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I believe the reason for the lottery was to fund school. Whatever happened to that.
I live in NJ and I was told the income tax is created to fund school. Then when I look at my property tax bill, over 70% go to school as well. So how much money is needed for school? Or the money go into the packet or insider. Since there is no audit, they can just say unaccountable and get away from it.
Anyway, back to topic. The reason why the poor and low income earner play lottery is because they lack of basic math skill. If you do the math, your odd is a lot higher with roulette than buying a lottery ticket.
Rich people or financial educated people don't play lotto because they understand the odd. Sure, some body will win, but the odd is so small that it make no different than just throwing away the money away.
I do play $1 whenever they have a new record jackpot.
Didn't you see the multi-million dollar school in California that was built and shut down cause they couldn't afford to pay the staff? It is still unused.. brand new!! Glad they fully funded medicaid before building this school.. what do you mean they didn't? Those smart liberals!! We should have them running the country... what do you mean we have one as a President right now? Oh we are in trouble... he is going to raise taxes and build something completely stupid and waste all that money... what do you mean he already built something stupid? Doh!
I'm fascinated by this and I'm anxious to hear what others have to say. I live in North Carolina where we never had a state lottery until just a couple of years ago. The thing is, the overwhelming majority of the people that I see purchasing lottery tickets are obviously lower middle class and poor people. It isn't unusual to see a customer in line at the local mini mart buying a six pack, some smokes and $10 worth of lottery tickets. Personally, I love the fact that the very class of people that supposedly can't afford to pay taxes will line up and volunteer their money in exchange for a shot at getting rich.
Anyway what a brilliant idea the lottery was! No need for forced taxation of the poor. Just mad that I didn't think of it.
I like to think of the lottery as a tax on stupid people.
The Texas State Lottery has contributed roughly $1 billion a year to public education since it was created. Not sure if other states do this. Using it for medical expenses wouldn't be a half bad idea either.
In MD it was supposed to go to education but, damn, they forgot to put it in the law authorizing the Lottery back in the 70's. Lottery money now goes to pay for the various sports stadia.
In PA Lottery proceeds go for property tax relief and prescription medications for the elderly.
Q. What does the Florida Lottery do with the money from ticket sales?
A. Proceeds from every dollar spent on Florida Lottery tickets help provide educational funding for Florida’s school children. Whether it’s Bright Futures scholarships, better books, technology for schools, or bonds for school construction, the proceeds from Florida Lottery ticket sales are transferred to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF) and appropriated by the Florida Legislature.
Part of my college education was funded with one of the Bright Futures scholarships. This is a scholarship available to anybody who meets certain grade criteria. To get the 100% scholarship like I did, you also have to do community service hours. I see it as a good thing. Although, the poor people who buy lotto while taxpayers are paying their bills...something is really wrong with that picture.
Last edited by andrea3821; 08-02-2011 at 06:42 PM..
however, we must also remember the "meme" that "the poor don't pay taxes" is patently false
they benefit the least from tax revenue and in proportion to their income pay the most
since we live in upside-down world, the people who benefit the most from tax revenue pay the least, and they are the wealthy.
our taxes go to fund the roads, bridges, police, military and other infrastructure that allow them to make money, yet for now, they pay the least.
most poor live in a small world and consume very little on the macro economic scale, let we are lectured about how they "live off the government"
the real deadbeats are those who reap what we sew and tend
I'm pretty sure you have that backward. The people who pay no taxes are also the ones leaching off society...the ones getting welfare, the ones who end up incarcerated, the ones the police are being used against....
I'm pretty sure you have that backward. The people who pay no taxes are also the ones leaching off society...the ones getting welfare, the ones who end up incarcerated, the ones the police are being used against....
that's kind of what I thought, too, but I wasn't sure...LOL.
Thats a bit harsh. The chances of winning the lottery are pretty much zero but the $1 (or whatever it costs) for a ticket allows people to dream a little bit between when they buy the ticket and when the draw is made.
You guys have taxes all wrong - you have think about society as a whole. In the last decade the top 5% of Americans have increased their wealth by 18% but the bottom 50% have seen their's lower by 12%. The ONLY fair system is a progressive one.
The bill that was just passed was a disgrace. It cuts hundreds of billions from middle and lower class programs and does absolutely nothing to raise revenue from the wealthiest Americans. The deficit cannot be managed through cuts alone, and the future problems associated with this level of debt (inflation & interest rates) will be a massive tax on everybody.
If you look at the situation as it is, the last decade has seen middle and lower class people lose jobs, take cuts in pay and benefits etc whilst the top 10% have seen their salary's and bonuses increase at record rates - how is that even moral? The top 1% are now worth more than the federal budget.
You guys have taxes all wrong ... The ONLY fair system is a progressive one.
The government provides services to all Americans. However, some Americans pay more for the same "service" than others.
I don't like very much the idea of walking into a store and purchasing a gallon of milk and being asked to show my W-2. "Oh, you make THAT much money!? Ok, that gallon of milk costs you $20. Sorry, but you should pay more since you earn more."
And that is the same idea as what progressive taxes are.
I'm fascinated by this and I'm anxious to hear what others have to say. I live in North Carolina where we never had a state lottery until just a couple of years ago. The thing is, the overwhelming majority of the people that I see purchasing lottery tickets are obviously lower middle class and poor people. It isn't unusual to see a customer in line at the local mini mart buying a six pack, some smokes and $10 worth of lottery tickets. Personally, I love the fact that the very class of people that supposedly can't afford to pay taxes will line up and volunteer their money in exchange for a shot at getting rich.
Anyway what a brilliant idea the lottery was! No need for forced taxation of the poor. Just mad that I didn't think of it.
Lotteries are a tax on people who are bad at math.
But here's the answer why we have them: Georgia started one. So people from SC started crossing the state line to play the Georgia lottery and fund UGA and Georgia Tech.
SC said, "This won't do," so we started a lottery of our own to keep Georgia from getting that revenue. The same thing happened, North Carolinians started crossing the border to play the education lottery in South Carolina.... same domino effect, so North Carolina decided to start an education lottery, too.
Lotteries sell HOPE for people that realize the odds of working their way out of poverty or payday to payday living are even worse than Powerball. Even a small HOPE is better than none at all.
From the wealthy' point of view lotteries are desirable because without the lottery we would probably have has a revolution leading to a really fair and just society.
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Using it for medical expenses wouldn't be a half bad idea either.
