Big pay for lottery director
How much should North Carolina pay its lottery director?
A salary of $250,000 or more seems likely. That's the going rate around the country.
I wonder if the job is that much more complex than such other state jobs as governor, attorney general or chief justice that it requires twice the compensation level.
Or is it necessary to provide a big salary so that the lottery director -- how should I say this -- won't be easily influenced by outside interests?
After all, the state is going into the gambling business. There's going to be a lot of money in play. Honesty is essential.
Other than that, what's the big deal here? Will the lottery director have to have more professional competence than the officials I named above, or the chancellor of a state university, or the state's health director (a medical doctor), or the person who runs any other big state agency?
I don't see why.
Comments (5)
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Wow, that's more than the Lottery Director of Education is paid in Guilford County.
Not for long though, the bar is being lowered so he can walk over it.
Posted on November 11, 2005 12:33 PM
I guess everything somehow relates to the school lottery plan, seen by some as the world's greatest injustice.
The comment does raise an issue about compensation of local public officials such as superintendents, county managers and so on, who also are paid a lot more than the governor and other state leaders. One of the most interesting examples pointed out recently was the fact that an assistant city attorney in Greensboro makes more than the state's chief justice.
Are salaries for public sector jobs all out of balance?
Posted on November 11, 2005 1:45 PM
Now Doug, when I stop and look objectively at things perhaps losing the HP school lottery wasn't a bad thing for our family. Why if it wasn't for the rigged lottery we never would have considered putting our daughter in High Point Christian. Turns out its only another couple of tenths of a mile drive than a forced drive to Central would have been.
As far as your comment about public sector compensation, I say cut the pay scale and as long as the scissors are out, cut the staff.
Posted on November 11, 2005 2:51 PM
Doug
It would be interesting to have a comparison made between the costs, staffing numbers, salaries, etc., on a per capita basis of Guilford County & the City of Greensboro versus other similar localities, and not necessarily ones in this state.
Well run corporations are always doing metric studies of how they're performing (revenue & expenses, etc.)in their industry.
I don't know if this is common in the public sector, but it would be an interesting study. It may turn out that our gambling overseer is not being paid enough or too much.
Personnally, this lottery won't improve education in the area of student improvement. When I lived in Ohio and the campaign was on to get the lottery, the argument by the proponents was, if you're against the lottery your against our children's future. What a joke. Well it was passed and more parents, than ever, are taking their kids out of the public school system and into a private setting. The City of Cincinnati school system is almost bankrupt as a result of significant student reduction.
Point is, most problems in the school systems will not/can not be resolved by throwing more money at them. They typically are the result of problems that should be addressed at home and are cured by responsible parenting.
Posted on November 11, 2005 5:08 PM
A little known secret that happened while I was in NY (over 10 years ago), is that the state moves education from the line item in the budget and simply pays for it via the lottery. It doesn't mean the school system will get the lottery $$$$ PLUS the usual budget money. The state simply imposes a "voluntary tax" via the lottery system.
Lottery details are things politicians don't like to discuss. Just ask Terry, Dot or Susan. NONE will be able to give you FACTUAL examples of positive benefits of the HP Lottery. You'll hear words like "hope" , "feel", and "think". I have tried to tell them time and time again, "HOPE IS NOT A PLAN. PLEASE GIVE ALL CHILDREN ACCESS TO A SOUND BASIC EDUCATION!"
Stop busing! Start Fixing!
Posted on November 12, 2005 9:49 PM