You make a good point Stuart, but you miss the lottery rationale. Government policies may promote productivity and therefore more tax revenue, as would a lutenist tax that was dedicated and graduated to advantage the more proficient. This would promote practice in order to gain the tax advantage, as we all know that lutenists are in it only for the money, so the better they are the less percentage of gross they pay.
But then there is the other form of taxation, the tax that is voluntarily paid in order to play. The lottery is a voluntary tax payment - the higher the prize the less the expected value (as the government "skim" is more than 50% in most states). Give government certificates of compentence at fingering and tax the best at a higher rate. Now you don't actually have to play, just show the certificate that says you are good and let the audience applaud that. Saves a lot of time and effort (for both lutenist and audience). Fun and games with the tax man. Best, Jon To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
