When a state runs a lottery, what is it really doing? It's telling its citizens that the way to get ahead in life is not to work hard, not to study, not to improve one's schooling, but to trust in fate and hope to be lucky. I can't imagine anything more destructive to a society.
It's almost like saying that the way to be happy is to take crack!
Consider the Virginia "Lady Luck" commercials. They actually have ads where Lady Luck upbraids a couple for betting on the lottery only when the jackpot is very high (so that it might even be rational to do so). Do we really want the state telling people to forget about rational thinking?
Remember, lotteries are among the least efficient ways for states to make money. many scratch-off games have short lives because people get bored with them, and then a new ad campaign is needed. Overhead for these games is high. And when revenues for these games are earmarked to some cause (education, for example), it just serves as an excuse to lower the regular budget and let the lottery make up the difference.
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When a state runs a lottery, what is it really doing? It's telling its citizens that the way to get ahead in life is not to work hard, not to study, not to improve one's schooling, but to trust in fate and hope to be lucky. I can't imagine anything more destructive to a society.
It's almost like saying that the way to be happy is to take crack!
Consider the Virginia "Lady Luck" commercials. They actually have ads where Lady Luck upbraids a couple for betting on the lottery only when the jackpot is very high (so that it might even be rational to do so). Do we really want the state telling people to forget about rational thinking?
Remember, lotteries are among the least efficient ways for states to make money. many scratch-off games have short lives because people get bored with them, and then a new ad campaign is needed. Overhead for these games is high. And when revenues for these games are earmarked to some cause (education, for example), it just serves as an excuse to lower the regular budget and let the lottery make up the difference.
I'd prefer paying more taxes--it's more honest.
Respectfully,
Eric Jablow