Last Week Tonight, Lottery

[Sbee]

Great piece here, we all know that the lottery is essentially a tax on the poor but I learned a little bit here.

the north carolina example is pretty shocking (11 minute mark)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PK-netuhHA

 

[Spartanmack]

taxes aren't voluntary.

 

[Michchamp]

taxes aren't voluntary.

Gold star for you for saying something, but that's why he said it's "essentially" a tax, not that it was a tax.

 

[Gulo Blue]

taxes aren't voluntary.

tax loopholes are

 

[tinselwolverine]

Are you able to deduct lottery losses?

 

[Spartanmack]

Gold star for you for saying something, but that's why he said it's "essentially" a tax, not that it was a tax.

So the one thing that makes the lottery different from a tax is the most important thing that makes something a tax and "essentially" it's a tax? No. Essentially, you are an idiot. No gold star for you.

The lottery is a scam and the poor people blowing their rent money on powerball tickets are the suckers.

 

[Spartanmack]

tax loopholes are

true, but I don't think anyone would argue that poor people smart enough to not blow their money on the lottery were taking advantage of a tax loophole.

 

[Spartanmack]

Are you able to deduct lottery losses?

You can deduct gambling losses only to the extent of gambling income on your federal return.

 

[Gulo Blue]

So the one thing that makes the lottery different from a tax is the most important thing that makes something a tax and essentially, it's a tax? No. Essentially, you are an idiot. No gold star for you.

Sometimes it's worth considering the real world impact of a thing.

What if you hate ducks?

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, but it's not a not, it's probably still going to bother you.

 

[Sbee]

So the one thing that makes the lottery different from a tax is the most important thing that makes something a tax and "essentially" it's a tax? No. Essentially, you are an idiot. No gold star for you.

The lottery is a scam and the poor people blowing their rent money on powerball tickets are the suckers.

It's a scam that takes advantage of the poor, I said that it's essentially a tax because the money goes to your state government. that's what separates it from your run of the mill scam to rob poor people, like payday loan stores. I'd expect it from some shady corporation like Cashnet, you'd like to think that your state government was above that.

 

[Gulo Blue]

The ugly thing is that the government profits off addiction. Of course it impacts the poor more. Most lottery players never see a big payout. The common payouts are like $5-$20 on scratchoffs. Payoffs that size really only lead to addiction if you're poor. The sham of it not really funding education makes it worse.

 

[Sbee]

The ugly thing is that the government profits off addiction. Of course it impacts the poor more. Most lottery players never see a big payout. The common payouts are like $5-$20 on scratchoffs. Payoffs that size really only lead to addiction if you're poor. The sham of it not really funding education makes it worse.

shit, it profits from a lot of addiction through taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, not to mention the prison industrial complex

 

[Spartanmack]

Sometimes it's worth considering the real world impact of a thing.

What if you hate ducks?

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, but it's not a not, it's probably still going to bother you.

Yeah, I understand but when two of the biggest pro-tax, big government libs are whining about a tax that isn't a tax and making the point that it penalizes poor people who play the lottery of their own free will, it's worth pointing out that it's not a tax and they're wasting their money on it freely and voluntarily.

 

[tinselwolverine]

shit, it profits from a lot of addiction through taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, not to mention the prison industrial complex

If these pikers had any brains, they would legalize and tax a whole lot more shit that people are already buying anyway, like weed, and meth and coke and heroin.

Not to mention sports book and black jack and craps.

Oh, shit - almost forgot prostitution - that would have been embarrassing...

 

[Gulo Blue]

shit, it profits from a lot of addiction through taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, not to mention the prison industrial complex

Yeah, but with cigarettes and alcohol, the tax is an attempt to curb use. No comment on prisons. That's a rotten business too.

 

[Sbee]

Yeah, I understand but when two of the biggest pro-tax, big government libs are whining about a tax that isn't a tax and making the point that it penalizes poor people who play the lottery of their own free will, it's worth pointing out that it's not a tax and they're wasting their money on it freely and voluntarily.

"whining"

How about being angry that state governments implement schemes to rip off its poorest citizens? I guess you're ok with that, either that or you just love to be Mr. contrarian, I'd bet it's the latter

 

[Gulo Blue]

Yeah, I understand but when two of the biggest pro-tax, big government libs are whining about a tax that isn't a tax and making the point that it penalizes poor people who play the lottery of their own free will, it's worth pointing out that it's not a tax and they're wasting their money on it freely and voluntarily.

What's the justification for the government doing this? You just defend it because you're pro-Big Government and you like to see the government getting into everyone's business.

 

[tinselwolverine]

What's the justification for the government doing this? You just defend it because you're pro-Big Government and you like to see the government getting into everyone's business.

Ooh, that's a burn...

 

[Spartanmack]

It's a scam that takes advantage of the poor, I said that it's essentially a tax because the money goes to your state government. that's what separates it from your run of the mill scam to rob poor people, like payday loan stores. I'd expect it from some shady corporation like Cashnet, you'd like to think that your state government was above that.

It's a scam because in most state lotteries are marketed by the states as generating revenue for schools when in fact lottery revenues are not incremental to education budgets. For every lottery dollar that goes to education, a General Fund dollar previously allocated to schools goes back into the General Fund and the schools are no better off. That's the scam.

I'm no more in favor of the lottery than I am in favor of all these cities that are giving out permits to build casinos and like anything else the poor buys, lottery tickets are more expensive to them but let's not pretend they're not responsible for their own losses just because they can't afford them.

 

[Spartanmack]

shit, it profits from a lot of addiction through taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, not to mention the prison industrial complex

the prison industrial complex is not a profit center for the government.