--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Public lotteries are essentially…" description: "\"“Public lotteries are essentially regressive taxes imposed on the poor.”\" — Eric Schlosser" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/eric-schlosser-3894_lottery_public-lotteries-are-essentially-regress_2381094.png" --- # Public lotteries are essentially regressive taxes imposed… ![“Public lotteries are essentially regressive taxes imposed on the poor.” quote by Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/eric-schlosser-3894_lottery_public-lotteries-are-essentially-regress_2381094.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/eric-schlosser-3894_lottery_public-lotteries-are-essentially-regress_2381094.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/eric-schlosser-3894_lottery_public-lotteries-are-essentially-regress_2381094.png) > ““Public lotteries are essentially regressive taxes imposed on the poor.”” [Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Public lotteries act like taxes that disproportionately affect low‑income people. **In simple terms:** Lotteries are a hidden tax on the poor. Key Takeaway Recognize and address regressive impacts. Themes economics social justice policy Mood critical analytical Type sociopolitical economic When to use this quote - government budgeting - social welfare programs - tax reform discussions Key Concepts Regressive taxation public finance Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives could fund public services more equitably? - How do cultural attitudes toward gambling affect policy? A Different Perspective Lotteries also generate revenue for public services, complicating the critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lottery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lottery/) ## Related quotes > [Lotteries boost state revenues in the short run but don't feed the economy in the long run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/lotteries-boost-state-revenues-in-the-short-run-but-don-t-feed-the/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [I have never played the lottery in my life and never will. Voltaire described lotteries as a tax on stupidity. More specifically, I think,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/i-have-never-played-the-lottery-in-my-life-and-never-will-voltaire/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [“The system was elementary, as you can see. Naturally these "lotteries" failed. Their moral virtue was nil. They were not directed at all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-system-was-elementary-as-you-can-see-naturally-these-lotteries/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [There is no moral difference between gambling at cards or in lotteries or on the race track and gambling in the stock market. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-is-no-moral-difference-between-gambling-at-cards-or-in/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [There are no races. 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Their power comes from the fact that the chance of winning the prize is overvalued.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-thaler/lotteries-are-just-one-way-to-provide-positive-reinforcement-their/) [Richard Thaler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-thaler/) > [“There are many stories and accounts about the winners of lotteries who are jubilant when they win, but whose lives descend into a nightmare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-many-stories-and-accounts-about-the-winners-of-lotteries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Lotteries are how the rich steal from the poor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/lotteries-are-how-the-rich-steal-from-the-poor/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [All too often, lotteries only add to the problem of the financially disadvantaged by taking money from them and giving nothing of value in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/all-too-often-lotteries-only-add-to-the-problem-of-the-financially/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) ## More by Eric Schlosser > [Twenty years ago, teenage boys in the United States drank twice as much milk as soda; now they drink twice as much soda as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/twenty-years-ago-teenage-boys-in-the-united-states-drank-twice-as/) [Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/) > [So for everything I do, I'm very clear about what I'm doing, and I tell people what it's about. 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I come from the best family in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-epstein/i-won-the-family-lottery-i-come-from-the-best-family-in-the-world/) [Jake Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-epstein/) > [If you don't like the idea that most of the money spent on lottery tickets supports government programs, you should know that most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/if-you-don-t-like-the-idea-that-most-of-the-money-spent-on-lottery/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [A lottery is a salutary instrument and a tax... laid on the willing only, that is to say, on those who can risk the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-lottery-is-a-salutary-instrument-and-a-tax-laid-on-the-willing-only/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We have won the time lottery of the last 4 billion years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/we-have-won-the-time-lottery-of-the-last-4-billion-years/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [The legend that matrimony is a lottery has almost ruined the lottery business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-lyall-whitehorn/the-legend-that-matrimony-is-a-lottery-has-almost-ruined-the-lottery/) Katharine Lyall Whitehorn > [Ninety percent of what's wrong with you could be cured with a hot bath, says God from the bowels of the subway. but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/ninety-percent-of-what-s-wrong-with-you-could-be-cured-with-a-hot/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) [Browse all 421 Lottery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lottery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Public lotteries are essentially regressive taxes imposed on the poor.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Schlosser" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/public-lotteries-are-essentially-regressive-taxes-imposed-on-the-poor/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lottery" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/public-lotteries-are-essentially-regressive-taxes-imposed-on-the-poor/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/eric-schlosser-3894_lottery_public-lotteries-are-essentially-regress_2381094.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/eric-schlosser-3894_lottery_public-lotteries-are-essentially-regress_2381094.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/eric-schlosser-3894_lottery_public-lotteries-are-essentially-regress_2381094.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Public lotteries are essentially regressive taxes imposed on the poor.” — Eric Schlosser", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Eric Schlosser", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Public lotteries are essentially regressive taxes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/public-lotteries-are-essentially-regressive-taxes-imposed-on-the-poor/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/public-lotteries-are-essentially-regressive-taxes-imposed-on-the-poor/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```