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> payday loan fees ... playing the lottery ... poor financial decisions and money management ... predatory lending ... consumer spending

Those are all basically taxes on idiocy and innumeracy.

Idiocy and innumeracy are arguably vices whose prevalence in society should be counteracted.

In the absence of the abject and horrifying immorality/aggression/violence of state eugenics, isn't taxation the next most effective thing?

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Several states already ban payday loans and some don’t allow lotteries (let alone state sponsored lotteries that are used to fund things like education). Personally, I think setting an effective interest rate cap (including loan fees) at around 15-20% a year would be very effective at preventing the kind of lending that can lead someone to multiple years of high-interest debt repayment or eventual bankruptcy. More education in high school about how to manage your finances wisely could also prove beneficial.

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