Alabama Economic Problems

When most people play the lottery today, they think about having wealth. Generally, people who win are happy about it whether they win one dollar or a million. The lottery in our society has grown to support education and it is often worth several million dollars. Usually, the winner of the lottery gains a lot of recognition for the money they win. But what would happen if there was a small town where people held a yearly lottery in which the “winner” was the member of the town who was not sacrificed? This question is answered in Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery.” In reading this story, and reading literary criticism about the story, there were many symbols and much symbolism in this story.

When you think of the lottery, what do you imagine? Gold, A new house, maybe a car? This short story is nothing like you’re thinking. “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, conveys its message through the use of diction, dialogue, irony, and theme. "The Lottery" first appeared in the New Yorker in 1948.

As mentioned before, Alabama’s constitution outlaws the founding of a state lottery system or gambling of any kind. Propositions of a lottery bill have been created many times in the past. Originally these bills were shot down immediately and never even made it to be voted on. Recently, however, these bills have become increasingly more popular. In 1999, a bill was created by then governor Don Siegelman that did reach voting, and narrowly was turned down by a vote of 54 percent to 46 percent. A lottery bill was not on the 2016 ballot, but could be on the 2017 ballot. Governor Robert Bentley, who had previously been strongly opposed to a lottery bill, has seemed to have had a change of heart, saying the only way that the state can gain the much-needed money for Medicaid would be through a state lottery program. With the Governor’s support now, a lottery bill could be on the ballot as soon as next year, which means that the lottery system could be implemented by spring of

In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the small village, at first, seems to be lovely, full of tradition, with the townspeople fulfilling their civic duties, but instead this story is bursting with contrast. The expectations that the reader has are increasingly altered. The title of this short story raises hope, for in our society the term “lottery” typically is associated with winning money or other perceived “good” things. Most people associate winning a lottery with luck, yet Jackson twists this notion around and the luck in this village is with each of the losers.

The concept of the lottery is the same throughout every state, people have money and are interested in “playing the odds”; the revenue from these people is then divided and used to benefit organizations of the state’s choice. Exactly where the money goes to is what differs from state to state. Some states put all the revenue from the lottery into one trust fund that is allocated for a more broad and generalized group. Other states target specific programs such as, preserving natural parks or assisting the educational system with additional funds. The State of Alabama does not have a lottery and its locals are the ones missing out. Due to the lack of the lottery in Alabama, those who choose to play the lottery must travel out of the state, which means their money goes to other state’s lotteries benefiting that states programs and ultimately its residents. By keeping the peoples money in the state a lottery will open an endless amount of opportunities to better state supported programs and the state as a whole.

The lottery offers a wonderful opportunity to possibly win millions of dollars. While this might seems amazing, it might not be as wonderful as imagined. In fact, maybe even the opposite might true as stated by numerous studies and research done since the 1970s.

The lottery in this country is a big past time for Americans. It gives hope to the hopeless and disappointment to a multitude of participants. A quick view of statistical information regarding the lottery shows that out of all people who take part in this country wide phenomenon, each individual person has a 1 in 175,223,510 chance of hitting the jackpot (AmericanStatisticalAssociation.org). The author of “Against The Odds and Against the Common Good”, argues that the state lotteries are “urging people to gamble”. Gloria Jimenez, of whom is the author of “Against The Odds and Against the Common Good”, creates assumptions that support her stance on her argument. Jimenez also uses the viewpoint from people who disagree with her logic, by stating various counter statements that contradict her stance. To fully understand Jimenez, we have to view the different factors of her stance on why states should not be urging people to gamble, assumptions that she makes to support her stance and countering views of people who don’t necessarily agree with her argument.

The Texas Lottery negatively impacts the people that play the lottery and the programs that are supposed to benefit from the proceeds. Because of the big dream of winning, the lottery has taken a toll on Texans. “People believe that the Texas Lottery is their only chance to strike it rich” (Buckland, 2010). There is not near enough money going towards the Texas Education

The Texas Lottery Commission is a fairly new entity in Texas that was established only 25 years ago. In history, Texas is known for its conservative values and policies, disregarding immoral practices such as gambling. In 1991, the Texas Legislature introduced an idea that could help change how Texas creates revenue to fund Texas education. The idea introduced was the establishment of a state Lottery, a form of gambling. Representatives introduced House Bill 54 to the House to establish a lottery system. It is later decided that Texans must vote to approve this new lottery. The citizens of Texas voted on this bill and the bill passed by a two-to-one margin. House Bill 54 is known at the Lottery Act of 1991. With the creation of the statewide

In her essay “Against the Odds, and Against the Common Good,” Gloria Jimenez asserts that states should not promote and advertize gambling. Jimenez lists many clever lottery slogans that are deceivingly interpreted. She also argues that these slogans advertise the advantages of gambling and playing the lottery because the money supposedly goes to things such as education and social service. Jimenez explains some arguments in favor of state-run lotteries, such as free participation and the creation of jobs, but argues that they are not relevant to the problem. She briefly touches on a statistic claiming that low income individuals are more likely to spend money on lottery tickets than their opposite, higher income

Robert, governmental funding can be seesaws up and down. I wonder what you meant by public or representative of federal government of several variances. Robert, your statement says in of millions and millions dollars generated by willing citizens. The lottery is a gambling system just like faith. We were allowing the lottery to achieve some success stories but there have been unusual effects. Robert, have you ever research on how the lottery was started and why. The economic issues happen in our government would have the funds not be able to release. The winner or winners have faith trust the system by playing a dollar and a dream. Yes, the sinful nature causes gambling to question our belief and faith.

The lottery preys on the people it is supposed to be helping. It is funded through lottery players, which are usually low income minorities. One example that proves this is when Duke university economist Charles Clofelter and Phillip cook found that “ blacks, high school dropouts and people in the low income category” ( source D), are the heaviest

The author than fails to tell the source of this experiment so the reader of her essay is left wondering if it is even valid evidence from a reliable source. These viewpoints are better placed with a thesis that reads, “States should no longer be in the business of the state lottery.” The evidence she brings at that point covers most of her essay and I do not find them addressing the issue of “the states should not be in the business of urging people to gamble” (Jiménez 116-119).

To support her side of the argument and to answer these counterarguments Jimenez share a few statistics. She tells us that the New York Times reported in 2002, that the state-run lotteries brought in a revenue of $20 billion dollars, and that this is only 4% of the states income. She also tells us about one study in a report from the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy that shows people who earned $10,000 a year bought almost three times as many lottery tickets than those who made $50,000 or more a year. This shows us that more poor people buy lotto tickets, so more poor people are paying the taxes that benefit education and social services.

In today’s society we perceive the lottery as being a great fortune brought down upon you by Lady Luck. It is a serendipitous event, even if the person has done nothing to earn it. One would never see the lottery as an unfortunate occasion that occurred in your life because it is supposed to bring prosperity into your life. Also, one would not dare to think that winning the lottery would bring such repercussions as injury or death. In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the author could have used Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson as the town’s scapegoat due to their reluctance to change traditions, her horrible work ethic, and minority status as a woman.