The Lottery – a tax on people who cannot do math (or refuse to learn)

This one, I’m blaming on our Educational System….er, no, pandering politicians…er, no, it’s a State Agency trying to do it’s job – OK, I ran out of targets.

No, this really is politicians trying to "save" stupid people throwing away their money on gambling that is sponsored and sanctified by the State in order to raise money for education. Got that?  Legislators railing against another part of government for being too successful – in doing what the Legislators mandated them to do!  Law of Unintended Consequences!

Or, is the not stupid people but stupid Legislators refusing to acknowledge what they have done?

Naw, they want it both ways – the money ("It’s for the children!") and pandering to the adults ("It’s for your children that we save you from what we’ve done!").

From Buffalo, NY:

Leaders in Buffalo’s minority community, charging unfair practices by the New York Lottery, are calling for change.

Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples has called for a moratorium on new lottery outlets in her East Side district and wants the state to revamp its prize payouts, which critics say penalize poor, minority neighborhoods.

“It’s incumbent that the state correct this. You need to get some equity,” the Buffalo Democrat said.

No, she has it exactly wrong.  It does not penalize the poor.  It does not penalize minorities.  It does not penalize "the inner city".  Neither does it penalize the rich, whites, or the educated. There is only one class of people that it discriminates against:

It does penalize those that didn’t pay attention in school and failed math. 

Look, the whole idea of gambling incorporates the "house percentage" – the margin built into the odds of winning and losing.  Pretty much, all legalized gambling has it – how else would casinos get to be so big and flashy?

Face it, when Legislators saw the money being raked in, they decided that government would move in on the racket themselves (calling it "for the children" to make it palatable) instead of raising taxes. In essence, government "moved in" on the Mafia and other criminal enterprises.

A government-operated lottery system that pays the least in prizes for the games most popular in the poorest neighborhoods is “a travesty,” said the Rev. Darius Pridgen.

“Even if it wasn’t intended, they [lottery officials] should aggressively be working with the powers that be — the Legislature and the governor — to even the playing field,” added Brenda McDuffie, president of the Buffalo Urban League.

Utter nonsense!  Lottery commissions everywhere…

are going to operate like corporations in that they are tasked to optimize a return.  For corporations, it is the shareholders.  For the lottery, it, once again, "is for the children" (education).

So, do Rev. Pridgen and Ms. McDuffie want to take money away from children?

[snip]

“The information The News put out there is fresh to most of us. Those who are elected officials in government now need to look at the numbers and come up with a game plan of how do we inform and protect the weakest in our community. If we don’t, we just become complicit,” he said.

Well, that’s easy!  Just stop government sponsored gambling – problem solved.  What the Nanny State giveth, it can take away. 

After all, this story sounds like "its for the adults who think like children."