@thinkprogress has a posting that describes the swindle of the PowerBall jackpot. By recently raising the size of the field of numbers that must be matched to win, the odds of betting but not winning are now, at least, astronomical, if not almost infinite. Like almost all gambling supported by the State, this is one of the most regressive of all taxes because those who can least afford it are the ones who waste their money on it. It is, of course, economic insecurity that motivates the lemming-like plunge into the lines of hopeful purchasers.
It seems at least the season, if not the era, for insecurities and anxieties as prime motivation for masses of respondents. How else could Donald Trump be so far ahead of his Party’s fellow-hucksters? The chances of their obtaining the pay-offs he proclaims are nearly as remote as their winning their PowerBall purchases. That is not to say that he cannot be his Party’s nominee. One has only to remember the post-Weimar demagog who exploited the anger and angst of Germans with the promise of a reign of a thousand years of prosperity.
“There’s a sucker born every minute.” That phrase has been attributed to P.T. Barnum, but I doubt he’d so disparage his own customers. Even Mark Twain has been credited as its author. Wikipedia attributes it to a David Hannum against Barnum. The truth of the phrase remains whoever first said it. We will witness its truth as political rallies proliferate in the months ahead and even sooner when the PowerBall lines form again.
Sanchismos 