Joe Steel
Class Warrior
Republicans have shown a great deal of concern in recent years about the government debt. That concern has been manifested in various proposals to cut spending but none to raise revenue. Democrats generally are opposed to any proposal which will not include at least some revenue. Bringing the two sides together has been difficult, if not impossible. An idea which could work, however, would be voluntary revenue increases. Here's one example.
Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) was created in the late '90s as a replacement for traditional welfare. It's funded by federal grants to the States. Benefits are low and of limited in duration and beneficiaries often have to perform some sort of service in exchange for the benefits. That can be used to generate new revenue.
What if the States included in their state lotteries a scratcher game which would allow the winner to have the services of a poor person? The poor person would sign-up for the game in exchange for an increase in his TANF benefit. The player would buy a scratcher for, say, $20.00, $50.00 or more. The prizes could be a day, a week or month of a poor person's time. If the player won, he'd choose a poor person from among a catalog according to the skills he needed. The State would contact the poor person and tell him to report for work at the player's home or place of business for the required time. He'd clean the pool, cut grass or maybe watch the kids. Whatever the player wanted.
Economically, the game could be a big winner. Rich players could get a poor person for a week for only $20.00. That's a good deal better than paying minimum wage and FICA. The State would have to pay increased TANF benefits but might be able to generate millions of dollars in lottery revenue.
Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) was created in the late '90s as a replacement for traditional welfare. It's funded by federal grants to the States. Benefits are low and of limited in duration and beneficiaries often have to perform some sort of service in exchange for the benefits. That can be used to generate new revenue.
What if the States included in their state lotteries a scratcher game which would allow the winner to have the services of a poor person? The poor person would sign-up for the game in exchange for an increase in his TANF benefit. The player would buy a scratcher for, say, $20.00, $50.00 or more. The prizes could be a day, a week or month of a poor person's time. If the player won, he'd choose a poor person from among a catalog according to the skills he needed. The State would contact the poor person and tell him to report for work at the player's home or place of business for the required time. He'd clean the pool, cut grass or maybe watch the kids. Whatever the player wanted.
Economically, the game could be a big winner. Rich players could get a poor person for a week for only $20.00. That's a good deal better than paying minimum wage and FICA. The State would have to pay increased TANF benefits but might be able to generate millions of dollars in lottery revenue.
