The Family Research Council's comments on the Nebraska winners of the Powerball windfall:
The media is giving front-page coverage to eight Nebraska meatpackers who each won more than $22 million in the latest Powerball lottery. What we don't learn from these stories is the high percentage of lottery winners who go bankrupt...
Gambling advocates don't tell you that odds of winning the lottery are less than those of being struck by lightning--twice. Many pro-lottery propagandists assure gullible voters that the money raised by the lottery will go to a good cause like education. I saw in my own state how the budgeters simply shifted existing funds out of education to cover other expenses, resulting in a zero net gain for education. It's a state-sponsored form of the old shell game.
We know from Scripture that the love of money is the root of many evils. We also know that we should pursue happiness by honest toil, not by expecting to get rich quick. The Nebraska winners included three immigrants from Vietnam and the Congo. One of them said: "This is a great country!" How sad that this is the message we send to would-be Americans. Gambling not only corrupts politicians and politics, but it also corrupts the American dream.
And while we're on the subject, take a look at this quick piece on the incredible power of gambling's Washington lobbyists...as in Washington's most powerful lobbyists!