My mother believes that lotteries are fixed. It's her conspiracy theory. Some people have the Freemasons, others have the Illuminati, her's is the lottery. Well, here's
something to depress everyone, and will have my mother cursing at her television...
WASHINGTON -- New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg won $853,492 in the Powerball lottery, the senator told FOX News on Thursday.
Gregg said he bought $20 worth of tickets at a Citgo gas station in Washington, D.C. He said he was driving by and decided to buy some gas, and he doesn't usually play the lottery...
What is your position on lotteries?
I know some people hate them because they believe it exploits poor people. Rich people don't need to buy lottery tickets. Someone poor should probably be depositing $20 in a savings, rather than putting it on a 147 million to 1 bet.
However, it is voluntary. No one is forcing people to buy lottery tickets. You could argue that it's better than a tax in that respect, since people can choose to participate or not. It is a revenue stream that can be used for some good programs. Georgia's Hope Scholarship (funded by the Georgia Lottery) allows any child with a B average in High School to go to a public college in Georgia. Whether this is good policy or sustainable after the novelty of a lottery wears off is open to debate though...