--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can applaud the state lottery as a…" description: "\"We can applaud the state lottery as a public subsidy of intelligence, for it yields public income that is calculated to lighten the tax burden of us pr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/willard-van-orman-quine-10137_burden_we-can-applaud-the-state-lottery-as-a-pu_2085156.jpg" --- # We can applaud the state lottery as a public subsidy of… ![“We can applaud the state lottery as a public subsidy of intelligence, for it yields public income that is calculated to lighten the tax burden of us prudent abstainers at the expense of the benighted masses of wishful thinkers.” quote by Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/willard-van-orman-quine-10137_burden_we-can-applaud-the-state-lottery-as-a-pu_2085156.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/willard-van-orman-quine-10137_burden_we-can-applaud-the-state-lottery-as-a-pu_2085156.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cb/willard-van-orman-quine-10137_burden_we-can-applaud-the-state-lottery-as-a-pu_2085156.jpg) > “We can applaud the state lottery as a public subsidy of intelligence, for it yields public income that is calculated to lighten the tax burden of us prudent abstainers at the expense of the benighted masses of wishful thinkers.” [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The lottery is framed as a clever way for the intelligent to fund themselves while the less informed bear the cost. **In simple terms:** Lottery benefits the savvy, costs the naive. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden subsidies. Themes economics justice public policy intelligence gambling Mood critical skeptical Type analytical political When to use this quote - government budgeting - social welfare programs - lottery participation - public opinion - policy debate Key Concepts public finance taxation behavioral economics Questions to Reflect On - How do we evaluate fairness of state-run lotteries? - What alternatives could fund public services without regressive impacts? A Different Perspective Assumes a clear divide between "prudent abstainers" and "benighted masses," which may oversimplify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) [Expenses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expenses/) [Income](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income/) [Lighten Tax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lighten-tax-4093728/) [Lottery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lottery/) [Lottery Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lottery-public-4093727/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Prudent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prudent/) [Public Income](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-income-4093729/) [Public Subsidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-subsidy-1853064/) [State Lottery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-lottery-3318216/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Subsidies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subsidies/) [Tax burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tax-burden/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) [Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinker/) [Yield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yield/) ## Related quotes > [“On Wednesday, September 11, 2002 (9-11-02), the New York State Lottery winning number was 911.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-fowler/on-wednesday-september-11-2002-9-11-02-the-new-york-state-lottery/) [Raymond Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-fowler/) > [“Christian, you are the state lottery, the cure for cancer, and the three wishes from Aladdin's lamp all rolled into one”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-james/christian-you-are-the-state-lottery-the-cure-for-cancer-and-the-three/) [E.L. 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Bill will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/5-social-security-will-break-small-business-become-a-huge-tax-burden/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [No nation in history has ever survived a tax burden that reached a third of its national income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/no-nation-in-history-has-ever-survived-a-tax-burden-that-reached-a/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [In the U.S. Senate, in the short term we need to reduce the tax burden on hard working individuals, families, and small businesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-ernst/in-the-u-s-senate-in-the-short-term-we-need-to-reduce-the-tax-burden/) [Joni Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-ernst/) ## More by Willard Van Orman Quine > [It is one of the consolations of philosophy that the benefit of showing how to dispense with a concept does not hinge on dispensing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/it-is-one-of-the-consolations-of-philosophy-that-the-benefit-of/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [Theory may be deliberate, as in a chapter on chemistry, or it may be second nature, as in the immemorial doctrine of ordinary enduring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/theory-may-be-deliberate-as-in-a-chapter-on-chemistry-or-it-may-be/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [The line that I am urging as today's conventional wisdom is not a denial of consciousness. 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We could tire ourselves out thinking, if we put our minds to it, but believing takes no toll.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/believing-is-a-disposition-we-could-tire-ourselves-out-thinking-if-we/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [The strategy of semantic ascent is that it carries the discussion into a domain where both parties are better agreed on the objects (viz.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/the-strategy-of-semantic-ascent-is-that-it-carries-the-discussion/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [Scientific method is the way to truth, but it affords, even in principle, no unique definition of truth. Any so-called pragmatic definition of truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/scientific-method-is-the-way-to-truth-but-it-affords-even-in/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [ Some have said that the thesis \[of indeterminacy\] is a consequence of my behaviorism. Some have said that it is a reductio ad absurdum… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/some-have-said-that-the-thesis-of-indeterminacy-is-a-consequence-of/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [Some may find comfort in reflecting that the distinction between an eliminative and an explicative physicalism is unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/some-may-find-comfort-in-reflecting-that-the-distinction-between-an/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [We must not leap to the fatalistic conclusion that we are stuck with the conceptual scheme that we grew up in. 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