I hesitate to "like" this post since it's so damn depressing, but the point you make is important. Your front lines perspective is invaluable. I'm also wondering how your customers would feel if the lottery were ended. Would they feel served or once again screwed by others who think they know better what's good for them? Or is the suggestion that we restructure society to the point where people choose to stop buying lottery tickets because they're no longer so desperate and the predatory scheme withers from disuse?
Kady, this is an absolutely brilliant and vital question. Thank you for cutting directly to the heart of the matter. You've perfectly articulated the two competing philosophies of change.
Your first question is the "paternalism trap," and it's a real one. Simply banning the lottery would be a horizontal move—an elite, top-down "solution" that ignores the desperation driving the demand. The Gears ⚙️ would rightly see it as another freedom being taken away by people who don't understand their lives. It treats the symptom, not the disease.
Your second question... that's the entire mission. That's the Vertical War.
The only real solution is to build a world where the predatory scheme withers from disuse because people are no longer desperate enough to need a one-in-300-million chance to escape. The goal isn't to take away the lottery ticket; it's to create a society with so much opportunity and stability that buying one feels like a foolish waste of two dollars.
You've hit the nail on the head. We don't want to be the ones who "know better." We want to be the ones who help build better.
No surprise that I'm right with you, Ethan. In my observation, society has always been in tension between the tendency for resources and power to flow to a small number of people, and collective efforts to counter that tendency. The beneficiaries use their power to accelerate the flow, which can only be resisted through collective action. The good news is that, at least for the moment, we live in one of the best political systems to non-violently resist the accelerating flow, but only if we join together and use the power we still have.
This is such a massively important point to discuss in great detail! I personally am too damn miserly to play the lottery, but have dear friends who are addicted. So what then shall we do? ,
I was a public school teacher for 30 years. When I retired, I became a massage therapist. I was always astonished at how many people believed the lottery funded almost all of the public school fund. They were shocked when I explained the 27%, and how the state itself is scamming us. Now they want casinos, these Christian lawmakers, who have apparently seen the Native population make some money on theirs and think, why not us white guys. Meanwhile, retired teachers were told we might get a COLA in 2027; we have only had about 13% in two decades. The citizens think the lottery pays for raises.
When the lottery came to NY,I thought it would be great for my toddlers. Then they started school. No new or nearly new books, no field trips, no time spent other than assigning homework. Lots of homework. And now my grandkids "get" to add the trauma of active shooter drills. 😭😭
get control of my title property? Mother passed away with no will and I cleared Pro in court in 2022 February I had to get a $50,000 grant to reinstated
The Morgage then they sent the money back.
I literally had to get a restraining order from Superior Court to stop them from auctioning the property off
I had the money to close on the property for over a year
the money to close on it .
There is definitely some criminal behavior behind what happened However we finally got the the title from
being held hostage by the policyholder
When my mother passed she only owed $32,000
Owed on the property.
I cleared probate court and trying to pay the mortgage. They wouldn’t let me they played games then they resold the title year after year to themselves.
When I finally closed on the property they added a $20,000 restoration fee.
I did the probate myself and that’s why they took advantage of me.
I had a lawyer and realtor for the closing because by law,
You have to in the state of Massachusetts.
The way this article brings a lot of attention to the fact that we’ve been getting ripped off $500 a week by the system every middle class worker for the last hundred years also President Donald Trump took 2 trillion out of Social Security in 2017 but nobody’s talking about that I am manipulating the tax laws back in 2017. He literally took $2 trillion from Social Security
Every single American retirement.
Paying for healthcare and Israeli soldiers retirement so why we paying for Israeli soldiers retirement why are we paying Israeli anything I don’t get it .
Also how can we change the law that presidents can’t raid SS anymore. Ronald Reagan changed that law and that needs to stop. So $5.7 trillion has been looted from SS and that is why it will fail in 2035 and not for any other reason. Reagan took $3.7 trillion and now tRump took $2 trillion.
