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What Would You Do If You Won the Lottery?
A Sermon Given
by the Reverend Roger Fritts
on April 29, 2001
at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
Bethesda, Maryland
Thursday night, during a break between the greed TV shows "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," "Survivor," and "The Antiques Road
Show," I took advantage of the pause to do a little research for this sermon. I asked my family what each of them would do if they won
the lottery. My wife, Leslie, answered that she would take me on a trip to Greece to visit the temples of the ancient Greek goddesses.
After returning from Greece, she would visit old friends in Boston and other parts of the country.
My nineteen-year-old was out of the house at school, so I turned next to my fourteen-year-old son, David. He said that he would make
conservative investments with half the winnings. He would use the other half to finish his education, and to buy three homes. One would
be a house in the mountains for the summer. The second would be a condo in New York City for the winter. The third would be a small
place in Florida. He would use it for vacations when he got tired of the mountains and the city. If he had enough money, he would also
fund his own amateur football team, on which he would play.
My 10-year-old daughter, Rachel, said that she would take a trip to France because she has heard so many interesting things about it.
After France she would visit Disney World, and after that she would buy a big house and stock it with ice cream.
The first state to create a government lottery was New Hampshire in 1964. A leading opponent of state lotteries was the National
Council of Churches. They argued that the lottery was a cruel tax on the poor and uneducated. Because of their desperate need for
money and their lack of education, they would invest their cash in useless lottery tickets instead of buying food for their children.
Several studies have questioned some of these stereotyped characteristics of lottery players. It turns out that most lottery players are not
poor, uneducated or unemployed. Although the debate over whether lotteries exploit the poor continues, data shows that playing the
lottery is largely a middle class activity. The 1999 Gallup Poll on Gambling in America found that 57 percent of American adults have
bought a lottery ticket in the past twelve months. Middle income Americans are the most likely group to play the lottery, people with
incomes between $45,000 and $75,000. The wealthiest and the poorest Americans are least likely to play.
Studies like this, and the promise that the money earned will go to such attractive programs as public education, have caused thirty-seven states plus the District of Columbia to go into the lottery business. Each year more than a thousand people in the United States
win a million dollars or more in the lottery. The National Council of Churches has all but given up the fight to stop lotteries.
A lottery offers the opportunity to study American values. How we spend our money is an indication of what we truly think is important.
Looking at how we might spend our money, if we were to win the lottery, can give us insight into whom we are and what we value most.
This is a participatory service this morning. I will ask you five questions. If your answer is yes, I invite you to raise your hand.
The first question is this: If you won five million dollars in the lottery, would you buy a new car? If your answer to this question
is yes, please raise your hand.
In a study of thirty-three persons in New Jersey who were million dollar lottery winners, a researcher discovered that the first thing most
of them bought was a new car. All but four of the thirty-three new millionaires bought an automobile. Usually, winners purchased large
American cars such as Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles, and Buicks. One millionaire bought a Cadillac even when he found he could not park the
car near his home because the street was too narrow.
Sadly, despite the high cost of these vehicles, many lottery winners were unhappy with their new cars. They were particularly upset
about the low mileage they got. One disillusioned Cadillac owner complained that the car cost her $60 a week for gas. Others had cars
that developed serious engine problems. In this first use of their winnings, the lottery did not bring most winners happiness.
My second question: if you won a million dollars, would you buy a new home? Please raise your hands if the answer is yes.
Nearly 80 percent of the new millionaires in the study bought a new home. Most of the winners moved to expensive suburbs. Many
winners feared their new neighbors would not accept them, but these anxieties were usually unfounded. The average new home had nine
rooms. They often decorated their homes in bright colors with flowing floor-length drapes, wall-to-wall carpets, and richly upholstered
furniture. Often they equipped the house with modern gadgets and conveniences. A standard feature was a game room with a pool table
and a large floor-to-ceiling fireplace. Another standard feature was a large lot. The houses were often situated on an acre or more of
land. The new millionaires who did not buy new homes, spent thousands on remodeling.
This second use of their winnings was more successful than the new car, although some winners overextended themselves financially on
the new homes. Two families spent money to construct swimming pools in their backyards and both regretted it.
