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In a press conference today, President-elect Barack Obama announced a plan to “divert income from people who have invested in their own future to people who are struggling to buy even the basic necessities like lottery tickets.”

The President-elect said that wealthy Americans are not responsible with their money. They have paid for their educations and typically pay for that of their children, which has no substantial impact on the competitiveness of the country. They have other wasteful habits like purchasing goods, saving money in banks, and investing which have no benefit to the economy. He said, “It is a sad day in this country when the poorest among us, those who prop up the economy with responsible spending, cannot afford lottery tickets.”

In fact, overall lottery spending is down this year which is bad news since one tenth of one thousandth of one percent of proceeds make their way to public schools. To humanize his point, he introduced Linda Smalls, a 53 year-old single mother of four who makes $20,000 a year which is below the poverty line. After taxes, Ms. Smalls makes the same as a single person making $45,000 per year. This is enough money for food, shelter, and transportation for herself and her children. She is pleased that this tragic situation will not be visited on her children since they are being educated by the public school system, however she is disappointed that in this supposed land of opportunity that she cannot get more money for essentials like lottery tickets.

President-elect Obama reaffirmed his commitment to advancing the cause of people like Ms. Smalls who have been left behind by the current administration, and vowed to fix this situation in his administration.