The economy... ?

[Clearwater AL]

Many say they are unhappy with the economy and
a lot of this grumbling is coming from the middle
class.

The lottery has put out a $50 dollar scratch off ticket.
Convenient stores or any store/filling stations struggle
to keep the ticket available. Several have had to make
2 , 3 and 4 places in their ticket cabinets to keep up.

From my casino days I learned a lot about odds.
Talk about the odds favor the House… this ticket
really favors the house ( the Lottery).

Just to win $500 dollars the odds are 90 to 1.
To win $5000 dollars the odds are 117,107 to 1.
To win $50,000 dollars the odds are 325,558 to 1.
To win $1,000,000 dollars the odds are 813,895 to 1.
Yes, you just may buy a winning ticket with 50 bucks.

Ok, to break even ($50 dollar ticket – win $50)
the odds are 9.5 to 1. So you have about a 1 in 10
chance just to break even.

This doesn’t include the Power Ball, Mega Ball and
others where sales are higher now than before COVID.

I’d bet the lottery administrators/employees and facilities that
sell these tickets ( they get a percentage of the sales
and any big winners) are not grumbling about Bidenonmics.

And… if you do win a $million dollars, the Feds get their
first big cut and put you in the high tax bracket for years
to come... if you take the lump sum. It’s even worse if you
take the annual payout. Yes, it can make your life better
if you are wise… but Uncle Sam really thanks you.
Some States too.

 

[wmilo]

There used to be a saying, "There's no such thing as a free lunch."

My problem is that I can't win unless I start buying tickets.

 

[Clearwater AL]

Yes, if you have disposable money to let go of... buy a ticket or two.
And... this is happening when Christmas shopping is above
average. But... the current President has scary low poll
numbers over the economy from middle class voters. ? ? ?
The wealthy are getting wealthier and the Stock Market is
breaking highs.... 401Ks are doing great. No, not for all but...
now there are more middle class voters than lower income
voters. Amazing.

Added note... maybe they have bought expensive homes,
luxury cars, expensive huge TVs, Netflix and others to go with
their TV viewing, expensive phones, the kids' phones, with
pay for apps, vacations and now their credit cards are near max.

The monthly payments for all that has come to face reality.
Who's fault is that ?

 

[Clearwater AL]

Just another added note concerning those grumbling about the economy.

This season, Americans plan to spend $1,652 on average, which is 14 percent
higher than last year, according to the 2023 Times holiday survey.

WASHINGTON – The National Retail Federation forecasted that holiday
spending is expected to reach record levels during December and will
grow between 3% and 4% over 2022 to between $957.3 billion and
$966.6 billion.

I think I know the political sway of these middle class economy grumblers.