Smart bombs: A tax on stupidity

After Nat and Brandee Louik, of Spokane, won a Washington state Lotto drawing, Brandee’s brother went out and purchased his first-ever ticket. He won’t win. Neither will you. The odds were 1 in 6.9 million for the Louiks.

But somebody has to win, right? Sure, but it won’t be you. You have a far higher chance of dying in a car crash while driving to the market to purchase those tickets.

Washington would be doing people a big favor if it just told them that in big, bold letters. Instead, it gives away tickets in the hopes that people will get hooked. It also tabulates the most frequently drawn numbers for each game and publishes them on its lottery Web site. Will playing those numbers increase your chances of winning? No. For instance, the seven most frequently drawn numbers since September 1990 have been 28, 3, 47 and 49 (a tie), 38, 17 and 13. If you play six of those numbers and I play 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, we have the same chance of winning. So is there any value in publishing these numbers? No. Does the state know this? Yes.

Proceeds from the lottery benefit school construction projects. It would be fitting if all the money went toward educating the public on probabilities. Then the state would be forced to raise money honestly.

Don’t play ball. Washington lags behind most states when it comes to public health and education spending. It struggles to cover health care for children in low-income households. It hasn’t been able to come up with money to finance voter-approved initiatives for higher teacher pay and smaller class sizes. So, why would it consider shelling out hundreds of millions for basketball arenas, baseball stadiums and racetracks?

The Seattle Times reports that a Florida racetrack developer will ask the Legislature for $165 million in sales tax money for a NASCAR track in Kitsap County. The owner of the Sonics will ask for an undisclosed sum for a new basketball palace because Key Arena, renovated a mere 10 years ago, is deemed outdated.

The city of Kent wants $50 million to build a hockey arena in the hopes that it can lure the Seattle Thunderbirds. Centralia wants the state to pick up two-thirds of the tab for an $80 million rodeo venue. Minor-league baseball owners want state money to upgrade their facilities.

Meanwhile, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels says if those other arenas are built, he’s going to demand state compensation for any business that’s lured away from Key Arena.

Hey, I like sports as much as the next guy, but I just don’t see this as a function of government. It’s gotten to the point that most taxpayers can’t afford to visit the venues they’ve built. If owners take their ball and go home, so be it.