Third question: If you won a million dollars in the lottery would you travel to exotic lands?
The fact that only twelve of the thirty-three winners reported going on trips after winning surprised me. Two families went to the
Poconos in Pennsylvania, and four journeyed to Florida. Three winners visited California and four traveled to Las Vegas. A few winners
also took trips to Europe, Hawaii, the Bahamas, Mexico, the Virgin Islands, Jamaica, South America, and an around-the-world cruise.
However, only five winners accounted for all these more exotic trips.
Most winners placed higher priority on obtaining new homes. Although they had hoped to visit distant lands, they postponed or
abandoned these plans in favor of the homes.
The good news is that all the people who traveled reported that they enjoyed themselves. For example, a high-school janitor said: "After
I won, we took a vacation. We drove up to Nova Scotia and went to Prince Edward Island. It was the nicest vacation we ever had."
Fourth Question: If you won a million in the lottery, would you give a large amount away to your children, your parents, or your
religious community? (I combined family and church here so that I would not be taking any big risks with this question.) If you
won a million in the lottery, would you give a large amount away to your children, your parents, or your religious community?
Please raise your hands if the answer is yes.
The good news for relatives, churches and synagogues is that the answer of the new millionaires to this question was a strong yes.
After purchasing new homes, the second biggest use of money was to give it away. Winners' children were the primary recipients. Those
with younger children set sums aside for their college education. Other winners gave an average of $18,000 to each of their children for
down payments on homes. Young winners gave money to their parents. Most winners received satisfaction from giving to their families
although one winner complained that she was suddenly receiving many wedding invitations from distant relatives. "I go to the
weddings," she said, "and I write out a check as a wedding gift. But I know from experience that no matter how much I make the check
out for the couple is always disappointed."
The study discovered that most winners experienced great satisfaction from giving to their religious communities. One-time gifts to
churches were about $4,000. Others tithed their winnings and gave as much as $5,000 a year to their church.
For my fifth question I will not ask for a show of hands, to protect everyone's privacy. But I invite you to think about the
question silently. If you won a million dollars, would you keep your current job?
Fifty-four people (husbands, wives, and children) who were employed full-time, were directly affected by the thirty-three persons who
won the million dollars. All but fourteen of the fifty-four quit their jobs. Although all but two said they liked their work, most wasted
little time resigning. Twenty-six people quit immediately. Men were more likely to try to continue working than women, but even most
of the men eventually quit.
Leaving work has had mixed results, depending on the person. An example of the problems created is the young Chicago man who won
forty million dollars. Not long after he won, he went back to work. He wanted some normality in his life. But things got out of hand fast.
The company had tours of their production line and the lottery winner became a main attraction. It was a distraction to everyone. The
management and he agreed that he should retire. For the next year he stayed home, sleeping until noon, watching soap operas and
gaining weight. He was bored stiff. Finally, he decided to buy a liquor store and he started putting in thirty or forty hours a week
working at his store.
On the other hand, an example of a winner who happily stopped work is a tailor in New Jersey. He won the lottery at the age of sixty
after thirty years of work. The day after he won, he took down the tailor sign in front of his house. "When I quit," he said, "I gave
everybody free cleaning. All the clothes I had in the shop I finished without charge." He now spends his time gardening, painting, and
with his wife. This confirms the belief that to get the full value of a material joy, we must have somebody with which to share that joy.
The retired tailor still rises at five. However, instead of heading for his tailor shop, he is free to work in his garden, paint or just relax.
Deeply religious, the retired Taylor gives part of his winnings to charity. He reports that he is happy. His reverence for life is expressed
in his landscaping, his painting and his generosity.
The stories of the lottery winners illustrate that when we make changes in our lives we do not stop having problems. We trade the old
problems for new problems. The hope is that the new problems will be more interesting than the old problems.
The problems of the lottery winners include getting phone calls twenty-four hours a day from people asking for money. All have had to
get private lines. A woman described one such call: "A man called at 2am. He said he needed money for his house closing the next
morning. I said, 'Do you know what time it is?' He said, 'That's all right, I will be right over.'" None of the thirty-three winners in the
study gave any money to strangers.
