Budget Lottery
Blame James Carville.
Twenty years ago, the then-unknown Ragin’ Cajun got Democrat Wallace Wilkinson elected governor of
The very next year, he got Zig-Zag Zell Miller elected Governor of George the same way. Miller used the lottery proceeds to create HOPE scholarships, which sends
Democrats across the South were desperate in those days for a political life raft. The lottery was it.
Jim Hunt never liked the lottery. I pushed him and pushed him. Solely for political reasons, I admit. But the most he would ever do – and that grudgingly – was express support for a lottery referendum.
It never happened during Hunt’s terms in the 90s. Given what happened to some of the people who were later involved in setting up the lottery here, I’m glad.
In 1992, Dennis Wicker nearly lost the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor to a candidate who called for a lottery.
When he ran for Governor in 2000, Wicker supported an education lottery. So did Mike Easley, who beat Wicker in the primary.
But Wicker had a twist on the issue: He didn’t want lottery proceeds to ever be used to replace other education appropriations. So he proposed that the money go to new programs like scholarships, technology and pre-school.
Easley responded by supporting a constitutional amendment to put lottery money into a “lockbox.” The lockbox never happened.
Today, Wicker’s warning has proven true. Governor Perdue wants to use some lottery money to fill budget holes. And her proposal makes perfect sense in a disastrous budget year.
But this latest twist reveals the fundamental weakness in
If the money was providing scholarships for students, or buying computers, or providing pre-school programs, then citizens would see some concrete benefit.
They don’t see that today, because the money goes into a black hole – just like the money people spend on the games.
Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.
Budget Lottery
Blame James Carville.
Twenty years ago, the then-unknown Ragin’ Cajun got Democrat Wallace Wilkinson elected governor of
The very next year, he got Zig-Zag Zell Miller elected Governor of George the same way. Miller used the lottery proceeds to create HOPE scholarships, which sends
Democrats across the South were desperate in those days for a political life raft. The lottery was it.
Jim Hunt never liked the lottery. I pushed him and pushed him. Solely for political reasons, I admit. But the most he would ever do – and that grudgingly – was express support for a lottery referendum.
It never happened during Hunt’s terms in the 90s. Given what happened to some of the people who were later involved in setting up the lottery here, I’m glad.
In 1992, Dennis Wicker nearly lost the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor to a candidate who called for a lottery.
When he ran for Governor in 2000, Wicker supported an education lottery. So did Mike Easley, who beat Wicker in the primary.
But Wicker had a twist on the issue: He didn’t want lottery proceeds to ever be used to replace other education appropriations. So he proposed that the money go to new programs like scholarships, technology and pre-school.
Easley responded by supporting a constitutional amendment to put lottery money into a “lockbox.” The lockbox never happened.
Today, Wicker’s warning has proven true. Governor Perdue wants to use some lottery money to fill budget holes. And her proposal makes perfect sense in a disastrous budget year.
But this latest twist reveals the fundamental weakness in
If the money was providing scholarships for students, or buying computers, or providing pre-school programs, then citizens would see some concrete benefit.
They don’t see that today, because the money goes into a black hole – just like the money people spend on the games.
Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.