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Voltaire called it "a tax on stupidity".
Statisticians tell you that you are more likely to be hit by the debris of a plane.
History continues below
Economists call it a tax on the poor, because the less well-off among us devote a much larger share of their income to it.
And that never matters.
As soon as the numbers are large enough, tens of millions of Americans will visit their convenience stores for an almost non-existent chance of hitting it very, very rich. More than 280 million Mega Million tickets were sold for last Friday's draw, while there was no winner for the 26th week in a row. Tuesday night, with a first prize of $ 1.6 billion in play, even more tickets will be sold. Win $ 620 million in Wednesday's Powerball Jackpot and, unlike the lottery itself, it's a safe bet that a lottery ticket will be purchased for every man, woman and child in the country this week.
It is a national celebration of illusion in which citizens and the media are happily accomplices. We never see long lines and hysterical reporting when jackpots are, say, $ 40 million, although for most of us, say 99%, a $ 40 million price would change dramatically. our lives. But once the numbers reach half a billion dollars, the price appeal becomes irresistible. ("Now, it's worth it!").
Once the jackpot reaches the stratosphere, the media goes crazy, with the same story for almost every show. "Lotto fever hits[[[[the name of your city here]"It starts." Long lines of satisfied customers greet the camera, and the reporter asks customers, "What will you do if you win?" The reporter never asks, "How much do you spend on the lottery?" how much would you have now if you put that money in an investment account?
The plot certainly never mentions facts like this in Investopedia: "In California, a study found that 40% of lottery players were unemployed; in Maryland, the poorest third of the population buys 60% of all lottery tickets; and in Michigan, those without a high school diploma spent five times more in the lottery than those with a college education. in the United States struggling with a gambling habit.
Instead, the story ends with the journalist brandishing her ticket and telling the anchors that "if I win, you will not see me tomorrow!"
The media could be inspired by Pasadena, California's public radio station KPCC, which found that California's lottery education contributions – the main reason given to the original of its creation – had remained essentially static in California for the past 12 years. years, despite a doubling of revenues.
The logical conclusion of all this is that no rational person should spend a penny on a Mega Millions or Powerball ticket, right?
This is true if you spend 5% or 10% of your income deficient in lottery tickets. But for the average buyer, the obvious craziness of hoping for a 1 in 300 million win is outweighed by the "psychic income" you get with your $ 2.
What is the psychic income? Merriam-Webster defines it as follows: "Rewards (such as prestige, hobbies or a pleasant environment) are not measurable in terms of money or property. bottle, but the simple fact that we paid a princely sum for the wine offers its own satisfaction.
In the case of a lottery ticket, the psychic income comes in the form of two or three days of very rewarding fantasies. They may be important: "This is the house I am going to buy, the car I will be driving, the trip I'm going to start." They may be deliciously vengeful: supervisor or shop steward before I leave; let me see the face of my family member who despised me as a failure. They can be noble: "This is the education that I can guarantee to every child in my extended family; here are the hundreds of millions that I can give to worthy causes around the world; here are all the people who have helped me or shown kindness in my life that I can reward. "
These fantasies may even lack coherence. The mere prospect of a sudden arrival of massive and undeserved money can destabilize even the most rational. Years ago, my wife and I had dinner with a psychologist. When he learned that he could have four winning numbers, he spent 15 minutes trying frantically trying to find out how much he had won. "Ring for the elevator!" He says to one of his children. "These guys always know how the lottery works!" (He only calmed down when he learned that he had three winning numbers, which did not bring him anything.)
It's just as ridiculous to spend more than 10 seconds planning what to do with these prices, as well as to shut up when walking outside for fear of falling with space debris. We know what the thirst for unearned wealth can do for the human mind; writers Mark Twain ("The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg") to Terry Southern (The magical Christian) told us. We know that state governments are happy to create a voluntary tax that attracts the least comfortable among us and that the media are happy to feed these illusions.
But on another level, if things go well, it will be the last column of mine that you will read.
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