Thank you for pointing that out because I was just entering the military when he came into office Ronald Reagan. He did bring respect back for our military, but I didn’t know about this corruption and I knew Social Security is gonna fail because of our deficit but that two should’ve been more publicly known about this criminal before the illegally got reelected in my opinion because of his actions on January 6 alone just disqualify him And I don’t get it
When my mother's dementia looked to be going south, my sister brought her to her lawyer's pronto to write a new will, in order to leave her house to me. I was the caretaker of both parents+ they wanted that. Sister had dealt with the state after her FIL died, and it wasn't pretty. At her death, she was in a care facility for a few months. The government lawyers tried to threaten me, saying everything was theirs now. I called my lawyer+ luckily, they stopped at that. Evil.
Yeah, I didn’t have that problem. I had a problem with the bank trying to steal it. I cleared the state no problem. My mother worked for the state and I was ready to make a well out. She had a bad headache and the next morning she was on life-support. I had stuff to do Will’s trusses ever but it’s definitely a nightmare. Some states I heard in Missouri you can’t even have a well they have to make trusses.
When there is no winner for a drawing, it means that if YOU bought all the tickets that were sold, you still wouldn’t win. I think that’s easier to understand than stating the odds.
I can't remember what year Florida got the lottery, it's been at least 40 some odd years ago. Never played it much, did get some a time or two for a Christmas present. I voted back then and yes if it's going to help education I was all for it. Didn't take too long to see that lie and later the biggest lie, selected, not elected. But yes,I had a friend that was addicted, and like any addiction it was hard to see.
I see it at my pharmacy and it makes me so sad. These are very poor people who buy the tickets and the great majority of people who come into my little neighborhood pharmacy come in for the lottery. It’s worse than when they used to sell cigarettes!
And I’m dying of social IV cancer. And you think I feel bad about not taking half his money. I had to sign a document saying I was acting against the lawyer’s wishes or advice. Lmao, def wishes!
But I have never regretted it. It is no way to live. Take it from someone who’s dying.
“The Lottery, with its weekly pay-out of enormous prizes, was the one public event to which the proles paid serious attention. It was probable that there were some millions of proles for whom the Lottery was the principal if not the only reason for remaining alive. It was their delight, their folly, their anodyne, their intellectual stimulant. Where the Lottery was concerned, even people who could barely read and write seemed capable of intricate calculations and staggering feats of memory. There was a whole tribe of men who made their living simply by selling systems, forecasts, and lucky amulets. Winston had nothing to do with the Lottery, which was managed by the Ministry of Plenty, but he was aware (indeed everyone in the party was aware) that the prizes were largely imaginary. Only small sums were actually paid out, the winners of the big prizes being nonexistent persons.”
My ex became an investment banker then started his own private equity firm. He worked days on end and often spent nights there. They all do at that level, the lowest rung, and until they make it. Normal people don’t go zero dollars (or in the red) to billionaires. People who are willing to throw away everything in their lives do.
Nobody out there wants to become a billionaire. Or yes, they do — in theory — but it’s in theory. And it’s misguided.
He’s a billionaire, and he’s surrounded family and friends and utterly miserable. And the people around him — his wife and friends — are literally scary. They are not someone you see at a party and say I wanna be that man or that woman.
George, thank you for this. That first sentence—"Hope is a priceless commodity"—hits right at the heart of why the lottery is such a cruel weapon. And your honesty about how it "kept me alive"... that takes real courage to say. It's the exact, painful truth I saw behind the counter for ten years.
You're absolutely right about the second part, too. If the state lottery vanished tomorrow, a hundred private predators would spring up to sell that same desperate hope back to people. The Rust 🦠 always finds a way to feed on the vulnerable.
That's the core of our fight, isn't it? It's not just about abolishing one predatory system. It's about building a world where people aren't so desperate that a 1-in-300-million shot feels like their only path. It's about constructing a reality where hope isn't a commodity to be bought, but a future we build together, for real.
Your insight is invaluable. Thank you for bringing it to the forge.
I hesitate to "like" this post since it's so damn depressing, but the point you make is important. Your front lines perspective is invaluable. I'm also wondering how your customers would feel if the lottery were ended. Would they feel served or once again screwed by others who think they know better what's good for them? Or is the suggestion that we restructure society to the point where people choose to stop buying lottery tickets because they're no longer so desperate and the predatory scheme withers from disuse?
