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Gov.
Brad Henry and some state legislators have proposed an Oklahoma state
lottery to fund education. Is this a good bet or bad public policy for
Oklahoma?
Background
As
you may know, Sooner-State voters soundly defeated former Gov. David
Walters' statewide lottery proposal in 1994 and also another casino
gambling legalization measure in 1998. Now, however, because of falling
tax revenues, Gov. Henry and a few state lawmakers are once again offering
voters the promise of lottery gold, selling an Oklahoma Lottery as something
important for the funding of education. Is this true? Would earmarked
funds from a lottery really help the public schools? Is a lottery good
or bad public policy?
A
statewide vote in late summer 2003 has been recently proposed, so Oklahoma
citizens may yet get another chance to speak their minds on gambling.
OFPC's
Viewpoint
Oklahoma
Family Policy Council's position is that a state lottery—in whatever
form—is simply bad public policy and problematic for a number
of very strong intellectual, economic, philosophical, moral and theological
reasons. Many of those reasons are provided for you on the Web-sites
and in articles accessed via the links below.
Another
consideration: if Oklahomans vote to approve a state lottery (Class
III gaming), what impact might their decision have on existing Indian
gaming across Oklahoma? Could Las Vegas-style gambling, and all that
comes with it, be waiting in the wings? Could gambling expansion be
controlled legally? Might legal passage of a state lottery work over
time to dramatically change Oklahoma's "Bedford Falls" image—our
wonderful, family-friendly atmosphere—into a decadent Pottersville?
Maybe.
OFPC
asks: on the verge of Oklahoma's exciting Centennial in 2007, why do
we, as a young state, want to gamble with Oklahoma's future?
Please
click on the following links to learn more about the impact of gambling
generally, and state lotteries in particular:
Focus
on the Family – Dr. James Dobson
For
many years, Focus on the Family President Dr. James C. Dobson voluntarily
served on the federal government's National Gambling Impact Study
Commission. From this unique vantage point, he saw firsthand the
negative impact of gambling on individuals, families and society. Understandably,
as a result, Focus on the Family's Public-Policy Division provides a
wealth of reliable research and information about the gambling issue.
National
Gambling Impact Study Commission
This
official Web-site for the National Gambling Impact Study Commission,
now officially closed, but still available for public use, provides
a tremendous amount of in-depth information and testimony about the
impact of gambling in the U.S.
Final
Report of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission
This
link takes you directly to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission's
Final Report, which is quite extensive in scope. Both the Executive
Summary and the Full Report are available.
Sermon
& Sunday-School Outline – Gambling: The Odds Are Against You
What
does the Bible teach about gambling? Oklahomans, if they are to exercise
their civic duties responsibly, must be educated biblically about this
important subject. Pastors, priests and church lay-leaders: OFPC, in
association with Focus on the Family, has prepared this sermon outline
just for you. Many intellectual, economic, philosophical and moral reasons
exist for citizens to oppose legalized gambling, but theological reasons
are also very persuasive, and entirely appropriate. Please feel free
to print and deliver this important biblically-based message about gambling
to your congregation or Sunday-school class. Please distribute it to
friends and colleagues, too!
Lotteries
for Education: Windfall or Hoax?
Professors
Donald E. Miller and Patrick A. Pierce systematically and carefully
examined the overall fiscal impact on education funding from state lotteries
nationwide. This journal article is published in the State &
Local Government Review, Vol. 29, (1997): 34-42.
The
Wager
– Harvard Medical School
For
eight years, the Harvard Medical School's Division on Addictions, in
collaboration with the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling,
has studied the many effects of compulsive gambling on people and society,
including the impact of state lotteries. Their weekly publication, The
Wager, reports the research findings.
National
Coalition Against Legalized Gambling – Rev. Tom Grey
Since
1994, the Rev. Tom Grey and his nationwide, broad-based coalition of
religious, civic and business leaders—organized under the auspices
of the NCALG—have fought hard against the expansion of legalized
gambling in the U.S.
Citizens
for a Sound Economy
Can
state governments tax themselves into prosperity, through interesting
gimmicks like, e.g., state lotteries? CSE Chief Economist Wayne Brough,
Ph.D., says they can't.
University
of Central Oklahoma
In
2002, the Oklahoma Policy Studies Review, published by the
University of Central Oklahoma, offered its readers an informative state-lottery
debate between then Sen. Brad Henry, D-Shawnee, and Rep. Forrest Claunch,
R-Midwest City, who opposes the lottery [See the Oklahoma Policy Studies
Review, Vol. 3, No. 1, (Spring/Summer 2002): 3-7].
