I occasionally buy lottery tickets just for fun. It&#x27;s enjoyable for me to fantasize about what I would do if I suddenly never had to worry about money again. I think about quitting my job, going back to school and learning about something I care more about (I didn&#x27;t care for my major) and doing some travelling. I only buy one ticket every month or so. This $1-$2 actually gives me mental enjoyment, more so than a candy bar at least.<p>However, last time I bought one the woman next to me bought $80 worth of mega millions tickets. To be blunt at the cost of sounding unkind, she looked like she was a lower class individual. I truly felt bad for her (for reasons I won&#x27;t elaborate on for conciseness) and I thought about all the people spending a decent sum of cash on something that is analogous to flushing money down the toilet.<p>I think the lottery does much more harm than good to society as a whole and should be done away with. The people who get into spending loads of money on these tickets are ones who are - generally speaking - uneducated and in a position where they don&#x27;t have much going for them. Instead of being proactive and trying to improve their lives (easier said than done though, i know), they get caught up in this dream that destiny will save them from a life of difficulty. Obviously those susceptible to addiction are most affected and taken advantage of here, as mentioned by some other comments. It&#x27;s not really a &quot;tax on the stupid&quot; because these people are more of a cost to society by wasting money and putting themselves in harder positions.<p>Not to mention the people who DO win the lottery don&#x27;t often find themselves living the peachy life they would expect.