“Hope and desperation are big business: Lottery tickets sold in the U.S. 2012 $78 billion” ~ Cynthia G. Creel 5-18-2013

“Hope and desperation are big business: Lottery tickets sold in the U.S. 2012 

$78 billion” 

~ Cynthia G. Creel

5-18-2013

My story:

I heard the words the family is in the quiet room as I followed the nurse to be with my family my only thoughts were I hope my step mom needed a quiet place to be. The alternative was the harsh reality that my father had died.  This hospital with all the modern technology could not save him? This had to be something else. I walked thought the door and found tears of disbelief that my father was no longer with us. Reality crashed down around me and life suddenly was filled with other hopes of being able to tell my young daughters that grandpa was a memory to hold tight too. The hope that the family would still be intact and not be pushed away from each other. He thought I would pay anything to have hope again that my father would be ok. A chance that could happen if he was still alive and never could once death took hold. 

It seems the first and last thoughts in my life start with hope. Hope will forever be a part of me, a part of my life. It opens doors that would be impossible otherwise to walk thought. Yet hope is just a thought of an opportunity and possibility  to do more. Hope is a basic need to move us forward and is sold every day at a price for profit. Hope for profit many times holds us back while hope that looks for answers that are not sold may be the only way to find the best way to find what is needed.   

Hope: 

I hope I win….. I hope I pass this test….. I hope I get in…. I hope it grows…. I hope there are 10 fingers and 10 toes…  I hope she lives…. I hope he lives…  I hope I live…… 

Our lives wrap around hope and the everyday ads we see tap into this thought. Hope is a part of us and there is profit in hope. I was amazed from a report by CBS news (1) reports last year’s sales of lottery tickets in the Untied States was about $78 billion. That is more sold than music, movie tickets, and porn combined which are in themselves sales of hope.

 Lottery ticket sales are big business. Eleven states in the Untied States take in more from lottery ticket sales than tax revenue. Lottery ticket sales are having a negative impact on the poor with an income of $13,000 or less per year spending on average 9% of that income on lottery tickets. At an income level of $13,000 per year most likely all of the income is needs to be spent on the necessities of life just to survive.


Praying of the hope and desperation for profit:

I have hear people say a simple thought “They have a choice.” I hear that often and wonder if the person could change places for a week would their view change. People below the poverty line become victims all to often when it comes to make great choices of purchasing the hope of the sparkle of ideas of wining. This reason could be why they are in poverty and may never escape it. 

If a person is desperate the choices made do have a logic to them that most likely will not match someone else’s choice if they are not desperate. The lottery offers hope where there was none before for just $1. Buying a ticket by parting with a $1 for a chance for millions sounds so reasonable right?. The idea of having plenty of money to some who has so little may make them willing to part with money that needs to be spent else where on  living expenses. Desperation makes even the most logical person choose poorly. 

Most of the people in the Untied States have never been hungry on an ongoing basies. Yet it is easy to say “I would never steal food.” Under normal circumstances most people wouldn’t steal food. Throw in some new facts like a person has no money or a way to find food and a store with tons of food for sale the thoughts and actions may play out very differently to take instead of buy.  The choice we think we have may be dictated by many factors leading a person to a different choice. 


Profit is about more than just making money:


States are no different then any other business. The government in the Untied States was founded by the people and for the people so does that create a higher purpose for the state when it comes to colleting revenue thought taxes, fees, or lotteries? Is the lottery like giving money with one hand to the poorest of he poor and taking it away with the other hand at the same time? 

Desperation no only affects people and institutions that are made up of people. The economic down turn around 5 years ago created a desperate government  with some parts depended upon sales. With not as many people spending it affected the sales tax collected.  The government agencies dependent upon property taxes did not receive as much when property taxes were being affected by fore closures. 

In the long run everything does balance out and a normal is found. However, a new normal is found when collecting from the poorest through lottery ticket sales. California was one of the  states in the United States that was hardest  hit by the recent economic down turn and now the state has approved the ultimate lottery ticket to buy is the  Power Ball Mega Lottery tickets. Where the current hope to win is $600 million is on sale for just $2 a ticket giving a person about 1 to 175 million chances of winning according to the LA times (2). 

It’s just $2:

It is just $2. For most that $2 spent on a ticket isn’t going to change there life dramatically. Yet for the ones who are  under or at the poverty line the difference could be being hungry or cold for part of a month. I can eat a well balanced meal from $2 and if I had to I could eat for a whole day off the $2 and not be hungry.  That is the difference between understanding and being able to plan and just buying hope out of desperation. One is a wish and a dream while the other takes care of the reality creating a stronger person. 