Kady, this is an absolutely brilliant and vital question. Thank you for cutting directly to the heart of the matter. You've perfectly articulated the two competing philosophies of change.
Your first question is the "paternalism trap," and it's a real one. Simply banning the lottery would be a horizontal move—an elite, top-down "solution" that ignores the desperation driving the demand. The Gears ⚙️ would rightly see it as another freedom being taken away by people who don't understand their lives. It treats the symptom, not the disease.
Your second question... that's the entire mission. That's the Vertical War.
The only real solution is to build a world where the predatory scheme withers from disuse because people are no longer desperate enough to need a one-in-300-million chance to escape. The goal isn't to take away the lottery ticket; it's to create a society with so much opportunity and stability that buying one feels like a foolish waste of two dollars.
You've hit the nail on the head. We don't want to be the ones who "know better." We want to be the ones who help build better.
No surprise that I'm right with you, Ethan. In my observation, society has always been in tension between the tendency for resources and power to flow to a small number of people, and collective efforts to counter that tendency. The beneficiaries use their power to accelerate the flow, which can only be resisted through collective action. The good news is that, at least for the moment, we live in one of the best political systems to non-violently resist the accelerating flow, but only if we join together and use the power we still have.
This is such a massively important point to discuss in great detail! I personally am too damn miserly to play the lottery, but have dear friends who are addicted. So what then shall we do? ,
Let's create opportunities for political change and invite others to join us?
With the way things are going, I’m wondering how these lotteries could even survive—
I was a public school teacher for 30 years. When I retired, I became a massage therapist. I was always astonished at how many people believed the lottery funded almost all of the public school fund. They were shocked when I explained the 27%, and how the state itself is scamming us. Now they want casinos, these Christian lawmakers, who have apparently seen the Native population make some money on theirs and think, why not us white guys. Meanwhile, retired teachers were told we might get a COLA in 2027; we have only had about 13% in two decades. The citizens think the lottery pays for raises.
When the lottery came to NY,I thought it would be great for my toddlers. Then they started school. No new or nearly new books, no field trips, no time spent other than assigning homework. Lots of homework. And now my grandkids "get" to add the trauma of active shooter drills. 😭😭
Me being 60 years old white was a bank for
4 1/2 years to just
get control of my title property? Mother passed away with no will and I cleared Pro in court in 2022 February I had to get a $50,000 grant to reinstated
The Morgage then they sent the money back.
I literally had to get a restraining order from Superior Court to stop them from auctioning the property off
I had the money to close on the property for over a year
the money to close on it .
There is definitely some criminal behavior behind what happened However we finally got the the title from
being held hostage by the policyholder
When my mother passed she only owed $32,000
Owed on the property.
I cleared probate court and trying to pay the mortgage. They wouldn’t let me they played games then they resold the title year after year to themselves.
When I finally closed on the property they added a $20,000 restoration fee.
I did the probate myself and that’s why they took advantage of me.
I had a lawyer and realtor for the closing because by law,
You have to in the state of Massachusetts.
The way this article brings a lot of attention to the fact that we’ve been getting ripped off $500 a week by the system every middle class worker for the last hundred years also President Donald Trump took 2 trillion out of Social Security in 2017 but nobody’s talking about that I am manipulating the tax laws back in 2017. He literally took $2 trillion from Social Security
Every single American retirement.
Paying for healthcare and Israeli soldiers retirement so why we paying for Israeli soldiers retirement why are we paying Israeli anything I don’t get it .
Also how can we change the law that presidents can’t raid SS anymore. Ronald Reagan changed that law and that needs to stop. So $5.7 trillion has been looted from SS and that is why it will fail in 2035 and not for any other reason. Reagan took $3.7 trillion and now tRump took $2 trillion.
