Columnist criticizes lotteries as a ‘tax on poor’

By Matt Patrick, Columnist

In recent years, the Powerball lottery has given out record amounts of money to winners.

Some of the jackpots have been close to half a billion dollars.

There are many things the lottery does for funding important institutions, but people just don’t understand where the money is coming from.

A recent study in South Carolina found that 28 percent of the population that state reports having an income level of less than $40,000 a year.

Fifty-four percent of lottery ticket buyers are of this income bracket.

This mismatch is the fundamental problem with lotteries.

While states tout the moneymaking ability of the lottery, this money is coming from the pockets of the poor.

The lottery preys on the hope of lower income people to strike it rich.

You are more likely to be struck by lightning multiple times and live than to win some of these huge Powerball lotteries that are nationwide.

It isn’t fair to prey on the hopes of people trying to break into a more comfortable lifestyle.

Even those below the poverty line are heavily invested into buying lottery tickets in the hopes of breaking out.

During the fall of the economy in 2008, many state lotteries set records as a reflection of the desperation of those losing money and those who were losing jobs.

If someone in poverty buys five Powerball tickets a week at $2 a ticket, which is common among lottery ticket buyers, they will spend $520 in a year on lottery tickets.

Business Insider reported on a study that found an average of $663 per citizen was spent on the lottery in 2003, so this number is fair.

If someone took all of that money and invested or saved it, they are almost sure to increase that amount of money in a way that will directly help them improve their financial situation.

This cannot be a cycle we continue to support, no matter how much it may benefit other institutions.

I cannot support funding our public institutions from the pockets of the poor.

We can teach these communities and people how to better manage their money to improve their situation and break out of the cycle of poverty that so many people are unfortunately stuck in.

This isn’t fair or right. It is time for the lottery system to be replaced by a better idea for funding our different institutions.