Credit Unions Act Like Lottery to Drive Savings
A friend sent this article to me about some Michigan credit unions which have begun a creative savings program. The article also contains some startling statistics about saving practices among low-income individuals. Many of them believe that playing the lottery “is the most practical way” to save. As another way to look at it, many of these low-income people do not pay income tax (on a net basis), but they contribute to state finances through the lottery. This cancels out the tax benefit they receive; they de facto pay taxes. If they simply paid taxes, and the states did not run a lottery, I wonder, would state tax receipts decline?