One sixty-year-old single woman told the interviewer that she had received twenty-five marriage proposals. "By mail?" the interviewer
asked. "By a few females also," she replied.
Another winner said: "The money created tensions in my family. I was at my sister's house and her faucet was dripping. I said, 'Your
faucet is leaking. You ought to have it fixed.' The sister said, 'Well, if I had your money, I would fix it.'"
Of all the complaints heard from lottery winners, taxes were the biggest problem. Most winners do not realize that although the
government promises millions of dollars, it will take about half the winnings in taxes. This encounter with the IRS left most winners
bitter and politically alienated. They felt the government had sold them the promise of instant wealth, but taxes taken by the government
often made the promise of wealth an empty one.
As you can see, winning the lottery is a mixed blessing. Winners experience harassment from strangers, tax problems, and conflicts with
friends and relatives. For some, winning was like receiving the Midas touch. Suddenly everyone they have contact with sees them not as
a person but as a source of money. A financial planner reports that among her wealthy clients lottery winners have the hardest time.
Because they did not work for their money, they feel a disparity between their net worth and their self-worth. An organization in
Bethesda called "The Forum for Investor Advice" reports that only 42 percent of people who come into large sums of money initially
react with happiness or excitement. Twenty-five percent express anxiety, numbness or even guilt.
For those of us who have not won the lottery, it is tempting to see these problems as proof that we are happier without all the difficulties
more money creates. But when asked, none of the winners regretted having won or wanted to give the money back. Even those who had
negative experiences felt the winnings had given them security, relieved them of the financial burdens of life, and provided an
opportunity to start anew.
Of course, generalizing from a small sample of thirty-three winners is unscientific. Still based on their experiences we can speculate or
guess that in our culture our automobiles are extremely important to us. Second in importance is our home. People are willing to spend
much money to give themselves a large comfortable home on a large lot. Third in importance are our children, our parents and our
religious communities. People who won lotteries were willing to give considerable sums of their winnings to their nuclear families and
their churches or synagogues.
If I won a million in the lottery, how would I spend it? I would start by giving 5 percent of my income to the church. I would give a
second 5 percent to other organizations that support causes in which I believe, including our partner church in Europe.
My second expenditure would be to travel, to visit the places in which members of my family have expressed interest.
Third, I would set aside some winnings to spend on the education of my children.
Fourth, like most of the winners in the study, I would want to invest in a new home. I would like to build a home heated by solar energy.
In Kentucky, New England and in Illinois I have gone out of my way to visit homes that use passive greenhouses to collect energy from
the sunlight. My dream is someday to live in an attractive house heated by the sun, not by gas or oil. I would plant apple trees in the
back yard of my home. Some of the happiest times of my life have been spent in apple orchards.
In the end, however, I return to a serious problem in our society, of which the lottery is only a small symptom. During my adult life the
gap between rich and poor has increased in our country.
If I could reform the tax laws, I would eliminate the sales tax on food and clothing. I would eliminate the property tax on holdings of less
than fifteen hundred acres, thereby supporting people's right to shelter and supporting the small farmer. I would make the Social
Security tax a graduated income tax, restore the graduated nature of the federal income tax. The goal would not be to eliminate all
incentive, but to eliminate the extremes of wealth and poverty we see in our society today. Twelve years ago the people of Eastern
Europe liberated themselves from the extremes of a state-controlled economy. In the same way in the United States we need to liberate
ourselves from the extremes of the so-called free market.
I work in the political system to encourage changes in which I believe. Meanwhile, I will never win a lottery, not only because the odds
of winning are enormous, but also because I have never bought a lottery ticket. Because I will never win a million, I look for other ways
to make my life interesting and exciting. So I have planted apple trees in the backyard of the house I live in today in Kensington. As the
days grow warmer I can enjoy their beauty, and their fruit, along with the squirrels and the birds. Although I do not live in Greece or
France, a rich culture is all around me in the city of Washington. I can take advantage of it with my family, remembering, as my friends
and family constantly remind me, that the best things in life are free. And this summer, I might even take my ten-year-old daughter out
for ice cream.
Primary Source:
Kaplan, H. Roy,
Lottery Winners: How They Won and How Winning Changed Their Lives,
Harper & Row, New York.
Office@CedarLane.org
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