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The Poor People Tax Act: Lottery

#1

"They can't get rid of us. Because we're the people"
MA JOAD, The last line in the movie "The Grapes of Wrath."

The one thing that the poor/working class have is hope. Hope springs
eternal. How can that hope be exploited?

I watched a documentary some time ago about a numbers racket many
decades ago in New York City called "Policy." You picked a three digit
number and if your numbers came in you got paid 500 for 1. The math is
pretty easy here: 10 x 10 x 10=1000. Your chances were 1 in 1000 and
your payoff was 500 for 1.

The hustlers who ran this scam had to have a way of generating a random
number. It had to be a way the people would trust. They used the last
three digits of the daily closing number of the New York Stock
Exchange, a number that was random. The number was published in the
papers everyday so the people could easily check to see if their
numbers came in. Corner convenience stores and the like were the
places the people made their bets.

Who played the game? There weren't a lot of rich people back then. It
was mainly the porr working class. They clamored to play the game
Even kids blew their lunch money on the game. Why? Hope springs
eternal.

The hustlers running the racket grew filthy rich. Eventually, state
sanctioned lotteries were enacted to steal the thunder from the
hustlers. As Pat Laughlin, Manager of Don Laughlin's Riverside Casino,
once told a casino hustler "You are not the hustler! I'm the hustler!"

So now the politicians are the hustlers of the game. It's not called
Policy anymore. It's called Lottery. But the return is about the
same. No more than 50% of the money is returned to the public. And
the public clamors to play the game. Why? Hope springs eternal.

At least the money is used for a good purpose today. But the game is
no more than a defacto tax on the poor.

#2

Excellent points!
   
  JW

···

mickeycrimm <mickeycrimm@yahoo.com> wrote:
  "They can't get rid of us. Because we're the people"
MA JOAD, The last line in the movie "The Grapes of Wrath."

The one thing that the poor/working class have is hope. Hope springs
eternal. How can that hope be exploited?

I watched a documentary some time ago about a numbers racket many
decades ago in New York City called "Policy." You picked a three digit
number and if your numbers came in you got paid 500 for 1. The math is
pretty easy here: 10 x 10 x 10=1000. Your chances were 1 in 1000 and
your payoff was 500 for 1.

The hustlers who ran this scam had to have a way of generating a random
number. It had to be a way the people would trust. They used the last
three digits of the daily closing number of the New York Stock
Exchange, a number that was random. The number was published in the
papers everyday so the people could easily check to see if their
numbers came in. Corner convenience stores and the like were the
places the people made their bets.

Who played the game? There weren't a lot of rich people back then. It
was mainly the porr working class. They clamored to play the game
Even kids blew their lunch money on the game. Why? Hope springs
eternal.

The hustlers running the racket grew filthy rich. Eventually, state
sanctioned lotteries were enacted to steal the thunder from the
hustlers. As Pat Laughlin, Manager of Don Laughlin's Riverside Casino,
once told a casino hustler "You are not the hustler! I'm the hustler!"

So now the politicians are the hustlers of the game. It's not called
Policy anymore. It's called Lottery. But the return is about the
same. No more than 50% of the money is returned to the public. And
the public clamors to play the game. Why? Hope springs eternal.

At least the money is used for a good purpose today. But the game is
no more than a defacto tax on the poor.

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#3

First of all, getting 500 for 1 rather than 1000 for 1 in a lottery
situation isn't so bad after all. Just look at what any state lottery
pays, and what it should pay.

As far as what numbers they used to deternine the winning numbers were
more like the handle of a certain racetrack rather than the closing
wall Street volume. Wall Street volume always ends in 00 since odd lots
are shown elsewhere.

#4

First of all, getting 500 for 1 rather than 1000 for 1 in a lottery
situation isn't so bad after all. Just look at what any state lottery
pays, and what it should pay.

