Solve the Deficit with a Lottery

No one likes to pay taxes. Everyone enjoys games of chance like horse racing, card playing and the stock market. Recognizing this Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick wants to legalize casinos and allow race tracks to install slot machines since voters and legislators both balk at tax increases.

Like most Democratic proposals, it contains a kernel of sense but is far too timid. (C,f, the current milk toast health care reform currently before Congress.)

Suppose President Obama were to adopt gambling as means to increase revenues and that he decided to do it right.

Why not make the income tax a lottery. Suppose every dollar you pay in tax buys you a virtual lottery ticket? Wouldn’t that make paying taxes more enjoyable? And suppose every dollar you pay over and above the taxes you owe bought you two virtual lottery tickets. Wouldn’t you be tempted to pay a few hundred dollars a month more than you owe?

According to Wikipedia, 38,893,908 income tax returns raised $1,366,241,000,000 in fiscal year 2007. Say you set aside 1% for lottery prizes. That translates into more than 1.3 billion dollars a month or around $250,000,000 in weekly prize money.

With visions of obscene wealth dancing in their gullible little heads, the average American taxpayer would be salivating to pay his or her taxes, and to pony up extra money to improve the odds. Tax delinquency would virtually disappear, tax shelters would go out of fashion and the government could fleece the sheep enhance revenue by far more than the $13,662,410,000 annual cost of lottery prizes.

Of course, some wise guy would eventually figure out that it’s a sucker bet for the average taxpayer and that a disproportionate proportion of the prizes would go to those who have the highest taxable income. But that, of course, is why Republicans would be in a frenzy to support it and insure its passage.