nc lottery

One of my favorite topics is back in the news, this time because of the good judgment of Erskine Bowles, president of the UNC system. Bowles has personally decreed that advertisements for the lottery have no place in sports events held by public universities. The N&O editorializes today on the subject.

Erskine Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina system, has done well to say so. He's also taken a position unlikely to win him friends in the Governor's Office, where the lottery is viewed as a wonderful benefit to North Carolina. And it's true that the university system benefits from lottery money.

But Bowles got to the heart of the issue when he said, "While it is legal for our students who are 18 or older to participate in the lottery, the lottery is nonetheless a form of gambling, and I feel strongly that we should not encourage gambling by our students." Amen, Brother Bowles.

I don't know who Joe Sinsheimer is, but he sure seems to have a lot of clout. He writes a personal letter to Joe Hackney alleging ethics problems in North Carolina politics, and boom, the news media are all over it. 'When will Hackney respond?,' they ask. 'I'll get to it when I get to it,' he says.

In the spirit of Joe Sinsheimer, I am also writing letters. Mine are going to Joe Hackney, Marc Basnight, and Mike Easley. And like Sinsheimer, my letters are about ethics in North Carolina politics.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gentlemen,

By now it is clear that the so-called North Carolina Education Lottery is an idea whose time has come and gone. The desired income is not materializing, and new proposals to fritter away additional proceeds to stimulate more participation are too reminiscent of pushers hooking teenagers on crack. Today's story in the News and Observer lays the sad situation out for all to see:

The proceeds are anemic. The Capitol is all a-twitter:

How will the state make up a half-a-billion dollar lottery shortfall?

Easley wants to give away an even higher percentage of lottery revenues to stimulate more sales.

Basnight and Hoyle say let sleeping dogs lie. They're afraid any legislative consideration will lead to amendments, including an outright proposal to end the monstrosity.

They're smart to be afraid.

Because the right thing to do is bring the lottery up again. And kill it.

The lottery was a moral and fiscal mistake for North Carolina from the outset. Its underlying principles are bankrupt. It was pushed through in an unseemly fashion. And more to the point, it's not working. Like Bush's war in Iraq, the lottery is bill of shoddy goods.

North Carolina has the rare opportunity to reconsider a bad decision before too much damage and not enough good is done.

Kill the lottery. Now.

_________________________________________

Read the good story by Jim Morrill.

Is anyone here surprised at the news that the revenue received from the NC Lottery missed the projected levels? Mark Johnson at The Charlotte Observer/News & Observer gives us this:

North Carolina's lottery sales have tumbled since July, and the game's director predicts that -- under the best scenario -- the lottery will generate $75 million less for education than projected in the current state budget.

:::snip:::

Shaheen said he has no clear explanation for the downturn but he theorized that sales could suffer because consumers are spending more on gas, there has been no big Powerball jackpot to drive up playing, and North Carolina placed a lower limit on prize money than other states.

N.C. law also sharply limits the amount of money the lottery can spend on advertising and prohibits the ads from encouraging people to play.

Please follow below the fold...

The NC Senate has put another bill on the calendar, I don't know what will happen to it, but at least it is out there from the get-go. The bill is titled: AN ACT to amend the constitution to provide that if the state operates a lottery, that the net proceeds shall be dedicated to education, and to forbid the net proceeds from supplanting other expenditures for the same purposes.
What it means is pretty self-explanatory, however, specific language and cosponsor information after the break.

Better late than never, I guess.

Lawmakers say expect proposals when they reconvene May 9 to ensure that the estimated $400 million projected in net lottery proceeds adds to existing education spending, rather than replace it. Others may seek a new formula that determines how a portion of those profits earmarked for local school construction projects are allocated.

* * *

"We're going to make sure that we do not allow the lottery money to supplant current education money," House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, said after a recent meeting with fellow House Democrats. "That's very important to all of us."

AP Wire | 04/30/2006 | Expect N.C. lottery changes to affirm education spending

The North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law has filed suit to challenge North Carolina's new lottery. The challenge is based on the fact that the lottery was not considered on three separate days as most revenue bills must be. The State's claim is that the lottery is not a form of revenue. This claim is despite the fact that the reason Easley gave for needing the lottery was obtaining revenue.

Now the Institute is asking the court to prevent the games from beginning until after the suit is decided. From the Winston-Salem Journal:

Just in case anyone was anxious about all those lottery addicts down in Mecklenburg County, here's some comforting news from AP via the Charlotte Observer. Just think! You'll be able to win 340 million next year too!

Commission: N.C. lottery will join Powerball

RALEIGH, N.C. - Last month, an Oregon family won 340 million dollars in the multistate Powerball lottery game.

Next year, someone in North Carolina could cash in from the same game.

The state lottery commission today decided to join the Powerball roster after hearing the presentation from its operators. Currently, 27 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands participate in Powerball. That's according to its Web site.