Govt Lottery - Good or bad ?

Watermark said:
If taxation is bad for the economy, isn't it bad whether or not it's voluntary?

And the lottery itself is the most regressive tax in existence.
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Ughh... Waterhead! Why can't you post your inane questions in a new thread, and not hijack others? MORE taxation, INCREASED taxation, EXCESSIVE taxation, is bad for the economy. The government operation requires funding, thus we have taxation. It is the means to pay for what our government does, and without it, we wouldn't have much of a government. You might say, taxation is a necessary evil.
 
Watermark said:
If taxation is bad for the economy, isn't it bad whether or not it's voluntary?

And the lottery itself is the most regressive tax in existence.
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I don't think the lottery is a regressive tax at all. I think it is simply evidence that some people will be poor no matter what you do for them. Some people have no idea how to handle money, and they won't listen to people who could teach them.
 
uscitizen said:
Hope sol, the same thang that drives many to religion.
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Ok, then what is hope worth? Is it worth what they spend on lotto tickets? If so, then its money well spent.

There ARE some people who win. But there are a lot who win who end up even more screwed than they were before.
 
Solitary said:
Ok, then what is hope worth? Is it worth what they spend on lotto tickets? If so, then its money well spent.

There ARE some people who win. But there are a lot who win who end up even more screwed than they were before.
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Ohh I agree it si dumb, but I see hope as the main driver.
That and the gambling compulsion which is pretty much the same thing, hope of that one big win....
 
My only problems with the lottery is the marketing and the monopoly. It is usually targeted at elderly and young people in poverty or just barely making it. Further, why should the government be the only one able to do a lottery?
 
Watermark said:
If taxation is bad for the economy, isn't it bad whether or not it's voluntary?
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No. Utility value.

It's bad for the economy to tax people to pay for sports stadiums. If the market supports ticket/merchandise sales sufficient to build a stadium that is not bad for the economy.

One is theft the other is a voluntary transaction.
 
RStringfield said:
My only problems with the lottery is the marketing and the monopoly. It is usually targeted at elderly and young people in poverty or just barely making it. Further, why should the government be the only one able to do a lottery?
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Ohh that problem will be solved shortly, they will all go privatized.
 
Solitary said:
I don't think the lottery is a regressive tax at all. I think it is simply evidence that some people will be poor no matter what you do for them. Some people have no idea how to handle money, and they won't listen to people who could teach them.
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That doesn't mean the government should prey on them.

Addiction doesn't become something to encourage profit from, just because people have bad habits.

I guess it's this same heartless attitude that makes you feel just fine about commoditizing humans and driving wages as low as possible by subverting immigration laws.
 
They are not just bad, but fucking ridiculous! It's a poor man's tax that they use and trey to make them feel good about themselves by claiming 'all your money went to education'. Fuck that, it went back into the general fund after you took what was allocated for eduction out when you put the lottery money in. I can't stand the lottery!
 
The State of New Mexico uses its lottery for a lottery scholarship. Since 1996 it has raised 270 million dollars and 38,000+ NM highschool grads have gone to NM colleges on the scholarship.

The requirements are"

Must be a New Mexico resident
Must have graduated from a New Mexico public, accredited private, parochial, BIA or home high school, or have obtained a New Mexico GED

Must be enrolled full-time (12 credit hours) at an eligible New Mexico public college or university, in the first regular semester immediately following high school graduation

Must obtain and maintain at least a 2.5 GPA
 
Solitary said:
I don't think the lottery is a regressive tax at all. I think it is simply evidence that some people will be poor no matter what you do for them. Some people have no idea how to handle money, and they won't listen to people who could teach them.
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And what you are doing can be most positively described as exploitation.
 
RStringfield said:
No. Utility value.

It's bad for the economy to tax people to pay for sports stadiums. If the market supports ticket/merchandise sales sufficient to build a stadium that is not bad for the economy.

One is theft the other is a voluntary transaction.
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It's still "going nowhere" so it's still bad for the economy.
 
Watermark said:
It's still "going nowhere" so it's still bad for the economy.
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Going nowhere... how do you figure?

Taxes are bad economically for the same reason theft is bad. Victims will expend resources in avoiding both and there is no value gained by the victim. A voluntary "tax" does not suffer those problems.
 
RStringfield said:
That's right, anyone that offers entertainment services to the poor should be shot.
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LOL.. entertainment services. That's an interesting way to put it. Let's prey on the hopes and dreams of our poor, make them think one day they'll be millionaires if they keep buying lottery tickets, and call it entertainment.
 
DigitalDave said:
LOL.. entertainment services. That's an interesting way to put it. Let's prey on the hopes and dreams of our poor, make them think one day they'll be millionaires if they keep buying lottery tickets, and call it entertainment.
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Are you arguing that it should be illegal, or that the government should not do it?
 
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