play. I can pretend I played, every time, and pretend I lost, every time, and it would be just like actually playing except I get to be a dollar richer at the end of every powerball fantasy than I would be if I'd actually played the damn thing.

Comments

[wynnsfolly.livejournal.com]

I love your train of thought!!
while I entirely agree in the tax on stupid people concept, I prefer to do my daydreaming about winning Publisher's Clearinghouse without having to enter.
usually in this order - how much to pay mortgage and car loans off, how much cash to buy pasture and build barn, and then how much will we need to pay utilities & insurance. any left over would wind up employing family, barn help & unlimited vet services.

got hit up to sign a petition for a lottery on my way into the office bldg today.
my reaction was to quickly explain i wouldn't approve of it and that I'm not a registered voter. should have screwed with it, signed, & let them find out later it wasn't a valid signature to count toward their total needed.

have fun in court.
hope the heat breaks for you and you get a chance to play horsy late this week.

[cousinsue.livejournal.com]

Yes, I do not play. Yes, I do think about what I'd do with the money if I did win.

Yes, I have a relative who does give us lottery tickets for Christmas. Ah, well.

[fooliv.livejournal.com]

My family used to be in the numbers business. You'd think that would inoculate us from the perceived need to play the government-sanctioned numbers. You'd think wrong.

Good luck with your deadbeat. Honey and vinegar and all that, y'all.