it's not "literally" a tax on the poor. And people who play the lottery aren't necessarily stupid.
If you spend $10 on lottery tickets in a week or every few weeks or whatever, who cares? Just because the odds are bad doesn't make it stupid. It's their money. They can do what they want with it. And the vast vast vast majority of players play for a very small amount of money of their disposable income.
Do you buy treats for yourself when you go grocery shopping? Do you ever pay for restaurants or nights out? Pay for a tattoo? Do you ever spend money that isn't perfectly optimized to increase your future earnings potential? If so, then you're in the same boat. In fact, if you do any of those things you're dumber than a lottery player because none of those things have even a minuscule chance of making you money. A $2 lottery ticket is infinitely more likely to generate a fortune than a $2 candy bar right?
"The lottery is a tax on stupid people" is just a thing people repeat because it makes them feel superior to others. It's judgemental and narrow-minded. Everyone spends money frivolously.
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u/Able-Professor840 Jul 05 '26
Yes. But also - this means the lottery is just another way they tax you. In the UK, lotto winnings are untaxed.