Friday, April 6, 2012
Instead of playing the lottery, just send me the money care of Patch.
No! I did not buy a lottery ticket, thank you very much! In fact, I haven’t purchased a heinous slip of paper in more than 20 years. I know y’all love to label me as a liberal, but this fiscal conservative refuses to fall prey to what’s nothing more than a voluntary tax. Because when it comes to winning the ping pong ball sweepstakes, you have a better chance of dying in an asteroid strike, being struck by lightning, dying of a snake bite, being attacked by flesh easting bacteria, or watching your golf foursome hit two holes-in-one on the same hole. But despite those incredible odds, apparently everyone in this bloody country but interim Patch editor Dan Campana and myself shelled out $1.5 billion for the privilege of participating a one …
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Here is a wrap-up of some of the latest political news.
- GOVERNMENT
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Thursday, April 5, 2012
U.S. Dick Durbin (D-IL) has introduced legislation that would allow private student loan debt to be discharged in bankruptcy. The bill does not include federal student loans. This may be a boon to some senior citizens who are more concerned about having money for student loans rather than for golf or cruises. These senior citizens are still paying their college loans; others are paying costs incurred when they returned to college later in life; and others are strapped with loans they co-signed for their children who cannot, in this job market, afford to pay their loans. The Washington Post reported that new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that Americans 60 and older still owe about $36 billion in student loans, …
Monday, April 2, 2012
OK, you would not be in Bill Gates' league, but it's fun to fantasize.
- OPINION
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Monday, April 2, 2012
Somewhere in Illinois, Maryland and Kansas there is someone nearly $219 million rich. Three people hit Friday’s Mega Millions lottery jackpot. The largest U.S. lottery prize jumped to $656 by the time of the drawing, after the frenzy of ticket buying ended in the 42 states, the District of Columbia and the U. S. Virgin Islands, where Mega Million tickets are sold. One of the winning tickets was sold in downstate Illinois. "This is what the lottery is about. You risk a small amount of money, and it's long odds, and it happens to a person who walks into a Motomart in Red Bud, Illinois that wins $213 million," Illinois State Lottery Director Mike Jones told ABC7 News. (The amount was higher at the end of the selling period.) "Around the …
Terry Flanagan
4:26 pm on Friday, April 6, 2012
Jeff, I think one of the unfortunate truths behind the lure of the lottery is that many Americans are disillusioned with the American Dream and believe the only way they will wind up in the one percent is by pure luck. Hard work and education don't seem to be the formula for success any longer. Even a college degree doesn't seem to count for much these days and a lot of people with advanced … more ›