there to help

 I decided to purchase a lottery ticket. Oh, I've bought them before, scratch offs and the mega-millions for a dollar or two. It's always been an impulse buy. A lot of that stuff is designed in that way, especially the scratch off games. A varied price range with an ever-increasing jackpot. Each game is designed a bit different with bright colors and many "chances" to win. It's an amusement I suppose. It is certainly advertised enough along with the warning to gamble responsibly. Don't worry though should your gambling get out of control there is a hotline you can call. It's toll free too, well because, you're broke. It's an investment on the part of the state, sort of an insurance policy. It's not the state's fault! They are here to help. Yes, when the government says they are there to help, be very careful. Ask questions.

 In the past I have always purchased my tickets from a cashier. Now I have discovered they have vending machines for that. I realize they have been around for a while now and that I'm behind the curve on that. I just didn't pay any attention to them. I thought they only dispensed scratch offs. That's not the case however, as a full array of lottery tickets are available. That vending machine will generate numbers for you or allow you to simply select your own. It's all at your fingertips! You are free to purchase whatever you like, as often as you like. I've seen these vending machines everywhere now that I've been looking. It reminds me of when another vice was being vended. 

 Cigarettes! Yes, I remember when a cigarette machine could be found just about anywhere you went. Brightly colored and lighted they were an attraction, emblazoned with catchy phrases and pictures of the "cool" people that smoked them. But then the government stepped in. While they didn't outlaw cigarette vending machines they did severely limit where they could be. They could not be where anyone under the age of 21 would have access to them. Those machines had to be under constant surveillance. No one under the age of 21 could operate them! Special permits are required to install one of them in any business establishment. The reason was simple enough. The government was here to help, to protect our children from the harmful effects of smoking. Limiting access would surely curb that vice! The warning labels weren't working. In 1966 congress mandated a warning from the surgeon general be on those foul things but people kept on buying them. It became obvious we needed to limit access. 

 Now I haven't seen any warning signs on those lottery machines. Yes, there are plenty of warnings about gambling, how to only do that responsibly, but no warning to not to do that at all. In fact, it would appear that free, unlimited access is being provided. Those vending machines aren't being closely monitored at all. You do have to be 18 to purchase those tickets, it even says so on the machine, but my feeling is that is not an effective deterrent. Yes, I think underage people may just go right ahead and buy them anyway! Why should that vice be allowed to proliferate, even tacitly encouraged, when cigarettes are vilified? No one ever said smoke responsibly. So, the message is now, some vices are acceptable if done in a responsible fashion. Addiction is only bad if it will kill you? Is that the message? It's not responsible to go broke, but it won't kill you, cigarettes will. Well unless going broke causes mental issues, anguish and suicidal thoughts. Then the responsible thing to do is call the gambling hotline. There they will tell you how stupid you are for thinking you can win the lottery and get rich. You don't get your money back just an explanation as to why you shouldn't have purchased those tickets in the first place. But they will also reassure you it wasn't your fault; you have a disease. That's a real comfort. And that's what the government does, they are there to help.