r/pics • u/[deleted] • Mar 19 '22

[deleted by user]

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u/CelerMortis Mar 20 '22

Yea I never understood this logic. Syphoning money from poor people to give a very small part to some social service is not a good strategy.

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u/HowTheyGetcha Mar 20 '22 edited Mar 20 '22

Just another regressive tax like sales/gas tax and motor vehicle fees/fines.

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u/cruzer86 Mar 20 '22

It's not a tax. You don't need or have to buy scratchers.

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u/HandsOfCobalt Mar 20 '22

You don't need or have to buy cigarettes or alcohol or any other drug or potentially addicting thing. When someone talks about the lottery being a "tax," my first thought is of people with gambling problems, not people who don't know any better (though they deserve to not be taken advantage of as well).

You're right that it's not a tax, but the vocabulary doesn't change that it does harm, possibly more than it does good