Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Gambling and Neoliberal Rot - How Our Most Regressive Tax Flies Under the Radar: Citations Needed Episode 63
Adam Johnson, Nima Shirazi
06 Mar 2019
🖨️ Print Article

Local and state governments spend $1 billion annually to market the lottery, and in return Americans spend $70 billion each year on lottery tickets alone, 6 times what they spend going to movies. Almost all of it comes from people with low incomes, and the lower their incomes are, the more people play the lottery. When unemployment goes up, so do lottery sales. Lotteries marketed to the poor have taken the place of tax revenue extracted in more egalitarian ways.

Hosts Nina Shirazi and Adam Johnson talk to John Balzarini, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Delaware State University and Les Bernal National Director of Stop Predatory Gambling.

gambling
tax policy

More Stories


  • Ruben Bauer Naveira
    The Global Food Crisis
    22 Jul 2026
    Faced with the blockade of vital oil routes, the extreme dependence of modern agriculture on fossil fuels foreshadows not only high prices but also a food shortage capable of generating global social…
  • Carlos Aznárez
    Zionist Expansionism in Latin America
    22 Jul 2026
    Free trade deals, water contracts, and military training programs are quietly binding one Latin American government after another to Tel Aviv.
  • Devin B. Martinez
    ICE Killings Fuel Nationwide Protests
    22 Jul 2026
    Recent killings at the hands of federal agents have fueled protests across the US, including a nationwide day of action on July 18.
  • Noah Hurowitz
    Trump’s Sanctions Against the ICC Are Unconstitutional, Rights Groups Say
    22 Jul 2026
    The human rights groups’ suit came as the Trump administration vowed to destroy the International Criminal Court entirely.
  • John Parker
    Supreme Court targets Voting Rights Act of 1965 – denying justice and peace
    22 Jul 2026
    The fight for the ballot has always been tied to a wider war against Black political power, against workers, against the people paying for empire abroad and austerity at home.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us