[adios]

I'm fairly certain from an economic viewpoint the lottery e.g. Powerball is an economic drain on society. We had a discussion on the other topics forum some time ago about the utility functions for poor people in that there is some evidence that they have increasing marginal utility. Increasing marginal utility is a sad state of affairs which means to me that savings is useless and you're better off taking reckless gambles than saving money for instance. Yes the lottery does act as a regressive tax on the poor who do participate but it does get returned to them as you state. However, in my mind this way of collecting a regressive tax builds in more beauracracy into govt. which makes govt. less effecient and ultimately it takes money out of everyone's pocket including those in poverty. The other aspect relating to increasing marginal utility for those in poverty is that the lottery ultimately makes the burden on society for addressing the needs of it's poor much greater. IMO it tends to make those in poverty even more reliant on govt. programs that provide the 'safety net.'