I don't see it as preying on the poor. I see it as a hobby / investment of the poor due to thousands of other factors that already prey on the poor.
Imagine you have 0 chance of having any savings and barely staying ahead on your mortgage. The breakdown is this:
upper class: easy access to what you want and need
middle class: easy access to what you need
lower class: difficult access to what you need
If you are never going to have disposable income and forever be barely a paycheck ahead, what investments are available to you? You raise your child as well as you can for the school district and streets you live on, at best they go to a low-tier state school -> more debt. You can't retrain for a job because you are half a paycheck away from needing to take a second job.
In this situation, the outcomes are this:
don't play lottery -> 100% stay poor
play lottery -> 99.99999% stay poor
Comments
I don't see it as preying on the poor. I see it as a hobby / investment of the poor due to thousands of other factors that already prey on the poor.
Imagine you have 0 chance of having any savings and barely staying ahead on your mortgage. The breakdown is this:
upper class: easy access to what you want and need middle class: easy access to what you need lower class: difficult access to what you need
If you are never going to have disposable income and forever be barely a paycheck ahead, what investments are available to you? You raise your child as well as you can for the school district and streets you live on, at best they go to a low-tier state school -> more debt. You can't retrain for a job because you are half a paycheck away from needing to take a second job.
In this situation, the outcomes are this: don't play lottery -> 100% stay poor play lottery -> 99.99999% stay poor
what do you choose?