Gambling, Lottery and the Politics of Money, An Ongoing Discussion: Part I*
Remember the golden rule: he who has the gold makes the rules.
And this is as true now as it was 10, 50, 100, 1000 years ago. Money can, and often does, equal power. It is nearly impossible for a poor man to take public office. Campaigning costs money. Ads, articles and conventions are big business and it shows from the designer dresses and thousand dollar power suits to the perfect teeth, hair, nails and skin. Looking that good costs money.
Most people will never have that kind of power, will never have that kind of money. Even if they work their whole lives. Most people, today, in my country, are lucky if they are able to make ends meet. Most live paycheck to paycheck. Many of them worry about not being able to work because of injury or layoffs.
Money worries are the number one stress in America today. Because no matter what you do it's far more likely to fall than it is to rise.
So does this mean that people give up? Some. Some keep plodding onward thinking that they might not have what they want but their children or grandchildren will.
The last group places it's faith in the vagaries of fate and the providence of luck.
In other words, they gamble. And, since gambling is illegal in most places, they do it in the most legal way possible: they play the lottery.
Does this mean that most of these people are stupid? OF course not. But it does mean that they hold on to the hope that they will win the jackpot, the prize, the millions.
Because they don't see the money. They see what the money can do. They see that the mortgage will be paid, the kids will go to college, the bills will never pile up again. They see not an easy life or a worry free one but they see the beginnings of the power that money has. The freedom that it holds.
And they want it. So they take the part-time minimum wage or fixed income paycheck and set aside a few dollars for the possibility of power.
And never mind the politics that go along with it...
(To be continued...)
*Rather a lofty title, but I'll try to live up to it.
And this is as true now as it was 10, 50, 100, 1000 years ago. Money can, and often does, equal power. It is nearly impossible for a poor man to take public office. Campaigning costs money. Ads, articles and conventions are big business and it shows from the designer dresses and thousand dollar power suits to the perfect teeth, hair, nails and skin. Looking that good costs money.
Most people will never have that kind of power, will never have that kind of money. Even if they work their whole lives. Most people, today, in my country, are lucky if they are able to make ends meet. Most live paycheck to paycheck. Many of them worry about not being able to work because of injury or layoffs.
Money worries are the number one stress in America today. Because no matter what you do it's far more likely to fall than it is to rise.
So does this mean that people give up? Some. Some keep plodding onward thinking that they might not have what they want but their children or grandchildren will.
The last group places it's faith in the vagaries of fate and the providence of luck.
In other words, they gamble. And, since gambling is illegal in most places, they do it in the most legal way possible: they play the lottery.
Does this mean that most of these people are stupid? OF course not. But it does mean that they hold on to the hope that they will win the jackpot, the prize, the millions.
Because they don't see the money. They see what the money can do. They see that the mortgage will be paid, the kids will go to college, the bills will never pile up again. They see not an easy life or a worry free one but they see the beginnings of the power that money has. The freedom that it holds.
And they want it. So they take the part-time minimum wage or fixed income paycheck and set aside a few dollars for the possibility of power.
And never mind the politics that go along with it...
(To be continued...)
*Rather a lofty title, but I'll try to live up to it.