The Invisible Scratch-and-Win Card

David Weigel | July 23, 2007

Elaine Sciolio's article about French attitudes on money and philosophy is bursting with great stuff, but this is my favorite part:

On Thursday, a widely reported TNS-Sofres poll of more than 1,000 people concluded that 39 percent of the French think that it is possible to get rich by winning the lottery; only 40 percent believe that getting rich can happen through work.

But the French believe—correctly—that you have a better chance of landing a high-salary job than you do of getting a Wonka golden ticket.