Actually, I did not call it a "tax". I was just responding to your statement: "No government agency was involved in making you spend the money." and I was ca

Actually, I did not call it a "tax". I was just responding to your statement: "No government agency was involved in making you spend the money." and I was careful to make the distinction between "encouraging" and "forcing" people to spend. I would rather the government get out of the lottery business, because it seems like a basically useless activity. If we need money, let's ask for money. But it's not a high priority for me. Living in CA, there are plenty of other, much bigger problems than lotto.