Guests today…
- 7:00 AM: Brett Hall with the Speaker Education Project
- 7:30 AM: Left in Alabama’s mooncat on the lottery targeting idiots and political ads
- 8:00 AM: Dr. Jess Brown from Athens State University
Ron Sparks and Randy Hinshaw will tell you that the lottery is the cure to what ails Alabama. But, oddly enough, Left in Alabama has done a series blowing up some lottery myths.
Lotteries As Revenue Generators
Once states get used to this “easy” source of revenue, their appetites for even more invariably increase, so the focus become selling more tickets. This can be a problem. Lottery proceeds are subject to multiple variables:
- Boredom: States have to continually develop and market new games to keep players interested and that often means that the basic lottery that voters approved initially morphs into something completely different. As the NGIS report noted: “No one thought they were legalizing slot machines when they voted for the Delaware Lottery, but now any game owned by the state lottery is legal.”
- Privatization to help declining revenue: Illinois is privatizing lottery operations in the hope that the private company can increase “stagnant” lottery revenues:“Under the 10-year contract, the state would pay Northstar $15 million per year to manage the lottery. Northstar would also get a portion of lottery proceeds and the opportunity to earn bonuses if certain profit thresholds are achieved.”
and in 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger floated the idea of privatizing California’s lottery in exchange for a hefty lump sum payment that would help the state’s budget. This year, the state is considering issuing bonds to be paid for out of future lottery revenues.Using tommorrow’s lottery money to pay today’s bills means less money available for the state in the future. It’s kicking the football and leaving the problem for someone else to solve.- Economic conditions: Lottery revenues usually continue to grow even in bad economic times – when big win is even more attractive to people struggling to pay the bills. But they don’t grow enough to offset the loss in other sources of state revenue. Like state governments that are heavily reliant on sales tax revenue, lottery states often feel the pinch when the economy tanks.
The future in down economic times…
All have benefited education in their states. Yet all face funding crises today due to flat or declining lottery revenues and skyrocketing college tuition costs. When the programs were created, legislators were farsighted enough to set up reserve funds for just this sort of situation. However, expecting elected officials to ignore hundreds of millions of dollars just sitting around is like expecting my cat to just “ignore” the mouse that’s right in front of his nose.
When times were good, state legislatures expanded the programs – particularly the scholarship programs. Georgia, in particular, went from merit scholarships for students below a certain income to merit scholarships for everyone. And it’s now dealing with a severe funding crisis in the HOPE scholarship program.
We need to learn an important lesson from our neighbors’ lotteries: don’t over-promise benefits, protect the rainy day funds, and never assume that past performance guarantees future results!
Given their lower levels of disposable household income, it strikes many as odd that lower income people spend comparatively more per capita on lottery tickets. A 2008 study conducted by Carnegie Mellon University found that the issue is not too much hope but rather too little:
“Some poor people see playing the lottery as their best opportunity for improving their financial situations, albeit wrongly so,” said the study’s lead author Emily Haisley, a doctoral student in the Department of Organizational Behavior and Theory at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business. “The hope of getting out of poverty encourages people to continue to buy tickets, even though their chances of stumbling upon a life-changing windfall are nearly impossibly slim and buying lottery tickets in fact exacerbates the very poverty that purchasers are hoping to escape.”
Good stuff here…
GOP unveils new “Pledge“…
House Republicans today are unveiling “The Pledge to America,” the “governing agenda” they plan to pursue if they regain control of the House of Representatives — and it calls for some changes that won’t win them friends at the White House:
Permanently extend the Bush tax cuts — all of them, including those on the wealthy.
National Review goes a bit more in-depth…
The pledge divides its policy commitments into five parts. The first concerns jobs. The Republicans promise to stop tax increases, to require congressional approval of regulations with a large economic impact, and to give small businesses a tax deduction. To our minds, this section of the pledge is the least impressive. The first two policies would merely prevent government from destroying jobs, and the rationale for the third is elusive. (We like small businesses, but other companies generate jobs, too.) Still, these are better economic policies than we are getting from the administration or the current congressional leadership.The longer-range policies are more compelling.
The second section of the pledge promises budget restraint. Domestic discretionary spending would be cut back to “pre-bailout, pre-stimulus” levels, and then its growth would be capped — generating hundreds of billions in savings. The legislative budget, which has grown unjustifiably in recent years, would also be pruned back: Republicans know they cannot cut spending elsewhere if they will not cut spending on themselves. TARP would be ended, as would the federal entanglement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A federal hiring freeze would be instituted. And Congress would make “a full accounting of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.” If that means putting their long-term unfunded liabilities on budget, it would be an important first step toward reform.
