Perhaps, but then consider what the
combined life-time odds are of a low income person accumulating any real meaningful wealth over their lifetime. Note my emphasis above ... I'll get to why in more detail in a moment.
What are the odds of a low income person accumulating $1,000,000, after taxes, etc,
in 2011 dollars over their lifetime...
And to make matters worse, one needs to adjust for inflation and dollar devaluation along with taxes that reduce annual yield, so the actual amount would be far higher; ie. in 30 years, one might need to save upwards of $10,000,000 to reach that milestone.
How realistic is that really? What are the odds of accumulating that much money over a lifetime working low to average paying jobs - most jobs today pay $20 or less per hour, offer very limited benefits. And consider the cost of living is rising far faster than wages.
In short, the odds of accumulating any decent amount of wealth over a lifetime is relatively tiny for most people.
Now at this point, one may think, sure ok, but the odds of winning the lottery are astronomical. And that's true per play, but combined play over a lifetime greatly improves the odds of getting a large payday.
Not talking PowerBall or MegaMillions per se, but rather lottery games, such as Fantasy 5, Cash 5, and 5-digit games (ie. PA's Quinto, DC's DC5, etc) that have high, but not insane odds, such as say between 1 in 100,000 and 1 in 1,000,000. Also, included in that would be instant tickets - many of the higher domination ones have top prizes with odds in a similar range.
Rambling on ... here are some real life examples to consider - all are based on PA Lottery
http://www.palottery.state.pa.us/
Cash 5 ... odds of hitting jackpot is 1 in 962,598 with typical payout of $225,000 - $500,000. Cost $1 per play. Play $35 week (5 different sets of numbers per drawing) over 10 years (~18,260 plays) and the combined odds drops to around 1 in 53 ... that's not so impossible.
Quinto (5-digit game) ... odds of hitting jackpot is 1 in 100,000 with fixed payout of $50,000 per $1 wagered. Play $5 once per day on the same number for a $250,000 payout; $35 per week over 10 years (~3,652 plays) and the combined odds drop to around 1 in 27 ... that's very much possible.
$20 dollar instant tickets, such as Casino Cash -
http://www.pabulletin.com/secure/dat...1-28/1148.html
Odds of winning $1,000,000 is 1 in 960,000. Play 2 $20 tickets per week; 104 over one year and the combined odds is 1 in 9230. Not so great, but then that's only for one year ...
Also, unlike the number games above, many instant games have relatively high non-jackpot prizes too. I mention instant tickets, because while their top jackpot odds per dollar wagered tend to be worse than numbers games, the overall percentage payout is often better at 70% verses 50% for number games - that can matter for some players who seek a big payout, but are also ok with winning smaller prizes too, and disciplined enough to save those payouts instead of buying lots more tickets.
In summary, contrast the odds of a low income person accumulating $250,000 over 10 years compared to the combined odds of winning a jackpot prize of around $250,000 in the first two examples above of 1 in 53 and 1 in 27 respectively. I'd wager a low income, disciplined lottery player has a far better chance of winning such a sum in the lottery than earning / saving it.
Ron