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Lotteries
Are Gambling, Bringing Pain In More Subtle Ways!!
Published Tuesday, April 4, 2000, in The
State:
"Gambling study paints bleak picture of
lottery"
By KENNETH
A. HARRIS
Staff Writer
A South Carolina lottery, if approved, will sap
money from the poor and minorities, create a culture of impulsive gamblers and stifle the
state's economic growth, says a study released Monday by gambling foes.
The study, "Going for Broke: The Economic and
Social Impact of a South Carolina Lottery," was released by the S.C. Policy Council, a
conservative think tank, and represents the latest attack on Gov. Jim Hodges'
lottery-for-education proposal which was a central theme in his 1998
campaign.
In February, the group sent university trustees a
letter critical of a proposed lottery to fund education.
"We believe, the South Carolina Policy Council
believes, that bringing an education lottery in any shape, form or fashion to this state, is
not a good idea because of the incredible toll it will exact not only economically, not only
socially, but as I've said before, morally on this state," said John R. Hill, an author of
the study and a policy analyst with the Alabama Policy Institute.
Critics of Hodges' plan say Georgia's lottery,
which supporters in South Carolina want to emulate, is a regressive tax that takes money from
the poor and minority communities to pay for scholarships for middle- and upper-class
families. Hill said the number of African-American students attending Georgia's public
colleges and universities has dropped 3 percent since the lottery was
implemented.
Ed McMullen, president of the S.C. Policy Council,
said two-thirds of the college freshmen receiving a scholarship in Georgia are unable to
carry the award over to their sophomore year. McMullen said the lottery will foster addiction
and serve as a gateway to other forms of gambling including video
gaming.
"The Policy Council is ignoring how well the
lottery works in Georgia," Hodges' press secretary, Nina Brook, said.
"That's what the research truly shows," Brook
said. "In Georgia, more than 400,000 students have received scholarships from the lottery.
The Georgia lottery has provided more than $1 billion to Georgia schools since it came into
place. The fact is in Georgia, the lottery has expanded educational opportunity and
educational access and it's helped improve the quality of education available in
Georgia."
Hill said a closer look at the Georgia lottery
will tell a "different story" than one offered by lottery supporters. A review of the 10
poorest Georgia counties showed they received 7 cents for every dollar invested in the
lottery.
"We're seeing a massive transfer of wealth
from the poorest counties in Georgia to the wealthiest," Hill said. "What we
have in Georgia and what we're afraid might happen in South Carolina is that you'll have the
poor buying lottery tickets to fund the higher education of the middle and upper
class."
Hodges expects a lottery, once it matures, to
generate $150 million a year for education.
Most of that money, or $105 million, would fund a
scholarship program that offers free tuition for students at technical colleges or two-year
institutions and a $2,000 scholarship for students with a B average who attend a state
university. In addition, Hodges wants to earmark $30 million for classroom
technology.
South Carolina voters will decide in November
whether to amend the state Constitution to allow a government-run lottery.
However, critics challenged the governor to
suggest legislation on how the lottery, if approved, will function. Separate plans are
resting in the House and Senate committees.
"It's the Jim Hodges' lottery and yet Governor
Hodges hasn't done anything with his lottery in terms of a plan," said Larry Huff, head of
the Legacy Alliance, which opposed video poker. "Everyone is kind of sitting back and waiting
to see what the governor is going to do. It seems he's trying to distance himself from
specifics for fear that those specifics may not sell well."
Brook said the governor has outlined his plans for
the lottery and accused critics of trying to confuse voters.
"The arguments that were heard again today are the
typical arguments that lottery opponents try to throw up," Brook said. "But, they're just not
valid. We believe the majority of people in South Carolina do support efforts to improve
educational opportunity and educational access including the lottery."
Hodges, McMullen said, is trying to gain political
capital from the lottery, which the governor opposed as a member of the General
Assembly.
"It's amazing to me to see the kind of quotes that
are in here that Governor Hodges made throughout his career for over 12 years as a public
servant," McMullen said. "And, suddenly, on the way to the Governor's Mansion, things have
changed and it's looking like a bright, rosy future for South Carolina if we only get a
lottery."
[ Kenneth A. Harris covers state government and
the legislature. Contact him at (803) 771-8509 or by e-mail at kharris@thestate.com.]
Associated with this
article is a box labeled "Lotteries in decline"
"Examples cited by the South Carolina Policy Council Education
Foundation as evidence lotteries are losing popularity in some states:
- TEXAS: lottery sales dropped 17% from 1997 to
1998.
- NEW
YORK: Ticket sales for 1999 declined for a second consecutive year
- etc.
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(posted:
April 2000)
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