Third comes health care, where the Republicans say they “will immediately take action to repeal” Obamacare. They also plan to work toward their own health-care reforms, including medical-malpractice reform, freedom to buy health insurance across state lines, and better-funded high-risk pools for people with pre-existing conditions. They also promise to enact a law banning federal funding of abortion. That would strengthen the existing Hyde amendment, which applies only to a portion of federal spending and has to be renewed every year. (Here, too, the pledge goes beyond the Contract, which steered clear of all “social issues.”)
Republicans, wisely, have responded to public dismay at congressional dysfunction by including a group of reforms to legislative practice. Bill language would have to be available online for 72 hours. All legislation would have to include a citation of its constitutional justification. Spending bills would have to be open to amendment: Programs that cannot get majority support on their own will thus no longer be able to ride along with popular items.
Finally, the Republicans turn to national security. The congressional role in this area is limited, but Republicans plan to do what they can with clean troop-funding bills, support for military courts where appropriate, funds for missile defense, and sanctions on Iran. They would pass a law explicitly making room for a robust state-and-local role in helping to enforce the immigration laws.
Democrats mention George W. Bush.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on Tuesday sought to downplay the release of the new Republican “Contract with America” this week, painting it as simply more of the same.
At his daily press briefing, Gibbs fielded several questions about frustration over the economy and the Obama administration’s response to it. Gibbs defended President Obama’s record, then turned the spotlight onto the GOP.
“Well, I think what you’re going to see the Republicans roll out on Thursday will help the president’s message of wanting to go back to the ideas of 2008,” he said. “I think that’s exactly what you’re going to hear from them on Thursday. And I think that’s why the president will continue to talk about that message.”
That was before it even came out…
Mo Brooks make headlines with “Pelosi is a Socialist” line…
‘Socialist,’ ‘Communist’
“Socialist” and “Communist” were the words of the day as Brooks and Paul Reynolds, Alabama’s representative to the Republican National Committee, elicited cheers and chants from the crowd.
“The word progressive is just a cover-up for Communism,” Reynolds hollered into the microphone. “It’s a fancy word for socialistic Communism. There’s no way around it.”
Brooks seemed less comfortable with the pep-rally format than Reynolds, but he warmed up to it as the sun baked the pavement and the crowd broke into “Fire Pelosi now” chants.
“What do we want, Mo Mo and less Pelosi?” Brooks began.
Brooks said the health-care law was “a step toward their ultimate goal” of socialized medicine.
Have they not been paying attention?
Mo has been saying that for years and, while I agree, I cringe everytime.
This is child abuse…
All of it.
This is cute…
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | Dale Jackson, show notes
” learn an important lesson from our neighbors’ lotteries: don’t over-promise benefits, protect the rainy day funds, and never assume that past performance guarantees future results”
But invariably they ignore “lessons learned” in their zest for getting a lottery bill passed, they promise the moon, then they build in ways to corrupt the lottery for whatever purposes they can come up with. I support a clean lottery that earmarks no less than 90% of the money and is fiscally responsible to the people who are after all the source of this “windfall”, but I am not sure if the corrupt bunch of thieves and crooks we call the Alabama Legislature is capable of anything close to that. Until they do we will keep sending millions of Alabama dollars across the state lines to support the citizens of Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi which is the main reason I support a lottery of some type.
Our institutes of higher learning in Alabama have increased the cost of education to unheard of (and unsupportable) levels and still want more while the education they provide seems less useful than it ever was, we are teaching high school level classes in college now due to the failings of our high schools. While I am sending god-knows how much tax money to these near worthless institutions just to have them turn around and rape me financially when my kids become college age (UAH is possibly the most corrupt of these with policies that reduce parking areas, then charge over $100 for a parking ticket while they hold your degree as hostage and THAT is just 1 example). So I am not a huge supporter of sending the lion’s share of lottery earnings to these corrupt institutions. Maybe one day they will craft a bill that is valuable to all state citizens and not just feeding the AEA or any other mafia-like group of gangsters, if I had to bet on this I would say the good folks in our neighboring states have nothing to worry about in losing income from Alabama, of course Mississippi took the proactive step of just buying a number of our politicians.
The Republican pledge:
They just spent more money than Obama. Several times over. The “defense” aspect includes more missile defense funding. That means new missiles in Europe. That restarts the cold war with Russia. That much money would fund 5 Obamacares and a truckload of stimulus packages. The G0P needz tu go bakk to skool to retake mmmath.
Actually it is not about making war, it is about preventing war.
Oh yea. We sure are in a bitch-slap fight with Russia right now, what with the International Space Station and all. How dare they share a space station with us.
You clearly believe that there is no peace through strength. Nothing left to say to you about that.
Dale:
The “strength” was there long before you were born. Assured mutual destruction is already in place. No exclamation point needed in that area.
