The Lottery - a Good Thing?

I admit I have never played the lottery.  I consider it state-sponsored gambling.  It has a many negative connotations, most of which you would never hear on the local news.

1. It takes money from the hands of mostly working class people that very rarely can afford to blow money on gambling.  
2. It has a subliminal effect of promoting the miracle windfall.  Wouldn't we be better off promoting those that have worked hard and achieved success the correct way?  Our culture has become way too much of "get rich quick" mentality.
3. Then, you have those very few that actually win.  There are reports that 7 out of 10 lottery winners actually blow all of it.  But there are certainly cases of many of those that have blown it all.  Check this article out on 10 reasons why winning the lottery is not a good thing.
4. Finally, there is the totally false sales message that the lottery helps education.  I doubt people are actually playing the lottery with the notion of helping education.  And very little of the money coming from the lottery actually helps education.

I am gravely concerned about our country - where it is going, what it is doing?  We have lost our work ethic, our drive.  We are expecting the sky to drop blessings on us.  The lottery promotes this notion. How about we take half of the time we spend talking about the lottery and talk about hard-earned success?  Gambling does not expand the pie of gross domestic product.  It simply redistributes and wastes it.