Arkansas Blog

Rich Huddleston over at Arkansas Advocates is going to crap a green weenie.

Bring it on!!! As it is now, I give my sister that lives in another state that does have the powerball money each year to buy my tickets each week. I would much rather give it to the state in which I reside.

Look, I work in education. We need more money. Our buildings are falling apart, our salaries are lower than in just about every state, our equipment is outdated or non-existent. But a lottery is not the way to do it. A lottery is a tax on people who are too stupid to do math. It's taking money from people who can least afford it. Schools should be funded just like anything else should be--fairly.

Lotteries are not panaceas for schools. In some states, appropriations for schools went down afterwards, since "the lotteries are giving them all the money they need."

Increase funding for schools. Do it the right way.

I do the math and yet I enjoy on occasion playing lotto. The math that bothers me is how much money the winners and the schools fail to get.

Anyway, freedom requires the ability to be stoopid..

Now I will take five quick picks and a pack of american spirit reds please.

on another topic..here is a story on Gen Wes

http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId
=12394

Lottery is for people that do math.

But if they want to play Arkansas might as well get the money benefit.

My only objection to a state lottery is philosphical.

I don't want the state to be in the business of promoting vices.

With a state lottery the gov't will be actively promoting a vice. The gov't will be promoting gambling.

To entice people to gamble at horrible odds is not the kind of thing I believe the gov't should be doing.

The state uses taxes to discourage many vices such as alcohol and tobaco. The state gets tax revenue a beer costs rise and people drink less.

So my only objection to a state lottery is that the state, through tv, print, radio, and billboard ads will be enticing citizens to a loosing proposition.

Damn, I meant to say

"Lottery is for people who DON"T do math.

And to add to what Archy said, we should be willing to pay for something that we all agree is of the utmost importance - education.

I play the Lotto in Missouri often. Nobody holds a gun to my head to get me to do it. Maybe $5-$10 per week. Conversely, the Gumment does (figuratively) hold a gun to my head to make me pay LOTS more than that in taxes that could be eliminated if Arkansas would join the rest of the civilized world and allow this relatively innocuos activity. If people are going to "gamble", they're going to do it whether the state endorses it or not - the same way drinkers are going to drink in those ridiculous "dry" counties. I once lived in a dry county in Arkansas, where gambling was also, obviously, illegal. We'd drive 60 miles, round trip, to get alcohol, then bet on who could first bounce a tennis ball into a showroom toilet. I'm sure I lost more money on that than I have playing Lotto for the last 24 years. Good for Halter. With thinking like that, maybe, someday, we can again say "Thank God for Mississippi". But for now, Arkansas is sucking the hind tit on just about everything. (But, what (?), we have our pride?)

Really, Rick? You think some tax is going to be eliminated if we legalize a lottery?

Which state has that happened in?

Great idea, but only if two stipulations are part of the proposal: 1. The sale of Lotto tickets shall be subject to all state & local sales taxes.
2. Lotto tickets can only be sold in dry counties.

I concur, Archaeopteryx.

Why allow a voluntary tax when the ledge can continue to screw the poor people the old fashioned way?

BTW...

Pre-K is paid for with beer tax.

Everybody drink up and support those rugrats!!!

Our fine ledge has been supporting that vice for quite some time.

A lottery is not a tax even if you are stupid enough to spend more than you can afford to spend. It is not a vice either as long as the purchaser isn't depriving any dependents of any necessities. Hmmmm....like all the kids of Arkansas are being deprived of adequate facilities and a quality education because of a lack of funding. I know plenty of people who are too stupid to be allowed to shoot a gun or drive a car and certainly too stupid to be having children, but there's no law preventing them from doing those things just because they're stupid. Bring on the lottery and let's start catching up...and heck yeah, put a "sin" tax on the tickets too and double the pleasure. Some for the guvment and some for education. It's time!

