the lottery

[WalterMitty]

is anyone here opposed to lotteries?  for the life of me i cant figure out why any normal person would be opposed to such a thing.

we still dont have one in nc.  they are working on it now in the state legislature, but i doubt itll pass.  the republican legislators are too concerned with doing the 'lord's work' rather than actually moving the state into the 21st century.

</rant>

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

Minnesota's had one forever.

North Dakota didn't have one. The legislature wanted one. The fundies threw a fit. So they decided to put it up for referendum instead. It passed overwhelmingly and in all but one county. A pretty conservative state too. That shut the fundies up.

[WalterMitty]

here in nc, the republicans wont even allow for it to be put to a public vote.

of course, republicans believe in people over government.....um...dont they?

[bullmoose88]

here in nc, the republicans wont even allow for it to be put to a public vote.

of course, republicans believe in people over government.....um...dont they?

Only when it gives them the desired result.

[Gabu]

I personally think that people who buy lottery tickets are stupid, but I have nothing against lotteries.

[FerrisBueller86]

I'm against lotteries and the re-emergence of gambling since the early 1990s.  The state should not be encouraging people to gamble.    From a selfish point of view, I should be for lotteries, because that means the state taxes someone else instead of me.  But the trouble is that "someone else" is likely to be much, much poorer than I am.  (And no, I'm not a Rockefeller, Kennedy, or Bush by any stretch of the imagination.)  The government should NOT be relying on such regressive taxation.  It's hypocritical for politicians to talk about getting people off welfare out of one side of their mouths only to sponsor more gambling.

Furthermore, history shows that gambling only causes more social problems like crime and alcoholism.  My parents have been to Atlantic City, and the city is a slum.  Alcoholism has been a growing problem in the Native American community.

Lotteries and casinos have popped up because politicians lack the political courage to either raise explicit taxes or cut spending.  So they turn to tax revenues from lotteries and casinos as the easy way out.

It isn't only right wing fundamentalists who oppose lotteries and gambling.  Many liberals also oppose this.  The gambling issue doesn't divide on the traditional left-right lines, as you'll find that the opposition to gambling comes from all over the political spectrum.

[??????????]

is anyone here opposed to lotteries?  for the life of me i cant figure out why any normal person would be opposed to such a thing.

we still dont have one in nc.  they are working on it now in the state legislature, but i doubt itll pass.  the republican legislators are too concerned with doing the 'lord's work' rather than actually moving the state into the 21st century.

</rant>

Maybe because they realize that the lotto does no good for the state. I personally don't care if we have a lotto or not but the fact remains that the state of Florida was lied to by the lotto people about where the money would go. The lotto people promised millions to the schools in theory but in fact less then 2% of that money has gone to the schools. People here are now very wary of the lotto and gambling measures have a harder time passing here.

[opebo]

I have nothing against lotteries but they should be private businesses, not run by the State.

[Ebowed]

I have nothing against lotteries but they should be private businesses, not run by the State.

I agree.

[John Dibble]

Depends on what the money goes to. I like ones that fund HOPE scholarship type programs.

[ian]

I oppose the lottery because it attributes to gambling addiction.

[DanielX]

here in nc, the republicans wont even allow for it to be put to a public vote.

of course, republicans believe in people over government.....um...dont they?

About half the time, yes. What people don't understand is that political ideology is 2-dimensional (3-d, if you count foreign policy), not 1-dimensional.

Republicans generally stand for less economic regulation and more social regulation, the Democrats are reverse.

Note that, in general, the Republicans favor smaller government, as social regulation is generally less cost-consuming then economic regulation. Also note, that congressmen of both parties are money-hungry bastards.

[Blue Rectangle]

Non-religious arguments against state-run lotteries:

--Hurts the poor and less educated by offering a false hope in exchange for what little money they have

--Is regressive in terms of wealth redistribution (takes money from many poor people to make one person rich)

--Is inefficient in terms of increased revenue vs. decreased consumer spending or savings

--Is unfair, in that private gambling has a 21 year age limit as opposed to 18

--Enriches a private company that produces nothing

[John Dibble]

Non-religious arguments against state-run lotteries:

--Hurts the poor and less educated by offering a false hope in exchange for what little money they have
[/qoute]

In other words, poor people are idiots.

