A homeless man won the lottery; don’t celebrate just yet
Dec 8, 2015, 6:45 PM | Updated: Dec 9, 2015, 6:44 am
A homeless man spent $10 and won $500,000. People are praising the win as a feel good story. But they shouldn't, KIRO Radio's Jason Rantz says. (AP)
(AP)
I have mixed feelings about this because it manages to be both awesome and maddening at the same time.
A 60-year-old man won the lottery out in Aspen Colorado. He’s due to receive $500,000. That will pay the bills! So good for him … except that he is homeless.
He’s been homeless for more than six years after struggling with alcoholism, losing his business, and getting a divorce.
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In other words, he’s been “down on his luck,” as USA Today puts it. But last Friday he decided to spend cash he didn’t really have to waste on a lotto ticket that cost $10, and he happened to win.
For Jeremy Kowalis with the Aspen Homeless Shelter, it’s quite a heartwarming story.
“It’s just such a great story, and it’s really inspired so many people,” Kowalis told NBC Colorado. “Because out of all the people, especially in Aspen, Colorado, that could win a half a million dollars, it couldn’t happen to a better type of person than someone who uses the Aspen Homeless shelter. That’s for sure.”
Now, the return on investment is pretty awesome. I’ll happily give $10 for $500,000. Only the $500,000 wasn’t guaranteed. The odds were astronomically against winning anything. Not to mention that you’re homeless, you’re a recovering alcoholic, you lost your business and your wife — doesn’t it rub you the wrong way that this guy spent $10 on a lotto ticket?
It’s maddening because we’re only proud of this guy and happy for him because he won. If he didn’t, we would all universally say he is misusing money that could be better spent getting his life in order. So why are we celebrating this as a feel good story when it’s a guy who made a bad decision and got lucky … this time.
The guy’s been living on the floor of Saint Mary Catholic Church and you know what he’ll do with the money? He said he wanted to buy a pair of skis!
A homeless man who spends money on lotto tickets is not someone who I would bet can stay out of a bad spot. We haven’t actually addressed why this man is homeless in the first place.
I hope to God he’s fine and this is the end of his unlucky ways, but I’m concerned for him and more concerned by a society that celebrates this as some momentous, inspirational story.
Do you want homeless people out there wasting money on the lottery? A system that preys on our dreams to make the poor even more poor? The people who are most interested in this gamble are the ones who should save the most.
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Tune in to Seattle Red AM 770 weekdays at 3-7pm to The Jason Rantz Show.
