Welfare Lottery Ban

[not_nadine]

Proposed law that bans people who are on welfare or in bankrupcy from playing.

http://www.inquisitr.com/495177/welfare-lottery-ban/

[PatInTheHat]

Now why in the world would anyone want to get rid of the poverty tax?

[Sepia and Dust]

Now why in the world would anyone want to get rid of the poverty tax?

It's not a poverty tax--the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

[PatInTheHat]

It's not a poverty tax--the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

It's a poverty tax plain & simple...heyyyy now ..wait just one little minute, are you perchance accusing me of being a tax evader???..oh it's tokey smokey with me if'n ya are, I was just curious is all.

[Patricia A]

It's not a poverty tax--the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.

On one hand high on hope, and on the other, low statistical fortitude.

Let them both fill up as we observe their progress.

[JordyVerrill]

Banning welfare recipients from playing the lotto would probably cut lotto sales in half.

[Moderator]

As the article says, it would be really hard to enforce this. Who's to say the money the person used to buy the ticket wasn't received as a gift, e.g. birthday, holiday, etc.? Yes, it probably isn't but to try to prove that with a cash purchase business would be difficult.

It may also be short-sighted on the part of the legislator who's advocating for this as they could be drying up the state's coffers from lottery ticket sales proceeds. I don't know how it works there but a lot of money from lottery sales goes right back into the state's coffers here. I pulled this from the web site for the Maine State Lottery:

Since 1974, the Maine State Lottery has transferred over $1 billion to Maine State Government’s General Fund. This milestone occurred during the 2nd quarter of fiscal year 2011.

The average annual transfer to the General Fund since 2005 has been $50 million. In fiscal year 2010, the Maine State Lottery transferred a record $52.2 million to the General Fund.
General Fund contributions from the Maine State Lottery are redistributed by the Maine State Legislature and the Governor of Maine to over 250 various state programs and services that have a direct impact on the citizens of Maine.
Finally, since 1996, the Maine State Lottery has transferred $15.8 million to the Outdoor Heritage Fund. This money, generated from the proceeds of certain $1 instant ticket games, has been helping to fund
critical conservation and wildlife projects throughout Maine.

Not to mention that if by some far out chance, the person actually won they'd then be off the welfare program.

[exzel]

And since it was my money (generally speaking) that was used to purchase a lottery ticket when it was given to the needy to purchase basic necessities like food... perhaps any lottery winnings should go back to the people who actually paid for it, or to senior citizens as is the case in my state where lottery proceeds go.

[Todash]

Oh for the love of--GAH. This is about as sensible as drug testing welfare recipients. Expensive, painful to enforce, and very little if any return.

If a state thinks that the lottery is not a good idea, then ban the lottery. I get so very tired of these proposed showboat morality laws that penalize people who are already in a bad way. Is there really that big a problem with people on welfare pissing away their rent money on lottery tickets? Really? Or is this just about moral outrage? Because if it is, as a fellow taxpayer I would prefer to pay for better roads and more teachers before satisfying the moral outrage of some random person who really has no freaking clue HOW their tax dollars are divided.

[Sepia and Dust]

And since it was my money (generally speaking) that was used to purchase a lottery ticket when it was given to the needy to purchase basic necessities like food... perhaps any lottery winnings should go back to the people who actually paid for it, or to senior citizens as is the case in my state where lottery proceeds go.

It's not your money, it's the government's money. The only decision you get to make about how it's used is when you cast your ballot.

It's a poverty tax plain & simple...heyyyy now ..wait just one little minute, are you perchance accusing me of being a tax evader???..oh it's tokey smokey with me if'n ya are, I was just curious is all.

Think I need a hit of that tokey smokey... been a rough day.

I get so very tired of these proposed showboat morality laws that penalize people who are already in a bad way. Is there really that big a problem with people on welfare pissing away their rent money on lottery tickets? Really? Or is this just about moral outrage? Because if it is, as a fellow taxpayer I would prefer to pay for better roads and more teachers before satisfying the moral outrage of some random person who really has no freaking clue HOW their tax dollars are divided.

Preach it, Sistah! These sorts of laws stem directly from a point-of-view that says I'm better than you, so you need to start doing what I want you to do.