Is it not grotesque to give a random person 1.2 billion dollars in a lottery?

Not really.

The lottery is paid for by those who all have an equal chance of winning that prize. Also, the profits from lotteries are usually spent on social funds etc.

I feel more conflicted about thr fact that it preys on addiction and those who buy the most lottery tickets are often those who can least afford them. I find that much more grotesque than a random person getting very lucky, but to each their own.

It’s grotesque for ANYONE to have a billion dollars. Arguably the lottery winner is the only one to achieve that wealth by even sort-of ethical means.

State lotteries are in effect a tax on the uneducated; largely used to fund education.

But part of the reason they exist is that, in their absence, people spontaneously come up with even worse forms of gambling, like the old numbers game that funds the expansion of organized crime.

Most lottery players, especially scratch-ticket players, would be better off sticking that money under their mattresses or in credit-union accounts. However, again, when there are no gambling games around, people spontaneously invent them; abolishing state lotteries would not cause that money to go under mattresses or into credit unions.

Wait til you find out about inheritance

It is a deep and philosophical question that must be looked at from all sides. But after much debate and consideration among our greatest scholars the universal truth is a question in of itself. Am I the random person?

If someone inherits a billion dollar, how is that not just given to a random person?

It's not as grotesque as the mundane realities that we accept as normal under capitalism

Far better than the shitheads that add nothing to the world and become billionaires through financial manipulation and employee exploitation.

First of all, they are not getting $1.2B. The lump sum cash value is $551.7M. The usually reported jackpots are presented in terms of the value of a 30 year annuity.

Second, those winnings are before taxes. After taxes, depending on the state, the person will walk away with $280m-350m.

Now, sure, that is still an absurd amount, but still like 1/4th the stated jackpot.

I think it's somewhat charming tbh. Everyone gets a tiny, miniscule chance of never having to work again. I rarely buy a ticket, but when I do I spend all week imagining all the fun things I'd do with the money.

As the other poster said, though, it's sad when folks get addicted to it.

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They should split it up into $100,000 increments. Yeah, that's not a billion, but that could still be life-changing for thousands of families.

Then you'll feel better knowing that in the US that whomever wins that Powerball will end up with less than half the amount they won. Taxes will eat up about 60% of the winnings .

The entire idea of a statewide lottery seems awful to me. I think there should be a cap on the size and reach of any one lottery. It's been shown to be more harmful than helpful to dump millions of dollars on one person's bank account.

San Francisco spends $700 million a year dealing with their roughly 7,000 unhoused people. They could just give every one of them $100,000 a year and spend less, and probably have better results.

Considering how many of their lives go off the rails, yes.

If I believed that simply giving money to the "disenfranchised" would solve anything, I would give thousands. But it won't. Charity isn't the answer, education and a strong family unit is. But, you know, it's racist/classist/whatever "ist" to say so.

The public opinions on Lemmy are fucking daffy. So on top of everything else, yall are cool with predatory gambling system that randomly ruins one person's life?

There should be a cap on maximum wealth / revenu

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it is completely ridiculous, all lotteries should be outlawed