I agree. Lotto alone won't generate enough money to fix the issues. It may be part of the solution, but it isn't THE solution.
Oh, so NOW the AL GOP Wants a Lottery
- Thread starter jthomas666
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Yeah we do a pool at work whenever it gets in the 200's. I just think it is as an insurance policy to not be the last person standing in my group at my company.
Couldn't have said it better. IMO a lottery is among the worst revenue streams to base a budget on.
Even if it was steady and did not cause any issues. IMO a government encouraging their citizens to do something stupid as a revenue stream is just wrong. The fact that our border states do it doesn't make it right.
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I worded that badly. I wasn't talking about the citizens of our surrounding states contributing to their own state's coffers. I was referring to the citizens of Alabama who are putting $$$ in those state's coffers.
i usually just scrape together the change laying in my car and on the counter and buy a couple of $2 tickets
The lottery is probably a bad idea as a method to shore up poor budgeting by lawmakers.
That said, while there are plenty of arguments that I understand against it, I've always leaned towards libertarianism - I don't think the government's role is to 'protect people from potentially poor choices' (whether that's gambling, drugs, whatever - as long as it's not directly impinging on another's rights, why should the government have any say in its legality?)...
On the flip side, TN has benefited substantially from the lottery wrt secondary education - between Hope Scholarships and the new Tennessee Promise program, the decision to have a lottery that was passed by voters has been very beneficial to young people trying to find their way either via college or trade / technical schools.
That said, while there are plenty of arguments that I understand against it, I've always leaned towards libertarianism - I don't think the government's role is to 'protect people from potentially poor choices' (whether that's gambling, drugs, whatever - as long as it's not directly impinging on another's rights, why should the government have any say in its legality?)...
On the flip side, TN has benefited substantially from the lottery wrt secondary education - between Hope Scholarships and the new Tennessee Promise program, the decision to have a lottery that was passed by voters has been very beneficial to young people trying to find their way either via college or trade / technical schools.
I agree that it is not the role to protect people from poor choices, only the consequences of those choices on others. It is something entirely different to encourage those poor choices. Again just my opinion.
With more money they'll just create more waste. It's not like they will sure up existing budgets and stash the rest. Hell no! It's there, let's spend it. They'll just create NEW programs, and explode and expand current budgets and programs. Govt. waste and corruption are just like shampoo and conditioner directions...RINSE and REPEAT....TAX and SPEND
It really is a tax on poor folks. I believe I read somewhere, that it is around a 38% tax for every dollar spent.
I used to describe a lottery as a tax on stupidity. The stupider you are, the higher the tax.
Then I used that line with a school teacher. She said, "I buy lottery tickets every week."
Since then, I have rephrased it as "a tax on irrational hope."
Sooner or later most politicians will come around to a lottery/gambling to shore up their out of control spending. Its like a voluntary tax and is much more palatable to the voting population.
LOL school teachers are not immune to acts of stupidity, but don't tell my teacher wife I said so
I'm not sure that is true . I know a guy that works for a company making scratch off lotto tickets. He said the payout is in the 80%+ range on those. So it can't be a 38% tax.
Was this teacher a history teacher? Crossing my fingers that it wasn't a math teacher.
It won't fix the budget shortfall. It will help it, sure. Then, all of the help it provides will be wiped out within 5 years and we'll be here all over again.
Just like at the federal level, revenue is not the issue. Spending is. Yes, you can tax more revenue into the equation and it fixes the equation, but then the politicians screw it up again with out of control spending. Until the spending issue is corrected, we'll be here over and over and over again.
As for how I feel on the lottery, I've bought a ticket once in Tennessee. I do see the moral issues with it, and how it hurts families where addiction is a problem. But alcohol is much worse. I'm not necessarily opposed to it, but I don't expect it to fix anything at all.
Just like at the federal level, revenue is not the issue. Spending is. Yes, you can tax more revenue into the equation and it fixes the equation, but then the politicians screw it up again with out of control spending. Until the spending issue is corrected, we'll be here over and over and over again.
As for how I feel on the lottery, I've bought a ticket once in Tennessee. I do see the moral issues with it, and how it hurts families where addiction is a problem. But alcohol is much worse. I'm not necessarily opposed to it, but I don't expect it to fix anything at all.
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