Lotteries

I don't know if it's statistically significant, or just anecdotal, but I'm sure we've all heard our share of lottery horror stories. It goes something like this, winner goes from rags to riches and back again, or at the very least is left miserable by it all.

State lotteries have been called a tax on the poor. I could add a few others like the gullible and naive, because I know plenty of people who play that aren't poor. Overall, I'm not convinced there are any social benefits to making a several people a year multi-millionaires over night.

Why not split the pot over several numbers? If the pot is $100 M, why not have 100 winners? A million bucks is a pretty good return on a buck or ten (even after taxes). In today's dollars, it's not life-changing, but it's not chump change.

I don't get why the lottery has to be such a winner-takes-all, in-your-face game. I'm no economist, but I'm sure 100 people with $1M each would be better for the economy.