State lotteries and education
I’ve long ridden this hobbyhorse and am happy to see the NYT join the good guys, even offering this cool interactive graphic.
For me the bottom line is this: it’s ironic that a program often touted as being good for education relies, first of all, on the economic ignorance of its "core" customer base (quick: what’s the expected value of a dollar "invested" in a lottery ticket, compared with a dollar put in an interest-bearing bank account?) and, second of all, on an attitude (wishfully thinking that one can get something for nothing) that is antithetical to the connection between hard work and self-discipline, on the one side, and reward, on the other that we’d presumably wish to cultivate.
To me, lotteries indicate a failure of political leadership: they’re a so-called "voluntary tax" imposed by legislatures unwilling or unable to make the case for spending more public money on education. What are they afraid of--that the voters can’t be persuaded that the public education as it’s currently constituted is less marketable than the exploitative "entertainment" of a scratch and lose (er, I mean scratch and win) ticket?
Vouchers and choice, he whispers.
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Imagine my sarcastic voice when I say...
I am shocked--SHOCKED!--to discover that funds raised by the government are poorly used. How could this have happened in a country known for strenuous fiscal responsibility?
Clearly, this would not have occurred with good old-fashioned "non-voluntary taxes." Were that the case, our politicians would scrupulously ensure that every red cent went to education.
It is indeed a scandal that such states fund their educational systems by exploiting the ignorance of the lottery customers. Such customers probably infected the political process with their ignorance in voting for a lottery. Far better to override their revealed, far-from-autonomous preferences by taking their earnings directly. Would that we could evade the need for democratic legitimation altogether; after all, if these people cannot even consistently pursue their own good, why should they be entrusted with the public good?
lotteries
The real issue for me is the logical inconsistency. Let's outlaw blackjack and poker (which has poor, but at least reasonable odds) and make legal the most retarded form of gambling ever invented. It is a message to the poor that we should never send: "You're probably never going to make anything of your life, but hey, you could always win the lottery." If anyone has ever heard Adam Carolla rant on this topic, it is a thing of beauty.
State Lotteries & Education
I have also for many years been very critical of how "lotteries or other types of gambling help pay for education". Indeed the NY Times article shows the lie to this. In most states the money contributed to education amounts to 1-2% at most. If a k-12 education cost is $7,000 per student per year then the lottery would pay $70 of that. The people who benefit from the lottery or gambling are those who run the lotteries and casinos NOT the citiaens of the state. I'll pay the extra %70 in taxes thank you.
I think that these are voted in because 90% of the people do not gamble significantly and they are ready to have the suckers(gamblers) pay the cost. The problem is that they actually are a net loss of money because of social problems, addiction, etc.
Also
I recently saw on a news program that states with lotteries for education tend to actually commit less money from the regular budget for education - so in the end, the schools and the kids aren't really getting anything more than what non-lottery states are doing.
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