If we're taxing current citizens, and we have 50% exit taxes, why not entry taxes? When demand exceeds supply increase the price.
Those DV lottery winners pay US taxes while having no citizenship rights, so you have literally no idea what you're talking about.
And there are already plenty of routes for rich people to obtain visas, just by proving that they have a lot of money. These visas are for workers.
Every year a number of EB-5 visas go unclaimed (which cost around $550K per family).
> Billions of dollars could be raised by turning these into entrepreneur visas or charging per visa ...
Billions of dollars would be like pissing on a supernova. Putting out the fiscal fire will take trillions of dollars in economic reform and growth, and immigrants have historically been a big part of American boom times.
That said, the guys who could afford to pay that would better than these "lottery" admits. Young STEM grads would also be good. Canada and Singapore have far more rational immigration policies, where there is consideration given to whether a given immigrant will be a net tax-payer or tax-recipient; young STEM grads and entrepreneurs with money are favored categories -- and they do not give away coveted visas at random.
People act as if the US has infinite money to just give away, that we can be never-endingly generous with no consequences, that the quality of person we take in has no impact. Then they turn around and post on Hacker News about how you need to watch your burn rate and only hire the best for your startup.