> 8. Sales of lottery tickets divert sales from real goods and services.
> Convenience stores selling lottery tickets have seen sales of food decline
> in their stores as people spend food money on the lottery.
>

A tongue-in-cheek reply:

In the long run a lottery is a tax on the "math impaired", a group highly
represented in our state if our placement scores are any indication. Perhaps
this is only evidence that non "math impaired" Georgians have come to
realize the financial inadvisability of buying one's "food" at the
convenience store.

Or perhaps as they have gained knowledge in science classes about nutrition,
the demands for Slim Jims, pork rinds, and soft drinks have dropped.
Instead, they just go get their less expensive gas, and then contribute a
small portion of their higher salary to the state by purchasing a lottery
ticket.

Anyway, in the long run, if a successful lottery will result in less "math
impaired" citizens, it is self-limiting, so why the big fuss?

Ed Smith