Prometheus 6

I spotted this lovely headline and had to investigate a bit.

Black Americans rather chance the lottery instead of saving
Category: uk Dated: 04/03/2005
A survey in the United States reveals black Americans feel they are more likely to become rich through playing the lottery, rather than by topping up their savings.

As you know, surveys are very sensitive to the phrasing of the questions. According to the article, the survey by Minority Wealth Magazine was very simple.

When asked whether saving in a retirement plan, saving outside a retirement plan or playing the state lottery would provide better opportunities to build wealth; taking a chance in the lottery won hands down.

The magazine's press release says

When minorities were asked,  which of the following do you think provides the best opportunity to build wealth , and given the following choices: Save in a retirement plan, Save outside of a retirement plan or Play the state lottery, the number one response from minorities was playing the state lottery.

  Nearly twice as many minorities surveyed admit that they have a higher confidence in building wealth through playing the state lottery, rather than contributing to a retirement fund. (Minorities surveyed consisted of 48% African Americans, 41% Hispanic Americans, 5% Asian Americans, and 6% other minority.)

But the survey document itself (pdf, see page four) is subtly different.

Question:

Given the following choices which provides you with the best opportunity to build Wealth?

I did not capitalize the W in wealth, and it's that capitalization that made the article's interpretation of the question (more likely to become rich through playing the lottery) reasonable.

Now, if the people surveyed were talking about getting rich rather than building wealth, they are right. You can't get rich by saving, and conservative investments in the stock market aren't investments in strict economic terms. It's gambling.