Arch,
I don't have any documentation regarding taxes decreased or eliminated in states that have lottery revenues, and I 'm sorry, but I don't have time to research the subject. But it stands to reason that any state that makes zillions from lotteries would...could...use that money for projects that states like Arkansas have to depend on the general revenue and bond issues to raise. Doesn't it? I mean, the more money a state has in its coffers, the less money it has to wring out of the populace by way of taxes. While a lotto may or may not eliminate or reduce the taxes we are paying now, I think it is likely that it would reduce the prospects for the state enacting new ones for every lawmaker's pet project down the road. It is no longer illegal for a person to pile their money up and burn it. It isn't illegal to buy stupid and frivious toys. Not illegal to drink yourself into oblivion. But you can't place a dollar bet on a chance to win millions. Just seems wrong to me, that's all.

Archaeopteryx, Arkansas already has a lottery. The problem is Arkansas is not receiving any type of revenues from it because it all stays in those surrounding states that Arkies visit. The same is true of casinos. Fort Smith is stooooopid if they don't get into the business for those casinos are full of Arkies that cross the border. People in my home town drive by the scores that 80 miles just to play games in those structures built by the Choctaws and Cherokees.

As one who lives in a state border county and sees people regularly giving Arkansas money to Missouri, I say it's just crazy for Arkansas, poor as we are, to stand on principle and send most of our gambling tax revenue to other states.

Yes, it's a shame for people to gamble away what they cannot afford. But as long as they're doing it anyway...

I'm all for the lottery. I send my bookie weekly to Roland to get my ticket. So far I won $15 on the powerball. I can do the math but it is fun seeing the numbers come up. I buy a ticket a week. The lottery will not be a funding cure. I have been told it will raise about $50M a year. Not a real large sum for the whole state. It could fund scholarships for our kids just like Murphey Oil did for El Dorado. This is the plan that Georgia has. If the kid has a 3 point or better a full ride tuition scholarship to a state school. If a 2 point then to a community college or vocational school. Pure merit and no one is left out who has shown any potential

WOW! 15 House members and the Lite Gov. Two of the 15 are members of the State Agencies committee. This resolution will go no where. When it comes time to refer issues to the public for a vote, the House Committee will meet in joint session with the Senate State Agencies committee. The Senate will not allow that resolution to see the light of day. Mark my words, the LIte Gov. will get nowhere with this.

OK. A wee bit of research. Here's a list of the states that DON'T have either a state lotto or the Powerball Lotto:
1. Alabama ('nuff said?)
2. Alaska (nobody lives there)
3. Arkansas (that's us)
4. Hawaii (don't need it)
5. Mississippi (CASINOS)
6. Nevada (CASINOS)
7. Wyoming (nobody lives there either)
8. There AIN'T an 8. That's all. Seven states.

If the issue is gambling, take Mississippi and Nevada off the list. That leaves five (5) states in the whole United States that don't have casinos and/or lotteries. From the list, it looks like there are valid reasons to strike Alaska and Wyoming. And Hawaii certainly has enough going for it without the lotto - not to mention there are no other states for Hawaii to rob revenue from. That leaves Arkansas and Alabama.
Which must mean that Arkansas and Alabama are morally superior to the rest of the country. Whoopie for us, ya'll! Now, where'd I put that list of "Best Places to Live", by state?

Oops. Sorry. I left off Utah.
Does that really matter?

"Which must mean that Arkansas and Alabama are morally superior to the rest of the country. Whoopie for us, ya'll! Now, where'd I put that list of "Best Places to Live", by state?"

Hahhaha.

Alaska has enough oil revenues to give each bona fide resident a tidy sum each year--another reason they don't need a lottery.

Personally, I have no interest in gambling. I tried it a time or two, and it just wasn't fun for me, although I do have an uncanny ability to win football/basketball/American Idol pools at the office.

And anyway, if gambling is a sin, then why isn't insurance? Hell, isn't marriage a gamble? That's a 50% loser right there--every time. The "sin" argument just doesn't fly.

If our children are educated with "sin" money, are their educations tainted? Not that I can see.

The only possible drawback I can see is that a lottery would create a HUGE pot of money for politicians and bureaucrats to fatten their wallets with LONG before anything finally trickles down to the schools. That's the way everything else works. Why should lottery funds be any different?

So, again, Rick...let's say that having a lottery allows a state to keep from increasing taxes for a while. That means that the burden of paying for government is again being placed primarily on lower income people. Counting on the lottery to fund your government is basically the same as taxing groceries or medicine.