I don't put my money on a 5 for 1 payoff on a 1 in 10 shot. I don't
even put my money on an 9 for 1 payoff on a 1 in 10 shot. And....I
don't even put my money on a 9.9 for 1 payoff on a 1 in 10 shot. What
other people do is their business. However they justify it, it's still
their business.

As far as what numbers they used to deternine the winning numbers

were

more like the handle of a certain racetrack rather than the closing
wall Street volume. Wall Street volume always ends in 00 since odd

lots

are shown elsewhere.

The racetrack was mentioned in the documentary. But, according to the
documentary, they switched to the NYSE.

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Levine" <stuckinvegas@...> wrote:

#5

>
The racetrack was mentioned in the documentary. But, according to

the

documentary, they switched to the NYSE.

My mind could be playing tricks on me here. Maybe it was the other way
around. But whichever way it was I still see "Policy" and "Lottery" as
exploitative of the lower class.

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "mickeycrimm" <mickeycrimm@...> wrote:

#6

It's really a tax on the ignorant.

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "mickeycrimm" <mickeycrimm@...> wrote:

At least the money is used for a good purpose today.
But the game is no more than a defacto tax on the
poor.

#7

..... and it is completely voluntary. As you say, people actually have been seen standing in
line to pay this "tax". Compare that to the way that the IRS does it. <smile>

..... bl

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "worldbefree22001" <krajewski.sa@...> wrote:

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "mickeycrimm" <mickeycrimm@> wrote:
>
> At least the money is used for a good purpose today.
> But the game is no more than a defacto tax on the
> poor.
>

It's really a tax on the ignorant.

#8

"mickeycrimm" <mickeycrimm@...> wrote:

the game is no more than a defacto tax on the poor.

A tax is something we *forced* to pay. If I don't pay my taxes,
ultimately men with guns will knock down my door and put me in a
cage. That's why taxes are such a serious matter.

No one is forced to play a lottery. In my life, there's a huge huge
difference between whether I'm being forced to do something (through
violence or the threat of violence) or not. Using force on people
should only be used when absolutely necessary. On the other hand,
when someone isn't forcing anything on me, I don't mind anything, I
have a totally live and let live attitude.

So I don't think this distinction should be blurred by comparing a
lottery to a tax. I want others to respect my freedom, so in turn I
feel I should respect their freedom. That means I leave them alone to
read whatever books they want, or to follow whatever religion they
want. No matter how crazy it seems to me, I respect their right to
decide for themselves. And this logically extends to the risks they
take, including gambling risks, including playing a lottery.

Stuart
http://stuart-randomthoughts.blogspot.com/

#9

There's a bumper sticker that call's the lottery "a tax on people who are bad at math."
     The daily number was fixed in Pennsylvania's lottery about 20 years ago. I dont remember, but I think they caught the scam when the illegal bookies, who paid 600 to 1 instead of 500 to 1 that the state pays saw too many claim's and reported it to the cops.
   
  Ned C.
  The Wild Joker

          "mickeycrimm" <mickeycrimm@...> wrote:

the game is no more than a defacto tax on the poor.

A tax is something we *forced* to pay. If I don't pay my taxes,
ultimately men with guns will knock down my door and put me in a
cage. That's why taxes are such a serious matter.

No one is forced to play a lottery. In my life, there's a huge huge
difference between whether I'm being forced to do something (through
violence or the threat of violence) or not. Using force on people
should only be used when absolutely necessary. On the other hand,
when someone isn't forcing anything on me, I don't mind anything, I
have a totally live and let live attitude.

So I don't think this distinction should be blurred by comparing a
lottery to a tax. I want others to respect my freedom, so in turn I
feel I should respect their freedom. That means I leave them alone to
read whatever books they want, or to follow whatever religion they
want. No matter how crazy it seems to me, I respect their right to
decide for themselves. And this logically extends to the risks they
take, including gambling risks, including playing a lottery.

Stuart
http://stuart-randomthoughts.blogspot.com/

···

Stuart <sresnick2@comcast.net> wrote:

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