Little Rock's Creative Class

[astrife]

A lottery ticket is nothing more than a cheap consumable item that offers a 1 in a million chance of winning alot of money. Yes, this is in essence gambling, but it is nonetheless a consumable product. As a consumable product, an individual voluntarily pays for it. Obviously, this is very different from a tax.

[EJC]

A lottery ticket is nothing more than a cheap consumable item that offers a 1 in a million chance of winning alot of money. Yes, this is in essence gambling, but it is nonetheless a consumable product. As a consumable product, an individual voluntarily pays for it. Obviously, this is very different from a tax.

Stop trying to tell people how to live their lives, which includes restricting what they are allowed to spend their (no matter how meager) income on.

[astrife]

Ummm, I never suggested anything about how you live your life. And I didn't suggest that it should be restricted (or passed for that matter). I've made no comment on whether this is something we should do or not. So simma down now.

Meanwhile, I stand by my comments that it's essentially a regressive tax, but a voluntary one. I'm all for voluntary taxes because at least you get to choose. But I'm not one who is naive enough to think that a lottery is beneficial to the state because of educational "gains". In many cases, it's robbing Peter to pay Paul as Architect has essentially stated. If the good folks of Arkansas want a lottery, so be it...if they don't...so be that too.