Stop targeting poor with lottery ads

I live near the railroad tracks in Palmetto. On our daily walk, my dog and I find the remnants of broken dreams: torn and crumpled Florida Lottery tickets.

The Herald’s excellent Aug. 8 article certainly makes the case for why. The Florida Lottery, an arm of the State of Florida, is targeting advertising to people in impoverished areas in order to sell more tickets. In addition, two new low-cost daily games are being introduced.

When Florida started the lottery, part of the reason was to get organized crime out of the racket. Little did we know that the state would become as bad as that which it replaced.

Comedian Steven Wright once joked: “I put a humidifier and a dehumidifier in the same room and let them fight it out.”

The State of Florida is doing the same thing. It has a responsibility, using our tax dollars, to support the poorest of our fellow citizens. But now it is giving with one hand and taking away with the other.

I call on Gov. Scott, the Legislature, and the Florida Lottery Commission to review this cynical profiting at the expense of people policy. If the State of Florida has no more conscience than organized crime, perhaps the good citizens of Florida should fight to abolish the lottery all together.

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 11:06 AM with the headline "Stop targeting poor with lottery ads."