Why doesn't Utah have a Lottery?
- Thread starter TroutBum
- Start date
I'm not sure either. The obvious con is that people spend money on it, especially the poor, so I'm sure there's some sort of humanitarian personal "we're saving them from themselves" reason (which tends to be why gambling, drugs, prostitution, and most actions/things that don't have a direct victim are criminalized) that they use. Most states tend to think the tax revenue is more important than someone blowing $5-10 a week on the lottery is worth it, but I'll give the LDS church this, they do stick to their principles and more importantly, are pretty consistent with them, which I find admirable, as much as I disagree with many of them.
fatchipper
Well-Known Member
All I know is that I breathe a sigh of relief when I cross the Idaho border and don't have to worry about potholes on the freeway.
I think it's great that the lottery says they donate millions a year to schools, but how come we never see the results?
I remember in Oklahoma last year, they were cutting lots of teachers due to lack of funds, and then reading another article telling
me the lottery donoted many millions of dollars to Oklahoma education.
I think either the millions given aren't used well, or the press people do a poor job of really telling us where the money goes.
I remember in Oklahoma last year, they were cutting lots of teachers due to lack of funds, and then reading another article telling
me the lottery donoted many millions of dollars to Oklahoma education.
I think either the millions given aren't used well, or the press people do a poor job of really telling us where the money goes.
The Black Swordsman
Well-Known Member
The lottery is exactly the opposite of spreading the wealth. Not being present in Utah is a good thing imeo.
The money doesn't just come from nowhere. It comes from people's pockets. If you want more money to help the school districts, why doesn't Utah just raise taxes by $37,000,000, with a fairly regressive tax distribution? It would accomplish the same thing with less overhead.
7StraightIsGreat
Well-Known Member
Nate505 Wrote:
Will I agree with this statement, the problem is that having/not having a lottery should be a state issue, not a religious one. The church's obvious influence on this topic once again shows the complete lack of speration of church and state in Utah. I see mostly pro's with a lottery and this is coming from somebody who would probably never buy a ticket. And as far as the state possibly not wanting it because they're worried about poor people spending too much money on lottery ticketes, is it our job to police what people are or aren't spending their money on? If we start thinking like that, where do we draw the line? Should we sell movie tickets to poor people when they should be putting that money towards something else?
Will I agree with this statement, the problem is that having/not having a lottery should be a state issue, not a religious one. The church's obvious influence on this topic once again shows the complete lack of speration of church and state in Utah. I see mostly pro's with a lottery and this is coming from somebody who would probably never buy a ticket. And as far as the state possibly not wanting it because they're worried about poor people spending too much money on lottery ticketes, is it our job to police what people are or aren't spending their money on? If we start thinking like that, where do we draw the line? Should we sell movie tickets to poor people when they should be putting that money towards something else?
So what if it comes from peoples' pockets? It's a voluntary tax. You don't have to buy a ticket, but those who do buy tickets contribute to the fund. Instead of raising everyone's taxes, why not allow this voluntary tax?
Every other state lottery is a redistribution of wealth from their state to Utah through federal income taxes. We're one of the few states smart enough to not take a huge chunk of our local economy and export it to the Treasury. It's much more beneficial to get the money through tax revenues than to lock up a couple hundred million inside one pocket while taking 35%+ of that money out of your economy.