Millionaire wins lottery -Rich get richer

hitokiri

I saw it quickly on someones newspaper, but didn't get the name of the paper.

I wanted to find out more about it. Just from the headline, it kind of annoys me that rich people are playing with lottery tickets.

Anyone see the article?

worldwide trader

Hey it's universal law, change your frame of mind and stop think lack to prosperity. Riches be on to you hitokiri.

hitokiri

worldwide trader wrote: Hey it's universal law, change your frame of mind and stop think lack to prosperity.

I dont understand what you are trying to say. Honestly. I am having trouble with your sentence structure/grammar.

worldwide trader

worldwide trader wrote: Hey it's universal law, change your frame of mind and stop think lack to prosperity. Riches be on to you hitokiri.

Hey, it's universal law. Change your frame of mind from lack to prosperity. You are what you think.

doctorj

Let me translate: the rich got that way because they believed in it and earned it, and likewise the poor, and there'll be more of the same. It's your attitude that matters; luck or a history of oppression or violence or hegemony or good/bad genetics or local (dis)advantage has nothing to do with it. Jesus put it well: "Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." (Mat 13:12, also Luke 19:26, 8:18, Mark 4:25, Thomas 41).

homeowner

Doctorj- Is there an english to trader dictionary?

new2hood

it was in the post. he was rich, and he was british.

so wait, only poor people can waste their money on lottery tickets? That seems to be a very odd way of thinking....

hitokiri

Ah, i get what trader was saying now.

Well, while I agree with what he says, i don't believe it has anything to do with a mental thing.

I mean... the lottery is luck after all.
That way *I* see it, is that the lottery was made for the common blue collar worker. If someone were to win it, I would like to see the common man prosper. Not someone who has millions and this lottery wont change his way of living.

I have nothing against the wealthy, but it just seems like a slap in the face. Like someone who doesnt need it is taking it away from someone who quite possibly could.

But that's just an opinion of mine.

edit:

found it online. Here is a excerpt.

Keenan Altunis, 33, a banker raised on Long Island and now living in London, accepted his prize with a smug shrug, noting he's already a multimillionaire.

"Is it going to materially change my life? No," he told The Post. "I have been a very blessed and fortunate person."

And if that isn't an argument for spreading the wealth around, how about this: Since he lives in Britain, Altunis, an executive at the European banking firm Unicredit, will have to pay New York but not federal taxes on his winnings, which means he'll net $931,500 a year for the rest of his life.

Under a US treaty with Britain, income from lottery winnings and several other sources is not subject to taxation for British residents. Altunis is not an American citizen.

That just really bothers me.

doctorj

British? Then he's really out of luck. They're all socialists over there, so the government will take his money and waste it on healthcare for the undeserving.

hitokiri

see above.

the gov isnt taking ANYTHING

carnivore

hitokiri wrote: That way *I* see it, is that the lottery was made for the common blue collar worker. If someone were to win it, I would like to see the common man prosper. Not someone who has millions and this lottery wont change his way of living.

Quite the contrary, the lottery acts as a regressive tax, with poorer urban people paying into it while the money disproportionately goes to school districts upstate. The "common blue collar worker" may be the one buying the tickets, but for most this is a losing proposition.

daver

Carnivore wrote: Quite the contrary, the lottery acts as a regressive tax, with poorer urban people paying into it while the money disproportionately goes to school districts upstate. The "common blue collar worker" may be the one buying the tickets, but for most this is a losing proposition.

Sort of, but that isn't exactly accurate. Most studies are flawed because they chart lottery ticket sales by zip code. Not surprisingly, most quickie marts and whatnot that sell tickets are in commercial areas with lower income residents. The folks _buying_ the tickets there may not live there, however. I've seen studies that show the average lottery ticket buyer has, surprise surprise, an average income. *shrug* From the reality standpoint, how often do you see regular, well, _average_ people winning the lottery on the news as compared to poorer urban people?

As far as this guy, a lot of the articles try to make him look smarmy and smug because that is what people want. If you search you'll find articles with the same quotes in a broader context, he really doesn't seem like a bad guy. And- he bought a ticket just like everyone else, and has every right to win. How many _regular_ folk commit to donating a percentage to charity? Hmm?

tajmb

hitokiri wrote: see above.

the gov isnt taking ANYTHING

The US federal gov't isn't, but the UK gov't will. They actually have higher tax rates.

doctorj

daver wrote: I've seen studies that show the average lottery ticket buyer has, surprise surprise, an average income. *shrug*

But below average intelligence. And slightly less disposable income on average after lottery winnings and outgoings.

daver

tajmb wrote: [quote=hitokiri]see above.

the gov isnt taking ANYTHING

The US federal gov't isn't, but the UK gov't will. They actually have higher tax rates.
It is my understanding that the UK government does not tax lottery winnings. Do you have information to the contrary?

doctorj

Citizen of a third country, resident for tax purposes in the UK, and apparently also taxable in the US due to e.g. some form of permanent residency. It gets pretty complicated with 3 bilateral treaties involved, let me tell you, and there's a lot of grey areas. Makes me glad I'm not going to win the lottery.

sweet tea

i figure the odds of winning the lottery are almost the same whether or not you enter, so i save my money for wine, women, and song.

daver

sweet tea wrote: i figure the odds of winning the lottery are almost the same whether or not you enter, so i save my money for wine, women, and song.

My psychology teacher in college was a professional blackjack player, which was an interesting combination. Incidentally. He used to always say, "Lotteries are sucker odds!"

But there's one born every minute, eh?

doctorj

sweet tea wrote: i figure the odds of winning the lottery are almost the same whether or not you enter, so i save my money for wine, women, and song.

Way to go. In fact, your chances are better if you don't enter. Every day I don't buy a ticket, I'm winning the lottery in two ways:
1) enjoying the services and infrastructure bought with the tax revenue
2) every now and again, someone will buy us a ticket as a gift, which is the sure way to come out ahead over the very long term.