In Times like These, We Need Commonsense…Not Mega Millions
In my home state of Michigan the most recent report from the labor statistics people is that we are somewhere near 15% unemployment. This gives us the dubious distinction of having the highest unemployment in the nation.
Yet today, as I was on my way to my office I saw that the mega million lottery game is up to $106 million. I was thunderstruck by the contradiction of it all. Here we are in a state in the throes of hyper-unemployment and there are veritable millions available for some lucky winner or handful of winners, if the million to one odds lean in their favor should they buy a mega million ticket.
And, yes, my fuming becomes even whinier when the fact that the lottery is as much financed by the players as it is by the legislatively dedicated revenue that is overseen by a very above board, and transparent, lottery commission.
To be clear, I am not arguing the merits of the legitimacy of the lottery itself, but rather the perception created by this huge jackpot.
As my wife pointed out to me recently, no matter how it’s rationalized, given the number of families in Michigan struggling to make ends meet, a huge lottery jackpot is a glaring (disturbing) presence when juxtaposed with the dialogue about stimulus money and bailout packages. Yes, the commonsensical retort is that lottery programs represent the will of the majority of the people who voted to make this sort of thing legal. But like CEOs getting big fat severance packages, it just doesn’t look right in the times we living.
So maybe what I’m talking about means little. But maybe to someone who can only wish to have a million to one chance of staying the hand of foreclosure or keeping the utilities on for just one more day, maybe this means the world to that person. And it is to that person this blog entry is so dedicated.
Yet today, as I was on my way to my office I saw that the mega million lottery game is up to $106 million. I was thunderstruck by the contradiction of it all. Here we are in a state in the throes of hyper-unemployment and there are veritable millions available for some lucky winner or handful of winners, if the million to one odds lean in their favor should they buy a mega million ticket.
And, yes, my fuming becomes even whinier when the fact that the lottery is as much financed by the players as it is by the legislatively dedicated revenue that is overseen by a very above board, and transparent, lottery commission.
To be clear, I am not arguing the merits of the legitimacy of the lottery itself, but rather the perception created by this huge jackpot.
As my wife pointed out to me recently, no matter how it’s rationalized, given the number of families in Michigan struggling to make ends meet, a huge lottery jackpot is a glaring (disturbing) presence when juxtaposed with the dialogue about stimulus money and bailout packages. Yes, the commonsensical retort is that lottery programs represent the will of the majority of the people who voted to make this sort of thing legal. But like CEOs getting big fat severance packages, it just doesn’t look right in the times we living.
So maybe what I’m talking about means little. But maybe to someone who can only wish to have a million to one chance of staying the hand of foreclosure or keeping the utilities on for just one more day, maybe this means the world to that person. And it is to that person this blog entry is so dedicated.
posted by Robert McTyre Sr. at 12:00 PM
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