Thank you for pointing that out because I was just entering the military when he came into office Ronald Reagan. He did bring respect back for our military, but I didn’t know about this corruption and I knew Social Security is gonna fail because of our deficit but that two should’ve been more publicly known about this criminal before the illegally got reelected in my opinion because of his actions on January 6 alone just disqualify him And I don’t get it
When my mother's dementia looked to be going south, my sister brought her to her lawyer's pronto to write a new will, in order to leave her house to me. I was the caretaker of both parents+ they wanted that. Sister had dealt with the state after her FIL died, and it wasn't pretty. At her death, she was in a care facility for a few months. The government lawyers tried to threaten me, saying everything was theirs now. I called my lawyer+ luckily, they stopped at that. Evil.
Yeah, I didn’t have that problem. I had a problem with the bank trying to steal it. I cleared the state no problem. My mother worked for the state and I was ready to make a well out. She had a bad headache and the next morning she was on life-support. I had stuff to do Will’s trusses ever but it’s definitely a nightmare. Some states I heard in Missouri you can’t even have a well they have to make trusses.
When there is no winner for a drawing, it means that if YOU bought all the tickets that were sold, you still wouldn’t win. I think that’s easier to understand than stating the odds.
I can't remember what year Florida got the lottery, it's been at least 40 some odd years ago. Never played it much, did get some a time or two for a Christmas present. I voted back then and yes if it's going to help education I was all for it. Didn't take too long to see that lie and later the biggest lie, selected, not elected. But yes,I had a friend that was addicted, and like any addiction it was hard to see.
I see it at my pharmacy and it makes me so sad. These are very poor people who buy the tickets and the great majority of people who come into my little neighborhood pharmacy come in for the lottery. It’s worse than when they used to sell cigarettes!
I've been saying this for a very long time! Thanks for making my screams into the void coherent. Keep up the good work.
Fascinating. I’d not thought of the lottery from this perspective before. Thanks for the post and all the comments, which are edifying.
And I’m dying of social IV cancer. And you think I feel bad about not taking half his money. I had to sign a document saying I was acting against the lawyer’s wishes or advice. Lmao, def wishes!
But I have never regretted it. It is no way to live. Take it from someone who’s dying.
“The Lottery, with its weekly pay-out of enormous prizes, was the one public event to which the proles paid serious attention. It was probable that there were some millions of proles for whom the Lottery was the principal if not the only reason for remaining alive. It was their delight, their folly, their anodyne, their intellectual stimulant. Where the Lottery was concerned, even people who could barely read and write seemed capable of intricate calculations and staggering feats of memory. There was a whole tribe of men who made their living simply by selling systems, forecasts, and lucky amulets. Winston had nothing to do with the Lottery, which was managed by the Ministry of Plenty, but he was aware (indeed everyone in the party was aware) that the prizes were largely imaginary. Only small sums were actually paid out, the winners of the big prizes being nonexistent persons.”
― George Orwell, 1984
If lottery money is not in fact going to schools it is no wonder people are so uneducated and that has to stop.
Hold the phone:
What is the “normal“ way to become a billionaire?
My ex became an investment banker then started his own private equity firm. He worked days on end and often spent nights there. They all do at that level, the lowest rung, and until they make it. Normal people don’t go zero dollars (or in the red) to billionaires. People who are willing to throw away everything in their lives do.
Nobody out there wants to become a billionaire. Or yes, they do — in theory — but it’s in theory. And it’s misguided.
He’s a billionaire, and he’s surrounded family and friends and utterly miserable. And the people around him — his wife and friends — are literally scary. They are not someone you see at a party and say I wanna be that man or that woman.
George, thank you for this. That first sentence—"Hope is a priceless commodity"—hits right at the heart of why the lottery is such a cruel weapon. And your honesty about how it "kept me alive"... that takes real courage to say. It's the exact, painful truth I saw behind the counter for ten years.
You're absolutely right about the second part, too. If the state lottery vanished tomorrow, a hundred private predators would spring up to sell that same desperate hope back to people. The Rust 🦠 always finds a way to feed on the vulnerable.
That's the core of our fight, isn't it? It's not just about abolishing one predatory system. It's about building a world where people aren't so desperate that a 1-in-300-million shot feels like their only path. It's about constructing a reality where hope isn't a commodity to be bought, but a future we build together, for real.
Your insight is invaluable. Thank you for bringing it to the forge.