Arch,
I'm not convinced that the bulk of lottery income is derived from lower income people. I have to admit, I really don't know any "dirt poor" folk, but I do know a lot of "middle and upper income" people who gamble via the lottery, casinos, etc. I do know that when somebody wins the powerball, they are what I would call rich - whether they started out poor or not. I have never heard of taxes making a poor man rich. For me, the issue is one of freedom to do with your money as you see fit, as long as you're not hurting anybody else. And it doesn't seem logical, based on our history, that Arkansas being practically the last state to do this thing means we should assume we're the ones making the best decision. Maybe we should just agree to disagree on this one - like Pavel and I did on the "smoking ban" issue.

A lottery is a choice. Taxes are mandated. People can choose to play the lotto or not. This isn't the case with taxes. Archaeopteryx, aren't you a college prof of some sort? Where were you in Econ 101??? No one has to play the lotto and the rich people can play too if they want.

>And anyway, if gambling is a sin, then why isn't insurance?<

Insurance is a way of reducing the effects of risk. Lotteries increase risks.

Rick, some of the best posting I've seen you do. Outstanding rhetoric, and I'm sold. How's about a weekly Springdale pool for the Anderson lottery?

I think Mr. Halter is wise enough to realize polticos, even with Gimme Gov gone, will succumb to temptations to dip into a lottery pool when they find no one looking. Halter is smart enough to make provisions for that.
It may not pass this time but eventually it will pass.

Are tithes a wager? Will you go to the place of evil if you don't pay up? There's hundreds of millions pouring
into church coffers weekly and nobody makes them do it. So for us secularists we can tithe at the pagan wheel of fortune and not even take a tax deduction for it.
_

I think tithes for a religion are worst than gambling, maybe even worse than dancing. They're like property taxes, tithes are bribes, they are ransom money spent on the world's favorite fantasy.
_

You can use exactly the same logic to support the state running crack houses. If people want crack, they're going to get it anyway. Crack is a choice. People ought to have the right to spend money the way they want to. On crack. Rich people can buy crack if they want to.

If we feel like gambling should be legal, fine, make it legal. That doesn't mean that the state needs to be in the gambling business.

"I send my bookie weekly to Roland to get my ticket. "

Cut out the middleman and just come on by yourself.

GO LOTTO!!!
Max, what happened to the rumor about the u s surgeon general? we up north here are wondering.

Another from Arkansas?

ARK. BLOG: Silence is deafening to our calls for comment.

The state won't be in the "gambling business." A contractor will be allowed to buy a permit, run a lottery operation, just as you have to buy a permit from the state to run a gas station which doesn't imply the state is in the gas station business. It's like utilities and wholesale liquor distributors, the state creates or permits a monopoly.

Not "exactly" the same logic. But having said that, I'm going to surrender the last word on this to you Arch. Otherwise I think you and I could go back and forth on this all night and end up missing The Daily Show and Colbert. Wouldn't want that to happen....

LWood. You're cracking me up over here:
"...maybe even worse than dancing."

"If we feel like gambling should be legal, fine, make it legal. That doesn't mean that the state needs to be in the gambling business."

That's my viewpoint. If the government can be in the gambling biz, why can't I? My lottery would pay off much better than the state's.

Yay! The last word! That's never happened before....um....what should I say....um....

You go Bill!!!

"OK. A wee bit of research. Here's a list of the states that DON'T have either a state lotto or the Powerball Lotto:
1. Alabama ('nuff said?)
2. Alaska (nobody lives there)
3. Arkansas (that's us)
4. Hawaii (don't need it)
5. Mississippi (CASINOS)
6. Nevada (CASINOS)
7. Wyoming (nobody lives there either)"

Ok, so I had heard about the Alaska oil revenues, but I decided to check it out. Here is what Bankrate.com said:

Alaska is the only state that does not collect state sales tax or levy an individual income tax.
. To finance state government operations, Alaska depends primarily on petroleum revenues.

Wyoming; Has no state income tax and 4% state sales tax and use tax. Wyoming tax revenue comes from 3 areas property taxes, sales and use taxes and mineral severance taxes.

