For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America

The lottery in the United States is a complex issue,with poor people buying tickets hoping to win the jackpot and states legalizing gambling to generate revenue without cutting public services or raising taxes. Jonathan Cohen's book "For a Dollar and a Dream" explores the history of the lottery system, including how players and policymakers got hooked on hopes for a gambling windfall.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 01 December 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

The lottery has become an integral part of American culture, with one in eight Americans placing a bet on the dream of a life-changing jackpot. Americans spend more on lottery tickets annually than on video streaming services, concert tickets, books, and movie tickets combined. The story of lotteries in the United States may seem straightforward, with tickets predominantly bought by poor people driven by the wishful belief that they will overcome infinitesimal odds and secure lives of luxury. However, the reality is more complicated.

In an era of surging inequality and stagnant upward mobility, millions of Americans turned to the lottery as their only chance at achieving the American Dream. Gamblers were not the only ones who bet on betting. As voters revolted against higher taxes in the late twentieth century, states saw legalized gambling as a panacea, a way of generating a new source of revenue without cutting public services or raising taxes. Even as evidence emerged that lotteries only provided a small percentage of state revenue, and even as data mounted about their appeal to the poor, states kept passing them and kept adding new games, desperate for their longshot gamble to pay off.

Jonathan Cohen's book, "For a Dollar and a Dream," explores the untold history of the nation's lottery system, revealing how players and policymakers alike got hooked on hopes for a elusive jackpot. The book tells stories of lottery winners and losers, how gamblers have used prayer to help them win a jackpot, how states tried to pay for schools with scratch-off tickets, and how lottery advertising has targeted lower income and nonwhite communities.

Cohen also examines the social and economic consequences of the lottery, including the impact on poverty, education, and addiction. He argues that the lottery has become a symbol of the American Dream, a way for people to escape their economic struggles and achieve a better life. However, he also notes that the lottery is a regressive tax that disproportionately affects low-income communities and that it has contributed to the widening gap between the rich and the poor.

Overall, "For a Dollar and a Dream" is a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the nation's lottery obsession. It provides a valuable perspective on the history, social, and economic implications of the lottery and sheds light on the ways in which it has become an integral part of American culture.

Weight: 580g
Dimension: 243 x 165 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197604885