June 23, 201610 yr This floored me: Americans in the 43 states where lotteries are legal spent $70 billion on lotto games in 2014. Seventy billion? I thought. No, that’s impossible. That’s more than $230 for every man, woman, and child in those states—or $300 for each adult. But it’s true: According to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, lotteries took in $70.1 billion in sales in the 2014 fiscal year. That’s more than Americans in all 50 states spent on sports tickets, books, video games, movie tickets, and recorded music sales... But it’s the poor who are really losing. The poorest third of households buy half of all lotto tickets, according to a Duke University study in the 1980s, in part because lotteries are advertised most aggressively in poorer neighborhoods. A North Carolina report from NC Policy Watch found that the people living in the poorest counties buy the most tickets. "Out of the 20 counties with poverty rates higher than 20 percent, 18 had lottery sales topping the statewide average of $200 per adult," the North Carolina Justice Center reported... A 1986 California survey found that lottery players were split 50-50 on whether they played for money or for fun. But among those with less than $30,000, "25 percent more respondents cited money rather than fun, while the reverse was true for those with higher incomes,” wrote Garrick Blalock, David R. Just, and Daniel H. Simon in a study “Hitting the Jackpot or Hitting the Skids.” The researchers made another damning discovery: Local lottery ticket sales rise with poverty, but movie ticket sales do not. In other words, lotto games are not merely another form of cheap entertainment. They are also a prayer against poverty. This fits what the researchers call the “desperation hypothesis”: States are making their most hopeless citizens addicted to gambling to pay for government services... In an age of rising income inequality, it’s pernicious that states rely on monetizing the desperate hope of its poorest residents. State lotteries take from the poor to spare the rich, all while marching under the banner of voluntary entertainment. Banning lotto games will not make our poorest communities suddenly rich. But these neighborhoods have lost enough lotteries in life even before they touch a penny to the scratch-off ticket. Lotteries: America's $7
June 23, 201610 yr State lotteries take from the poor to spare the rich, all while marching under the banner of voluntary entertainment. All I need to see to understand this premise. If we follow this line of reasoning, I will play along, but I also want to see us eliminate the sale of alcohol and cigarettes in the same communities. It's personal choice and discipline....
June 23, 201610 yr No different than horse tracks or casinos, IMO. Gambling will always draw in people hoping to strike it rich. As far as is it good for tax payers, well it's good for those that don't play the lottery. For every tax dollar raised through legalized gambling that is one more dollar of taxes that don't need to be raised. Gambling is a self tax, no one if forced to do it and no one is being denied any constitutional rights by either participating or not participating.
June 23, 201610 yr State lotteries take from the poor to spare the rich, all while marching under the banner of voluntary entertainment. All I need to see to understand this premise. If we follow this line of reasoning, I will play along, but I also want to see us eliminate the sale of alcohol and cigarettes in the same communities. It's personal choice and discipline.... Exactly what I was going to say.
June 23, 201610 yr John Oliver did a great segment on lotteries that is relevant to this thread. Maybe somebody can find the video and link it to this thread, as it contains a lot of great information. With regard to RP's question: no, it is not a tax on the poor. A tax is imposed upon someone and it must be paid, or there are consequences. On the other hand, choosing to play the lottery is entirely voluntary. It is not a tax. Now, does it appeal to lower income & lower socioeconomic classes? Perhaps, but that doesn't make it a tax in my opinion.
June 23, 201610 yr John Oliver did a great segment on lotteries that is relevant to this thread. Maybe somebody can find the video and link it to this thread' date=' as it contains a lot of great information. With regard to RP's question: no, it is not a tax on the poor. A tax is imposed upon someone and it must be paid, or there are consequences. On the other hand, choosing to play the lottery is entirely voluntary. It is not a tax. Now, does it appeal to lower income & lower socioeconomic classes? Perhaps, but that doesn't make it a tax in my opinion.[/quote'] ...
June 23, 201610 yr Just to piggy back on this thread... Yesterday I was in the speedway just across the street from Saint Xavier. There was a huge line, and only one person working. During my wait, I saw a man make two different ATM transactions. After each one, he walked over to the lotto scratch off machine and bought tickets. After the second time, he walked out seemingly ticked off. While I don't know for sure, but if I had to guess, the guy didn't have a whole lot of money to be throwing around. He burned 40 bucks in all of 3 minutes. Plus a surcharge from the ATM.
June 23, 201610 yr It is essentially a regressive tax. Albeit, voluntary, but still a regressive tax.
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.