I often quote a joke I heard one: “The lottery is a tax on people bad at math.” The odds of winning more money than you spend on the lottery are so low that the government is the only institution allowed to do it. We’re talking odds of millions to one depending on which game you like. The fact is that for every winner there needs to be tens of thousands of losers in order to finance the payouts. Yet every day people pay their money and play. So why do people play? Why am I tempted? Clearly something is out of balance. The desire to win millions of dollars overrides rational thought. Read more »

Posted: May 12th, 2008 under Decisions, Financial.
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