North Carolina lottery: too many losers
What Tom Shaheen is saying here is simple: People who play North Carolina's "Education" lottery are going to lose too much money.
That will discourage them from playing, or send them on the familiar trails to other states, which pay off more in prizes.
The proposed solution: Designate more revenue to winnings, and less to education.
Oh, but don't worry. If that entices more people to play, education will end up with more in the long run.
North Carolina's lottery law requires 35 percent of revenue to go straight to education. Fifty percent is set aside for prizes, compared to 61 percent in South Carolina and 58 percent in Virginia. Astute players can figure out the odds and will keep driving to those states -- especially since they can fill up their tanks with cheaper gas while they're there, thanks to the lower gas taxes.
OK, I'm for paying out more in prizes. Go up to 60 percent.
But let's not take the extra 10 percent out of the portion going to education.
Take it from the remaining 15 percent slotted for administrative expenses, advertising and payments to retail outlets that sell lottery tickets.
Why does the lottery commission need to pay for advertising? Everyone knows about the lottery, and the retailers will advertise where people can buy tickets. The news media will shine plenty of attention on the big winners. As for administrative costs, given the big salaries for Shaheen and members of his staff, I'd say too much money is available for that.
Besides, if more prizes generate more business, plenty of money will come in to cover necessary administrative expenses.
Don't cut education by a single percentage point. If this lottery is going to have any validity at all -- a prospect that gets shakier every day -- it's got to provide every bit of the money promised for schools.
Comments (2)
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The sausage making here is ugly, isn't it? The same conversations that happen in Las Vegas about increasing revenue and attracting more gamblers now being had by NC government officials.
Nah, that's unfair. At least in Vegas when I play blackjack I win half the time.
Posted on March 9, 2006 7:29 AM
Doug, In every state I have ever lived in where they had the lottery it was always sold to the people as being for education. Well, that ended the day the voters voted it in, and all the lottery money did was replace what the state normally would have put in. (Sometimes the state actually "played" along with the scam for a year or two before falling back with their original plans.) As for the salaries of the lottery officials they are outrageous, but they too seem representative of North Carolina's largess for it's officialdom. Greensboro city officials are way overpaid. They say they are in line with the market, but their pay is in line with the market of those of the large metropolitan areas and not those of cities the size of Greensboro. Likewise Guilford County. It seems here in North Carolina the "good old boy" system is still very much alive and kicking, and good old boys look out for their friends, family and buddies. Oh well, I still love the state and since we chose to retire here we will just pay the taxes for the privilege of it's nice climate and marvelous beauty.
Posted on March 9, 2006 10:59 AM