Today's Lottery Winners, Part 1: Man Mocked For Bad Luck

“I have a job with the state doing work I love. I’m not going to sit around and ask myself that question for the next 20 years. I’m moving on. It’s all good.”
 — New York State Homes and Community Renewal Agency employee Michael Kosko discusses his reaction to skipping out on his office’s lottery pool, which wound up winning $319 million. It is terrific that Kosko can embrace that attitude (and he’s probably fortunate not to have won) in the face of a situation like this. And while Kosko’s line about how, working for the state, he feels like he has already won the lottery, will undoubtedly be used by some Post columnist in that paper’s ongoing campaign to engender resentment against anyone with a public sector job, it’s the bit on the front page referring to the rest of the story, “See LOSER Page 5,” that really rams the message home. You’d think a rightwing rag like the Post would salute someone who refused to participate in a government program that redistributes wealth. Anyway, stay strong, Michael Kosko!