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Disagree. People play the lotter of their own free will, so it can hardly be called regressive like a tax can.

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Neutral.

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Agree. Lower gambling age for private gambling.

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I don't call the HOPE scholarship nothing, since it provides students with free in-state tuition if they have good grades.

[Blue Rectangle]

Non-religious arguments against state-run lotteries:

--Hurts the poor and less educated by offering a false hope in exchange for what little money they have

In other words, poor people are idiots.

Well, I do believe that the government should save people from themselves in very limited circumstances (I don't expect a libertarian to agree).  We might agree that the government shouldn't directly encourage people to make dumb decisions, though.

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Disagree. People play the lotter of their own free will, so it can hardly be called regressive like a tax can.
[/quote]
Those that support lotteries know full well that the effect will be the same as a regressive tax.  Therefore it is the same in both effect and in intent.

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Neutral.
[/quote]
Not at all.  The revenue the state receives is much less than the total collected.  This is extremely wasteful compared to other taxes.

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Agree. Lower gambling age for private gambling.
[/quote]
I would favor that.  18 is adult.  Adult means full rights in the eyes of the law.

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I don't call the HOPE scholarship nothing, since it provides students with free in-state tuition if they have good grades.[/quote]
Any good derived from a state lottery could be supported by general revenue with far less waste and far more fairness.

[John Dibble]

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Disagree. People play the lotter of their own free will, so it can hardly be called regressive like a tax can.

Those that support lotteries know full well that the effect will be the same as a regressive tax.  Therefore it is the same in both effect and in intent.
[/quote]

I disagree. A tax is forced, generally on everyone. Don't want to waste money on the lotto, then don't play - many people don't.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

John, the simple fact is that a lottery is business means that it is not an inherent function of givernment.  To be consistent, you’d have to be happy with the State of Georgia running all the movie theaters in Georgia and using the profits to fund education.

[Dave from Michigan]

If people want to waste there money on lottery tickets I'm not going to stop them.

[ATFFL]

John, the simple fact is that a lottery is business means that it is not an inherent function of givernment.  To be consistent, you’d have to be happy with the State of Georgia running all the movie theaters in Georgia and using the profits to fund education.

The Post Office is a business. 

[John Dibble]

John, the simple fact is that a lottery is business means that it is not an inherent function of givernment.  To be consistent, you’d have to be happy with the State of Georgia running all the movie theaters in Georgia and using the profits to fund education.

What I like about the lottery is that it is not funded through forced taxation. Now, I still have a problem with the government maintaining a monopoly on it, but that's a different issue. I'm not purporting it as a perfect solution, but it is a good way to fund the HOPE in my opinion.

[TomC]

I'm mixed on it. We just got one about two years ago in Tennessee, and I literally did not know how I was going to vote until I went in the voting booth, which is VERY unlike me. On one hand, I find it kind of immoral, and while I would allow private gambling to be legal, the notion of the government engaging in it bothers me. However, I voted for it because many states border Tennessee, and we lose money to all the other states. Plus, the money MUST go to college scholarships or Pre-K spending.

[??????????]

I'm mixed on it. We just got one about two years ago in Tennessee, and I literally did not know how I was going to vote until I went in the voting booth, which is VERY unlike me. On one hand, I find it kind of immoral, and while I would allow private gambling to be legal, the notion of the government engaging in it bothers me. However, I voted for it because many states border Tennessee, and we lose money to all the other states. Plus, the money MUST go to college scholarships or Pre-K spending.

Hopefully the money will go to those things they say. But I wouldn't count on it.

[TomC]

I'm mixed on it. We just got one about two years ago in Tennessee, and I literally did not know how I was going to vote until I went in the voting booth, which is VERY unlike me. On one hand, I find it kind of immoral, and while I would allow private gambling to be legal, the notion of the government engaging in it bothers me. However, I voted for it because many states border Tennessee, and we lose money to all the other states. Plus, the money MUST go to college scholarships or Pre-K spending.

Hopefully the money will go to those things they say. But I wouldn't count on it.

Yeah, there was that, too.