Hawaii: 2/3 of its tax revenues come from its across the baord 4% excise tax (not sales tax) the rest comes from its 8.25% income tax or property taxes. Needless to say alot of the excise tax revenues comes from tourism.

I seem to remember a big billboard that once said Welcome to Arkansas: Land of Contrasts. Wife piped up and said, "Yeah....filthy rich and dirt poor."

Count me in for the Lottery vote but I must admit I'd never buy a ticket. I don't like the odds and just hate giving up my money no matter what the reason.

Of course, if (and I say a big IF) I did do it and won, I'd take the moolah and do like Scrooge McDuck: pile it high and deep in a huge room, build a diving board over it, and jump into it often and just swim in my riches.

So, how do you pick those lucky numbers????

The biggest gambling casino in the world is Wall Street USA. It's mostly for rich folks, but even people like me get to lose money in the stock market. There isn't a damn bit of difference between hanging around Merrill Lynch tomorrow and hanging around a craps game in a back alley. Some will win, but most will lose.

I tried gambling one time in Biloxi, Mississippi and lost my shirt in one hour. I'm horrible at it....if everyone had my luck Las Vegas would be the Emerald City. If we get the new Injun casino in Fort Baptist, I'll go look it over after the first rush is over and I'll surely put a few quarters in a slot machine, but I don't see it as my way out of hock.

I have spent a lifetime paying taxes and so far I've not held the winning ticket there either. I will never get rich paying taxes...the odds of getting rich paying taxes are the only odds worse than the Powerball. I'm always delighted to see some old toothless wretch holding up their jumbo check after winning the lottery. Drink up shriners!

Plus winning the lottery is the only way any of us will get the chance to become as rich as the poorest member of the Cella family. So count me in on the side that votes for the freedom to buy a lottery ticket within the state of Arkansas.

"A lottery is a tax on people who are too stupid to do math." - Archaeopteryx

I've also heard lottery is a tax on stupidity and you decide how much you owe.

That makes more sense. However, you cannot write laws that protect people from their own devices. They tried that with alchohol and prostitution. We saw how successful prohibition was. People made their own lethal concotions. NV legalized prostitution and the risks of casual sex have never been better mitigated.

People go online and elsewhere to gamble. Our ship afloat on the sea of sin is sinking all around us.

One person, one vote. No.

Lively discussion...

No one's right but everybody's wrong...

I would like to have the opportunity to buy a one dollar lottery ticket whenever I damn well choose...

Choice, y'know?

Oil revenues are to Alaskans what severence taxes could have been for Arkansans

I say let the people vote on whether or not we should amend the constitution to have a lottery.

Hell ya I'm for one of those lottery things; especially if it'll replace ANY tax. I always play (a pittance, but it's still fun) when I get near a border. As others have stated: It's optional, taxes aren't. And, I realize that ALL the odds are against me winning...that's not the point. (Plus thinking you had to win or needed to win would suck all the fun right of it.) It's cheap/light/harmless entertainment to spend $5 every so often to watch those numbers pop up. Just call me WICKED.

Plus, all the hand wringing over babies going hungry while mom/dad gamble away the milk money is stereotypical scare nonsense. People who are going to let babies go without don't need (nor wait for) a state lottery to practice their evil ways. They were bad parents before and they'll continue to be bad parents after the lottery. But maybe the state can use some of that lottery money to intervene on behalf of the babies...maybe (at least there's hope some of the funds will trickle down).

Speaking of...has anyone tried out the new video poker games at Hot Springs (I haven't). I still can't figure out if they pay/play like Tunica or if they pay like those pseudo slot machines they've had for awhile (which are HORRIBLE).

>Speaking of...has anyone tried out the new video poker games at Hot Springs (I haven't).<

Ask Max about those. He loves them.
_

As has been noted, this debate over the merits of a state lottery is a horse that is already out of the barn. Arkansas is one of the very few states (7 it seems) that *don't* have a lottery of some sort. Gambling? What is that in Hot Springs and West Memphis?

I'm no fan of casinos even if loads of Arkie money goes across the river, but a lottery's time has come. Think the ledge will ever fund higher ed? Think again - put the lottery to that task. Tennessee saved their colleges and universities by doing so plus putting lots of money into scholarships.

Bring it on - sooner the better.