How Does the Lottery Benefit Society, States, and Players?
The significance of the lottery has been discussed fairly extensively in the past couple decades as it continues to expand and become a regular part of state economies. Its importance has been measured by the many things that it has provided to the states and the societies within those states.
It’s also nice that we all have the chance to wake up on a Sunday morning with a big ol $200,000,000 check once in awhile. Well, we can dream about it at least.
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why the lottery is so beneficial to our daily lives:
Lottery Advantages for States and Society are Endless
Pennsylvania uses their lottery proceeds to pay for senior care, something that undoubtedly does society a great service. There are quite a few state lotteries around the country that use their lottery proceeds towards paying for education in the state. I can’t think of many things more important than the education of our youth, as corny as that may sound.
Indiana uses their lottery money towards paying for the pensions of teachers, firefighters, and police officers in the state. Being that the money would come from taxes otherwise, there’s no doubt that this provides a huge benefit to the state. Oregon uses its lottery proceeds for everything from job creation and economic development to education and state parks. Texas uses their money for both education as well as to fund veterans assistance programs.
There’s actually been quite a bit of pressure on states that have not yet accepted the lottery simply because of the money that they are losing for not having it available to residents. Six of the seven states that don’t allow the lottery include Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Utah and Wyoming. The other state? Nevada. Yep, I was just as shocked as you were when I found that out. How does the state with the gambling capital of the world in it not have a lottery?
It’s comforting to know that no matter what state we are buying our lottery tickets in, it’s going towards a good cause. There’s no doubt that the lottery provides an enormous amount of benefit to both the economies of our states and the societies that they represent. In many instances, the state lotteries are the only reason that states are able to operate with such significant budgets.
Lottery Benefits for Players are Significant as Well
As far as players go the lottery obviously provides an opportunity for us to become instant millionaires. The opportunity to turn a couple bucks into millions is a pretty unique opportunity, even if it is highly unlikely.
I’d say one of the best parts of being able to play the lottery is the feeling that we get when we buy the ticket. We go and buy our ticket around 5PM for the 11PM Powerball drawing and then have the next six hours to dwell and dream about what we’d do with all that money. We get the opportunity to think about all the people that we would take care of and how much better our lives could be. It provides instant positivity in our lives, something that is certainly much needed in a world filled with stress.
The positivity associated with the thoughts of winning the lottery has also been known to take people to a new way of thinking in their everyday lives. The thoughts that come with winning the lottery allow us to envision the type of world that we’d like to live in. It can sometimes lead us to also realize that we don’t necessarily need the lottery to create that type of life for ourselves. Envisioning the life that we’d like to live and then pursuing ways to get ourselves there can be a life changing practice for us.
There’s no doubt that the benefits of the lottery are endless. Many states would struggle to survive financially or be forced to tax heavily in order to preserve a sustainable state budget if it wasn’t for the success of the lottery and the money that brings to the states. The ability of the lottery to create better lives for everybody involved is what makes me proud to say that I’m a lotto addict through and through!