$178 billon can buy what is needed:

It seems we hold onto our money until we see what we think we have to have. This creates some very large pool of money. It is what we are willing to buy that creates the illogical world we live in. We all have the right to buy what we want with money we control. We need to keep that right and add to the thought of doing what is best by taking in consideration how the results of that purchase affects the environment and others. 

How different would the world be if the $178 billion were collected differently and helped people move forward instead of just taking from the poorest of the poor. Each one of us have choices  that may untimely help us all gain benefits on a daily basis instead of a fleeting hope of being wealthy. 

According to the Princeton University study (3)   “the quality of the respondents’ everyday experiences did not improve beyond approximately $75,000 a year.” The idea of millions won bring happiness may be only in the imagination. The idea of helping others help themselves above the poverty line seems it can be done (4) with new ideas to lead the way that do are not giving and taking from the super poor. Helping the supper poor help themselves could be the key. One of the best ways I know to help those who can not feed themselves is too feed them well. Too many times at a homeless shelter I see the ones in the most need being feed food like  white bread hot dog buns and hot dogs. Feeding the needy with quality not junk food is the strongest way I know to help them deal with life that just may create a certain intemperance instead of dependency.  

Final words:


The sale of lottery tickets is fun for most. A few dollars spent for a chance to win seems harmless on the surface. Underneath there is a current that is raging. The damage that maybe being created should not be over looked. Analyzing the fun vs. the effects is one of the best ways to help all make better choices. Helping people not to become desperate and hope for a miracle  change with a $2 lottery ticket is a way to help all create a better world to live in. The happiness created comes from each person and is very little money is needed to achieve happiness. 

Before you purchase your next lottery ticket think of the effects it will have on you and others. With the odds so high of not winning it is like throwing your money on the street. That may do more good for the person who finds the $2 than buying a ticket. lottery tickets may give the feeling of a little fun at the expense of others and should be a consideration of how else can the money be spent.  if you have to buy then buy less and help more. 



One of the largest side effects of being on the Path of True Health for me is the ability to create happiness without purchasing over all. I do not feel deprived, but empowered. I encourage all to Step on the Path of True Health to find their own empowerment. It may be what is missing in life for many.

 What is right for one person is as always their choice. Only time tells us if we may have taken the best path. It is for each of us to find what is best for ourselves. It is the choices we make that decides our fate. 

The more proactive we can all become the more likely the negative results in life can be avoided. Stand up tall with an upright posture and be proactive. The solution  helps to keep moving the best direction is to step onto the path of True Health.  Discover a new world. Help yourself, help the world, step on to the Path of True Health and vote with your dollars  company you want to support to create a world you will love to live in. I do, and I like the world I am helping to create. Together we can create a better life for all to remember over their entire lifetime  Together we can protect what we have so we don’t need to live in a world that is second rate.


By Design ~ “Life is good By Design”


Photo creation by  Cynthia G. Creel all rights reserved ©2013

Photo of lemon blossoms  that I have a hope to become lemons. Some did and some didn't. Real hope gives us possibilities, fake hope gives little in return and usually takes.

There is now some advertising on my page, I do not necessarily endorse the products sold.  Look carefully I do not always have control over the ads placed. I am in favor of  helping the environmental  wild life and people. I do my best to try to have advertising that agrees with my this philosophy  however it takes time to create what is needed. So please consider the larger picture before purchasing anything. Thank you for being proactive
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all rights reserved ©2013 written permission is needed to duplicate
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of By Design or Cynthia G. Creel. Consultation of a medical professional is highly recommended before any changes are considered. This article is not saying anyone person in a leadership position is unhealthy or healthy, it is just a possibly of many and is only speaking in general terms. .Note: No company mentioned in this article is considered to serve “healthy or unhealthy” food, any examples given  was  only used as an example of how business works though their history and public information. The focus is only to help explain a idea. Statements and conclusions of  any study authors that are presented are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the  policy or position of Cynthia G. Creel or any means the information is published.  There is no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.

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Sources:

(1) http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50146783n

(2) http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-powerball-jackpot-at-600-million-and-growing-20130518,0,1304503.story

(3) http://wws.princeton.edu/news/Income_Happiness/

(4) http://lifeisgoodbydesign.blogspot.com/2013/03/republican-and-democrats-agree-wealth.html