Argumentative Essay: Addicted To Lotteries

The general argument made by The Week in their work “Addicted to Lotteries” is that lotteries are bad. More specifically, they argue that the lottery targets the poor, generally the winners aren’t happy, and the lottery hurts people. In conclusion, The Week advises you to stay away from lotteries. Many people may not be aware that the lottery targets those who have the least to spend. According to The Week,”Fifty-four percent of ticket sales come from 5 percent of players, who tend to be poor and uneducated. ‘The hope of getting out of poverty encourages people to continue to buy tickets,’ says Emily Haisley, and expert in financial decision making.” Basically, they are saying that a large percentage of the lottery players are poor because the poor want the hope of becoming wealthy. The Week states,”... College dropouts spend about $700; people with degrees only $178.” By including this, they prove that the poor spend more money on the lottery than the others. Therefore, the lottery targets the poor.

The Week disagrees. They write,”Several studies suggest that lottery winners are disproportionately likely to wind up bankrupt.” Their point is that you are more likely to become bankrupt if you win, so you should avoid the risk by not playing. They also state,”Winners are often unprepared for the challenges that follow getting a big windfall, and can find themselves swamped by friends and relatives demanding loans or gifts, and financial ‘advisors’ offering bad investment opportunities.” The essence of their argument is that you will be bombarded with people asking for your money, you could be tricked into giving someone your money, and you probably won’t end up with all the money you started with. In short, winning the lottery doesn’t necessarily make you