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Monday, May 9, 2011

The Tyranny of the Lottery

Public lotteries are the most regressive of taxes: the poor spend a far disproportionate amount of their incomes on lottery tickets.  Lotteries erode the culture of the state, and they are not the most efficient way of earning public revenue.

But they pander to an itch that is alarming. We want a huge payoff for little effort. The lottery mentality, unfortunately, pervades the thought processes of many people.

    "if we could recruit that tire factory to our town, we would solve all of
    our unemployment and tax coffer problems"
    "if I can just get someone to design my site, it will become the next
     Facebook"
    "if a very influential tourist were to happen into our town, then we
      would be discovered"

Please, don't be a Lottery Person. Just be diligent, after you get moving in the right direction. 

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