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Comment by cafard | Hacker News Reader

I'm glad to hear that Georgia provides the scholarship. It is a pity that the state can't come up with a less regressive tax than the lottery.

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Calling lotteries "tax" is only a cynical hyperbole; they are not actually a tax. People voluntarily play lotteries, whereas taxes are coerced. You do not face fines or jail time if you quit playing lotteries, like you do if you don't pay taxes. Being voluntary, lottery bets more closely resemble donations than taxes.

(Taxes on lottery winnings are a different story, of course; not talking about that here).

I'm appalled that you would suggest that it is better that people be coerced into paying for something which is adequately funded by "donations" through the lottery system.

Agreed, call it a "tax" is entirely a condescending attitude:

"These poor folk who play the lottery only do it because they're intellectually inferior to me."

"A fool and his money..." These people are going to manage their money poorly no matter what, and if you have a gambling prohibition you're going to just make it more dangerous for them. This seems like the best use of their citizen's need for gambling.

Coincidentally, that's how I justify my crack-dealing and murder-for-hire sidelines.

edit: If not from me, than from someone else, right? If that's not a vapid argument, you should be upvoting my entrepreneurship (even though it's in a well-trod space.) I also donate to open source projects...

You're getting the downvotes, but I think you have a good point - at least the crack dealing bit; not so much the assassin part. I do find it morally suspect for the government to be in the gambling business. It's a cynical and lazy way to raise revenue.

The demographic that buys lottery tickets is largely die-hard anti-tax red that would never vote to fund education from raised taxes on anyone's income... a bit ironic when you think about it.

it isn't about gambling demographic, it is about voting demographic. To make the "salt of the earth holier than thou value" voters to vote for gambling you need to throw them a good cause they would thus supposedly support by their votes.

If that's true, it's not ironic. Buying a lottery ticket is a choice. Paying taxes imposed on the entire population is not a choice.

To call the lottery a tax is an insult to those who choose to play.

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