Name:
Course Name:
Institution:
Instructor:
Date:
Lottery Cheat, Corrupt People
Gambling is a business based on probability hence the participants can either loose or win. Human craving desire for acquiring more wealth in an easy and faster way has forced them to engage in gambling activities. However, people who mostly engage in these activities are those who do not have clear understanding of probabilities hence they are used by other people to meet their economic benefits. I concur with George Willis thesis that lottery cheat/corrupt people in the society. As revealed by George, the government has legalized betting in casinos and other forms of gambling in order to acquire revenue very easily. By legalizing gambling activities, the government has increased respect for them thus has attracted large number of people. It has increased public interests hence many people have switched to them as their main activities. Legalizing the activities creates new gamblers who are tempted to engage in illegal gambling. Engaging in illegal gambling activities amounts to breaking the law and the consequences are adverse. Illegal gambling offers better odds which are unacceptable in court of law. Noteworthy, American government has opted to legalize the lottery and other gambling activities on the rationale that they are victimless but a matter of moral indifference. The states authorities believe that individuals have the responsibility of making moral decisions for themselves. However, individuals engaging in legalized gambling are easily tempted to engage in illegal forms of gambling. Arguably, lottery cheats the larger population.
George argued that the government has legalized gambling in some cities in order to generate large amount of revenue. The government has legalized gambling activities in order to get revenue in a painless way. Generating income without working for it involves talking away the wealth of another person. However, this is not effective because it is severely regressive. This implies that revenue realized from taxation of these activities becomes lesser and lesser as the number of gambling activities legalized increases. This implies that the government is taking away resources from its citizens through taxation of gambling activities. The revenue generated from these activities do not have great impact ion the economy of the country. Revenues generated from gambling activities are often embezzled or mismanaged by those in higher offices. From the economic perspective, this amounts to robbing off citizen’s wealth, an issue which can be considered to constitute corruption.
In most cases, people from poor backgrounds participate in gambling activities in the pursuit of achieving the objectives of their lives. George asserted that gamblers are drawn disproportionately from the poor class as they are susceptible to the lure of gambling. People are cheated into risking the little they have in anticipation for massive wealth. This caused harm to both the participants and their dependants. By legalizing the gambling activities, the government is encouraging the public to engage in them, and they end up suffering economic loss. It is corruption because the losers from the poor financial backgrounds end up loosing their properties or monies hence leading a difficult life. Statistics revealed that between 1975 and 1977, a lot of resources were used to advertise lotteries which almost all the players are losers. The subjects are using their resources which end up into hands of other people without proper justification. Lotteries advertisement is apt among individuals who are ruined by the desire to achieve certain economic objectives without struggling. Due to economic tribulations, the lottery advertisements make some people susceptible to dreams of economic relief. In reality, this is unattainable. This encompasses undertaking risks in an attempt to achieve relief.
Lottery enables the winners to acquire unjustified wealth. Lottery blurs the difference between wealth earned in the appropriate means and the ill-gotten wealth.
Lottery reduces productivity of the participants, an issue that has negative effect on the whole society. Gambling is debased speculation and represents a lust for massive and abrupt wealth. By legitimizing the gambling activities, people are cheated into engaging in them in an attempt to acquire the massive wealth abruptly. However, the outcomes might contrast the expectation especially after losing. As such, the victims have been cheated and they end up losing their money to others. This is corruption because the winner acquires acquire wealth by taking away the wealth of another person.
People are driven by craving desire into engaging in such activities. People can acquire wealth justifiably through ennobling labor. People have to work hard in order to acquire wealth morally. Therefore, gambling based on speculation is not the moral worth in which individual acquires wealth in the society. In capitalist societies, people have acquired great deal of wealth in a speculative manner without sweating.
The government move to legitimize and institutionalizes lottery whets the public appetite hence many people will be attracted to them. This is delusion hence the participants are unlikely to achieve the relief of their tribulations as they expect. Instead, they are robbed off their little wealth. Therefore, lottery cheats and corrupts the public.