Selling Hope State Lotteries In America [Paperback]

With its huge jackpots and heartwarming rags-to-riches stories, the lottery has become the hope and dream of millions of Americansand the fastest-growing source of state revenue. Despite its popularity, however, there remains much controversy over whether this is an appropriate business for state government and, if so, how this business should be conducted.AlthoughSelling Hopeis a serious work of economic research, the authors bring a lively curiosity and an engaging style of writing to their work&I foundSelling Hopeto be enlightening, even entertaining at times, and full of good reason for outrage over the lottery.This book had me grinding my teeth, muttering under my breath, underlining like crazy, and littering the margins with exclamation points&Lottery agencies are looking for ever more attractive forms of gamblinglike tapping into professional sports. Its not too late to head off such questionable activity&Selling Hopeshould be required reading for anybody in a position to decide such issues.Immensely valuable&Scholars and public policy officials and analysts should quickly obtain this book. Even religious leaders should read it. Undoubtedly this landmark work will define the debate in the 1990s over establishing and maintaining lotteries in the United States.Whatever the criteria, this is a superb book&it has earned the right to be the basis from which public policy debates on the controversial issues can and should take place.With huge jackpots and heartwarming rags-to-riches stories, the lottery has become the hope and dream of millions of Americansand the fastest-growing source of state revenue. Despite its popularity, there remains much controversy over whether this is an appropriate business for state government and, if so, how the business should be conducted.