Hitting
the Lottery Jackpot
– David Nibert
Published
in 2000, David Nibert's excellent book, Hitting the Lottery Jackpot:
State Governments and the Taxation of Dreams, provides an exhausive
and interesting look at state lotteries and their various effects. The
book is available from both Amazon.com and through Nibert's
publisher, the New York University Press.
The
Impact of Earmarked Lottery Revenue on State Educational Expenditures
Newly
published in November 2002, this insightful economic analysis of the
distribution of lottery revenues nationwide finds that, generally, a
dollar of lottery profit earmarked for education funding produces less
than a dollar of spending for K-12 public education. However, authors
William N. Evans and Ping Zhang also find that, as one might expect,
the earmarking of lottery profits itself generally produces more funding
for K-12 education than when lottery profits are simply deposited into
a state's general fund.
The
Public Policy Value of State Lotteries
This
graduate-level research paper, written in 2001, while noting many of
the problems associated with state lotteries, offers a more favorable
viewpoint. Particularly interesting is author and Rhodes Scholar Erinn
Staley's discussion of the Georgia State Lottery and the Georgia HOPE
Scholarship Program, which is often suggested by Gov. Brad Henry as
a model for Oklahoma.
Earmarked
Lottery Revenues for Education: A New Test of Fungibility
Economist
Thomas A. Garrett's research finds that education expenditures in an
amount equal to net lottery revenues have been diverted to other uses.
This fungibility of lottery revenue casts doubt on claims that lotteries
have helped education. Fungibility also has serious implications regarding
the budgetary tax incidence of lotteries, legislative behavior, and
states’ involvement in gaming. Perhaps, most importantly, the fungibility
problem also draws into question state officials' primary justification
for offering a state-sponsored lottery.
Dr.
Garrett's journal article, while not currently available online [See
the Journal of Education Finance, Vol. 26, No. 3 (Winter 2001):
219-238], may become available via the federal government's ERIC
Document Reproduction Service.
Earmarking
Tax Revenues for Education: Now You See Them, Now You Don't
In
this short 1998 article from The Buckeye Institute, Dr. Thomas Garrett
reported that, since the Ohio Lottery was established in 1994, total
education spending in Ohio as a percentage of total expenditures actually
fell from 42% in 1973 to 29% in 1994. The lottery money was
indeed given to the Ohio public schools, but the Ohio Legislature apparently
siphoned off education funds for other state programs.
Indian
Casinos: Wheel of Misfortune
In
its Dec. 16, 2002 issue, Time Magazine offered
readers this extensive, multi-part investigative cover story about the
negative impact of Indian gaming.
National
Indian Gaming Association
This
trade association represents the Indian gaming industry nationwide.
Predictably, NIGA takes issue with Time Magazine, The New
York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other publications
that have, in their reporting, viewed Indian gaming with a jaundiced
eye.
State
Lottery – Class III Gaming – Impact of the Federal Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act
What
impact would new legalization of a state lottery (Class III gaming)
have on Indian gaming within a state? Would passage of a state lottery
mean an open door for casino gambling, too? Would lottery legalization
force a state's governor to negotiate a Compact with Indian tribes under
the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act? In 2001, Tennessee Attorney
General Paul G. Summers issued two legal opinions, Opinion
No. 01-019 and Opinion
No. 01-064, that speak clearly to these very issues.
State
Lotteries: Advocating a Social Ill for the Social Good
Dr.
Michael Heberling, president of the Baker College Center for Graduate
Studies in Flint, Mich., argues in this journal article that, after
the initial "lottery fever" subsides, most states find themselves
spending heavily on marketing and advertising to lure new players and
often still raise taxes. Heberling's article was originally published
in The Independent Review, Vol. 6, No. 4, (Spring 2002): 597-606.
Can
States Truly Benefit from State Lotteries: A Look at Lottery Expenditures
Toward Education in the American States
After
examining the actual experiences of state lotteries and state governments
nationwide, authors French and Stanley—both of whom are associated
with the John C. Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State
University—strongly question the bold claims of a coming economic
nirvana for education that the lottery promoters promise.
The
Economic Facts of State-Run Lotteries: Windfall or Hoax
First
published in 1997, and updated again recently in 2001, this excellent,
thoughtful report by the South Carolina Policy Council cuts through
the promises of state lottery marketers and advertisers. Folks, all
that glitters isn't gold.
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