No matter what we do, there is no way possible to shoot down everything Russia would launch at us if it came down to that. (same w/ China) The ONLY reason the G0P wants this is because of the money from the Military-Industrial Complex that would eventually make it’s way into future G0P campaigns. (you know…like the money Reagan & the Bush’s swindled from the taxpayers with useless and unnecessary defense contracts that is funding G0P campaigns now)
STOP THE DAMN SCAM! Vote Democrat!
Yea, with a friend like Vladimir Putin, who needs enemies. Love how Russia is helping Iran build nukes. Russia will not launch nukes at the US. No need to. They’ve got a genocidal neighbor who is well down the path towards the ability to build a nuke and has pledged to first destroy the “little satan” and then the “great satan.” Defense? We don need no stinkin defense!
And Obama STILL extends an olive branch to Iran. (Must be taking negotiation lessons from Jimah Cowta.)
How much money would that be exactly? The CBO says (conservatively) that obamacare will cost 1.2 trillion and the stimulus cost about .8 trillion. That’s 2 trillion and you say the GOP (who aren’t even in power) have just spent that several times over. Really? 5 Obamacares comes out to at least 6 trillion and add a “truckload” of stimulus and what are we talking about. This doesn’t even count the amount of money Obama spent in addition to obamacare and stimulus.
However, reguardless of the relative amounts, defense spending is a legit function of government, healthcare is not.
A new cold war with Russia is 10 trillion easy. (without a shot ever being fired)
It is NOT the function of the U.S. Government to defend against something that is not a threat.
OK so you know that we will start a cold war with russia. Maby russia is starting one with us. And how in the world do you get that price tag? In addition to being smarted than Jesus you are now expert in millitary stategy? I bet you never served a day in your life. And by your rational of defending against something that is not currently a threat we should wait until we are attacked and then build the tanks and train the troops to go make war. Defense spending is necessary and the sacrifice of brave soldiers makes it possible for guys like you to speak out publicly against the government. Try that in China. I’m so sick and tired of this hippie, freelove, defeatist mentallity that tries to blame the US for any agression against it. Without our constant vigilance in keeping a tip top millitary you and I would be speaking Russian or Chinese right now. Russia in particular will respect nothing but a show of superior strength. Every time we roll over they see it, not as a sign of goodwill, but as a show of weakness.
Cold war, how would things be different if we were or were not in a cold war.? What would the numbers be either way. 10 trillion in addition to the amount we would normally spend on the millitary? how did you arrive at that. Even saying it was 10 trillion (it wouldn’t be) At least that ten trillion would be employing engineers, computer programers, steel workers, and millions of good paying jobs building actual products. I like that better than Obamacare by a longshot.
Tom:
Of course you like an unnecessary cold war with Russia more than Obamacare. Unnecessary military spending is how the G0P mostly funds their campaigns. Do you really think the people of Alabama funded Richard Shelby’s 17 million dollar campaign war chest?
Do you lock your house when you leave for work? Do you lock your car up? Why? I mean the likelihood of you getting robbed is pretty slim I’m sure.
Are the alarm systems in homes and businesses a waste of money because they provide a defense on the off chance someone tries to break in?
I say damn those alarm companies! Damn those companies that produce lock and keys! Just a scam, playing on your fears of victimization, just to put a little more money in their pockets.
Point is you have a lock on your home and car to defend your property and valuables for those who would try to take it from you. Not everyone is a threat but they are out there. A lock might not deter all threats but it will keep most at bay.
If it would cost trillions of dollars for a car/home lock, I wouldn’t buy one. Would you?
But as far as a nation like Russia goes, assured mutual destruction already keeps us safe. We have enough nukes to kill everything on earth, several times over. Why spend so much as a thin dime for something that would only serve to keep the ashes hot for a longer period of time?
how much does the country as a whole spend on locks and alarm systems? I realize its not a perfect substitute.
I still don’t understand where Russia is fitting into this. I thought we had more pressing enemies at our gates than the Russians.
Dragontide thinks Republicans want a new cold war. Most incredibly flawed logic from our self proclaimed expert on EVERYTHING. Dragontide must have gone off his meds again. Starting to sound like his old paranoia is coming back.
Ralph:
The GOP gave themselves away when McClain said” “…And Putin has his eyes set on the Ukraine next” During one of the 2008 debates.
Tiffany: “I still don’t understand where Russia is fitting into this. I thought we had more pressing enemies at our gates than the Russians.”
Right now, Russia does not fit into this. Keeping it that way is in our best interest. But if we introduce new missiles into Europe, Russia will see it as a threat to them. That’s when a new cold war would begin that would cost more than we can afford.
What ALL Americans need to do is to press for campaign finance disclosure and many of our problems will go away. If we know who is giving money to any given candidate we would have a good idea of why the money was given. Or at least have the right questions to ask.