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Path: utzoo!utcsri!utcsstat!anthony
From: anthony@utcsstat.UUCP
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: lotteries
Message-ID: <2225@utcsstat.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 12-Jul-85 00:03:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: utcsstat.2225
Posted: Fri Jul 12 00:03:59 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 12-Jul-85 02:26:49 EDT
Organization: U. of Toronto, Canada
Lines: 26

In article <1243@utcsri.UUCP> clarke@utcsri.UUCP (Jim Clarke) writes:

>the stupid".  A rational person who knows something about probability and has
>alternative ways to improve his or her situation does not buy lottery tickets.
>Therefore to buy lottery tickets you must be either (1) stupid or (2) hope-
>lessly poor.  I consider it immoral for politicians who are neither stupid
>(in spite of our common prejudices) nor poor to offer this kind of temptation
>to people whose money would be better spent buying milk.

	Applying basic probability theory, it can be shown that for every
dollar invested in Wintario, the expected return is 47 cents. Conversely,
the expected return on the same dollar at the race track is 87 cents and
93 to 95 cents at Las Vegas!
	On the average, lotteries in this country provide a return of 42
to 49 cents on the dollar.

>lessly poor.  I consider it immoral for politicians who are neither stupid
>(in spite of our common prejudices) nor poor to offer this kind of temptation
>to people whose money would be better spent buying milk.

	Definitely!!  Taxing the poor by exploiting their circumstances with
false hopes leaves something to be desired of.
-- 

       	{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!utcsstat!anthony
        {ihnp4|decvax|utzoo|utcsrgv}!utcs!utzoo!utcsstat!anthony