tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post114964149399077472..comments2023-12-17T19:35:07.459-08:00Comments on Bouphonia: A Dollar and a DreamPhilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849261651028725772noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-1150346454292650142006-06-14T21:40:00.000-07:002006-06-14T21:40:00.000-07:00Funny how the lottery was supposed to solve all ou...Funny how the lottery was supposed to solve all our education funding woes here in Tex-ass, but we've had two straight years of one "special session" after another to fund the damned schools. The situation was so dire that there was talk that many schools here might not open in this fall if something didn't get done.<BR/><BR/>And still, it's "Next time, it could be you!" playing on the radio all day long, with stories from "winners."<BR/><BR/>I rarely buy lottery tickets, but I'm like Theri in buying them then forgetting to see if I've won! I call it LADD--Lottery Attention Deficit Disorder. I believe it's related to my TV-ADD.Aquariahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07578444793424041263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-1149872957325094162006-06-09T10:09:00.000-07:002006-06-09T10:09:00.000-07:00As I see it, lotteries cost the schools money. Co...As I see it, lotteries <I>cost</I> the schools money. Consider my state: annually our citizens spend about $1.2 billion on lottery tickets. The state gives $400 million back as prizes, and pays $200 million for advertising and administration, leaving $600 million for the schools budget.<BR/><BR/>That means the citizens are paying out $800 million from their collective pockets. (The prizes are of course not returned <I>evenly</I> across the population, but never mind that.)<BR/><BR/>For that out-of-pocket expense, we end up with only 75% of it ($600 million) in school benefits. If there had simply been a straightforward TAX of $800 million, all of it would be going to the schools, and the population as a whole would be as rich or poor as it is with the lottery.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8695598.post-1149657009799473932006-06-06T22:10:00.000-07:002006-06-06T22:10:00.000-07:00I buy lottery tickets but never, ever check them t...I buy lottery tickets but never, ever check them to see if I won.<BR/><BR/>This is probably the most eccentric thing I do. You can win bar bets in trivia contests with this information.Thershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14072224569922847217noreply@blogger.com