Don't be surprised

Editorials

October 24, 2006

Anonymous The Daily Southerner Tue Oct 24, 2006, 11:19 AM EDT

No one should be surprised by the state lottery's failure to produce promised revenues. For years, lottery critics have predicted exactly this scenario.

Lottery officials transferred $95 million to the state Thursday to begin paying for education programs. That was at least $17 million below the transfer that Gov. Mike Easley and the legislature had expected. It represented three months' worth of revenue.

No big deal, lottery officials said. The first quarter earnings weren't really expected to be much higher. New games are coming on board. A lot of money is going to be raised for education.

Blah, blah, blah.

We've heard it all before - not in North Carolina, but in other states where lottery patterns have followed a well-worn path: Initial sales are great, then the public figures out that lottery tickets are a bad deal and that the local bookies give much better odds. Sales lag, and to restore enthusiasm, lottery officials introduce new games and increase advertising.

It's all going just as critics said it would, and that means budget trouble for North Carolina.

Lottery revenues have proved to be as unreliable in North Carolina as they are in other states, and using them to write a budget is foolish.

Budgets are based on reliable tax-revenue projections. But lottery-ticket purchase patterns – and thus lottery revenues to the state – are not reliable. Budgets drafted using high lottery-revenue projections often experience shortfalls. It took only three months for North Carolina's lottery to prove it would be an unreliable source of income.

Now legislators have a problem. They budgeted $425 million of lottery revenue for this year.

Unless we all waste a few extra bucks each month on losing lottery tickets, lottery revenue shortfalls will create a hole in the budget that will require transfers from other sources of revenue.

Legislators will also go looking for ways to pump up sales, and the likely method of doing so will be more aggressive marketing.

Lottery critics have noted that the normal path of lotteries is for low-key advertising at the outset, when public enthusiasm is high. Once that enthusiasm wanes, the ads become more aggressive.

State law says the ads can't be aggressive, but state law can be changed, and there will be plenty of pressure to do so once budget cuts are at stake.

Easley and legislators refused to believe that the pitfalls of other state lotteries would occur here, too. They thought things would be different.

But the North Carolina lottery will be just like the rest, and it won't be long before legislators are arguing that we need aggressive advertising, new games and new methods of selling tickets. Don't be surprised when you see it.

— Winston-Salem Journal

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Editorials

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My favorite of the day was from the Hispanic Youth Group from Tarboro’s First Baptist Church. Their tamales were, as the Campbell Soup Kids used to say, “umm, umm. good!”

May 21, 2012
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May 14, 2012
Who looks after our parks?
To the Editor:
There are so many wonderful aspects of living in a small town like Tarboro; we have opportunities to participate in improvement programs in gardening, home restoration courses, weight loss, summer recreation, wholesome weekend events, some of which are free, and many more that meet the interests of our residents, such as the upcoming free concert on our Town Common by the North Carolina Symphony. There’s a “Trap, Neuter, Return” organization to keep the feline population in-check. Check out the calendar page of the Daily Southerner and you will be informed of opportunities for all ages.

May 14, 2012
Thanks from United Way
To the Editor:
A remarkable group of more than 175 citizens came together recently to celebrate a major accomplishment for the communities in Edgecombe and Nash Counties. The joy was palpable at the Champions’ Luncheon as the United Way Tar River Region affirmed that the ambitious goal of raising more than $1.26 million has been reached! There was a collective sigh of relief in knowing that funds will be available to continue support for the growing number of needs in our local neighborhoods.

May 14, 2012
Economic growth a must
I give credit to Rich Karlgaard, a regular contributor to Forbes magazine, for many of the statistics I use in this column.
As we all know our economy is extremely sluggish to put it mildly. It’s just growing at somewhere between 1 percent and 2 percent and at this rate the economy can only get worse. In comparison, our economy has grown, on average, at a rate of 3.3 percent since the end of World War II. And even during this time frame we had two big recessions.

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May 9, 2012
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Please, continue your support.

May 7, 2012
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It is a time when we, as Americans, go to the polls and make decisions that affect the course our communities, our counties, our states and, ultimately, our nation, will take.
But while many will spend time discussing their “right” to vote, we would like to point out that it is also the responsibility of a citizen of this great land to participate in the electoral process.

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Your Views
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