WSJ reported earlier this week that with more places banning smoking in prisons, it’s putting something of a crimp in the budget. Apparently commisaries put a 30-60% markup on smokes in prison, and that money pays for things like books, exercise equipment, and holiday parties. Like the lottery, tobacco is a vice that the state often depends upon.
I thought recently of a good argument for having a state lotto: a state-sponsored lottery tends to drive illegal gambling out of business, or at least make it much less profitable, because your average punter will go for that instead of a bookie. It may be just as bad for people, but at least it’s nonviolent and regulated and the money goes into the state budget instead of into gun-running operations.
Secretly Ironic 