Post eLearning Work

1. Lotteries have been called a tax on the poor. Ultimately at only a dollar or two a ticket, anyone can play the lotteries. However, many people become addicted to buying tickets and they can cause family/marital problems. Discuss this topic with a parent and get their view on lotteries and specifically lotteries in Singapore. Include at least one quote from an adult, one quote or reference from either an NPR presentation or YouTube video in your discussion. Your blog entry has to be at least 200 words in length and you must either support lotteries or condemn them.

Ultimately, I believe that my family and I condemn lotteries, even those in Singapore. This is simply due to the strong and consistent addiction it brings to frequent buyers - buyers who succumb to addiction without them even knowing.

Upon interviewing my father, I've got the gist of what he's saying. My father takes lots of interest in investing with the New York Stock Exchange and the SGX. He also offers financial advice to many of his business partners and has been in this hobby for the past two decades. Here's a quote when I interviewed him.

"I never believe that that is not the way to get rich. The odds are always against you. The chances of you winning are low. The probability is always low. It’s not like a dollar-for-a dollar. Playing for long would only let you lose, especially if you play consistently. It’s definitely not a way to get rich.

I only play for fun during Chinese New Year – the million dollar draw. It's just for the fun of it. Just for the hope. Just for the good feeling. I do not anticipate that I win.

People who spend a lot on lotteries ultimately lose lots of money. They spend more on the tickets than when they strike their pot of gold. The more you buy, the poorer you get; not worth the salt."

Obviously, the lethal element underlying in lotteries or gambling alike, is addiction.
From this youtube video:



Psychologist Paul Goods says that:
"A sense of excitement, of being on the edge, and you are literally holding your fate in your own hands at a poker table."

Addiction isn't harmful alone. Addiction's only harmful when it accompanies actions detrimental in anyway as a side effect. Hence, the lotteries itself isn't harmful. It is the addiction that comes along with it.

To me, visiting Las Vegas for a week with two million dollars and leaving with four million in debt would be an excellent (though rather exaggerated) example of addiction to gambling, and to buying lotteries.

I believe that all lottery ticket buyers must have the right mindset - the lotteries would never help you stay rich. There is no assurance or guarantee that all buyers would win. Most of the time, you are paying $100 for a piece of paper with printed text that expires in a couple of months time.

And over time, this accumulative effect of overspending on lottery-ticket buying or gambling would only mean that you've spent much more money on useless pieces of paper. The frustration most buyers get would only turn to addiction, and they return to the lottery booths to get more tickets, and hence facing even more loss.

As such, I firmly condemn lotteries, especially because people buy those tickets without the right concept at hand.