Oh, I'm not above buying the occasional ticket, either -- for that matter, I like playing Blackjack and view any losses incurred as entertainment.
However, people at the lower end of the income spend a lot more of their money (proportionally) on lottery tickets. [1]
And states are increasingly dependent on those revenues [2], which means in effect we've got a system where our schools become dependent on our lowest income population wasting money on what is essentially a pipe dream.
Note: I'm not saying "we've got to stop lotteries!" As I said: I play myself. Just noting that we are funding our government on the backs of people who are making what is arguably a terrible investment.
In other words: lotteries are a tax on people with bad math skills.
However, people at the lower end of the income spend a lot more of their money (proportionally) on lottery tickets. [1]
And states are increasingly dependent on those revenues [2], which means in effect we've got a system where our schools become dependent on our lowest income population wasting money on what is essentially a pipe dream.
Note: I'm not saying "we've got to stop lotteries!" As I said: I play myself. Just noting that we are funding our government on the backs of people who are making what is arguably a terrible investment.
In other words: lotteries are a tax on people with bad math skills.
[1] Lots of studies back that up; there's a pretty good list here: http://stoppredatorygambling.org/blog/category/research-cent...
[2] http://taxfoundation.org/article/gambling-tax-policy-states-...