By the quoted numbers the lottery is literally 45% tax. You seem to be arguing that it's a fun fantasy, so what's the harm in playing? That misses the point co

By the quoted numbers the lottery is literally 45% tax. You seem to be arguing that it's a fun fantasy, so what's the harm in playing? That misses the point completely. My comment is not that the lottery is bad or should not be played but that it is a regressive tax. We could eliminate or greatly reduce the tax and double the number of winners. I don't think the government should be funded by taking money from the poor. What's the tax on golf resorts or yacht rentals or things that rich people do for fun? Is it 45% of revenue? Maybe it's a very HN/reddit take to be suspicious of regressive taxes, but I think it's basically status quo bias to reason that the 45% revenue tax on poor people's recreation is fine because that's the way it is - or whatever reason you think this is fine.