Are u for or against the lottery

[flash9286]

Are u for or against the lottery, in America to help public education.

[Sava]

In the current system, I'm for it. Although gambling is an addiction, and I think the lottery is regressively funded; morally questionable activities should be used to fund public programs.

[Urban Ranger]

There are a lot more important issues to fix now.

[Sava]

Agreed. If we stopped corporate corruption and government kickbacks, we could give public education the resources it needs.

[JohnT]

I actually addressed this issue a few months back... let me see if I can find the thread.

Ah, here it is in the archive: http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...0&pagenumber=1

This was a pretty good thread that turned into a debate between Floyd and Ramo.

[Spiffor]

Erm, please help me get this straight : there is currently a nationwide lottery in the US whose benefits would go to the education ?

[SlowwHand]

I'm for it, even though it won't go to education solely.
I know. They say it will, but when the smoke clears, it doesn't.

[Andrew1999]

Originally posted by Spiffor
Erm, please help me get this straight : there is currently a nationwide lottery in the US whose benefits would go to the education ?

No, there's not. I think he's referring to the various state lotteries. Most of them have some of the proceeds going to education.

[MRT144]

slowwhand is right on the money, pun maybe intended. I like playing the lotto once a month but thats about it.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Spiffor
Erm, please help me get this straight : there is currently a nationwide lottery in the US whose benefits would go to the education ?

No, it's state by state. Very few states do not have a lottery, including the one I live in (Tennessee).

[Spiffor]

OK, thanks for the info. It is quite troubling that a tax on ignorance actually goes to education

[Felch]

Lotteries are a tax on the poor. They're ****ing terrible. They offer big payoffs for ridiculously unlikely events, and get idiots to spend big piles of money on them.

[Spiffor]

Lotteries are terrible, they are a way to ruin the poor even more by using atrocious odds against them.

However, I wouldn't spit too quickly on lottery taxes. I think most phenomenons of our society happen because they serve a function, because they have a demand. There is a demand for the amoral business that is gambling.
I prefer it being in the hands of a public business, whose output will be at least somehow useful for the community, rather than in the hands of a private business, which will milk the poor as much as it can for its sole greed.

Public lotteries are bad. But they would be worse if they were private.

[MRT144]

No one forces people to play the lottery. if someone is an idiot enough to play the lottery often in serious hopes of monetary gain then i say they deserve to lose the money.

idiots deserved to be taxed.

[chequita guevara]

The lottery is a tax on people who can't do math.

Lotteries get passed by saying the money will soley be used to fund education, with the expectation that lottery earnings will be supplimental to current education spending. Instead what happens is the state defunds education by the amount that the lottery takes in and spends it on other things. It's a scam coming an going.

Still, it's fun to dream what you would do with all that money. Every once in a while, I'll spend a buck or two on the lottery just for kicks.