R: Ban the Lottery
October 3rd, 2018 at 7:30p.m. in the Berkeley Mendenhall Room
POWERBALL! MEGA MILLIONS! LUCKY FOR LIFE! Thelottery as an institution has been used since early American history to fund public education, raise revenue, and catch the public eye with flashy advertising for quick rewards. At times like the Panic of 1837, lotteries have been made illegal due to associations with corruption, scandal or vice. But overcoming the legal turmoil of it's history, the lottery remains firmly stationed as the government endorsed 'get rich quick' scheme for the American people.
Why do people play the lottery? For the gamesmanship? For the titillating risk? Or far more likely, because it provides the only real hope to lower income Americans that they can pay off debts, start saving, and someday ascertain the elusive American Dream. But should it be the role of thelottery in society to endow the citizenry with hope of a better financial future? What should the government's role be in the lottery and should there be a lottery at all?