Lottery money adds up to a reckless budget
Published June 17, 2014
by Paul O'Connor, Capitol Press Association, The Insider, June 16, 2014.
As the 2014 legislative session opened, a business lobbyist explained the incentives House Speaker Thom Tillis, Republican U.S. Senate nominee, had for seeking quick adjournment.
Among other reasons, Tillis would want to adjourn "before one of his whack-a-doodle members does something crazy."
Tillis didn't get out of town in time. And now he'll spend the next four months explaining away one of the more politically inconsistent proposals to arise in recent memory: the House budget is balanced with $106 million in extra lottery revenue spurred by a doubled lottery advertising budget.
The "whack-a-doodles," in this case, were Tillis and other House leaders, and that is what is so intriguing about this proposal. How could politicians savvy enough to win control of the N.C. House propose such a politically clumsy proposal?
Republicans may have the only functional political party in the state, but that doesn't mean they can afford to deepen rifts in their coalition. To win in November, Republicans need the establishment GOP, the Tea Party and the Christian Right, three sometimes distinct, sometimes overlapping, factions.
The lottery proposal is, first and foremost, an affront to the Christian Right. These social conservatives led Republican opposition to the lottery before it was approved in 2005 and were upset earlier this month when Republicans weakened their anti-gambling platform during their state convention at the Cherokee casino.
More lottery advertising should lead to more lottery playing. But maybe not, says Rep. Paul Stam, R-Wake, a leading social conservative.
Stam put language in the budget requiring more truthful lottery advertising, language about odds and payouts that he hopes will reduce lottery purchases.
So, Republicans have projected $106 million in extra lottery money while also including an advertising provision designed to keep that money from ever materializing. And two days after the House released its budget, lottery officials projected they will raise only half of that new lottery money in Fiscal 2015.
That's reckless budgeting, and establishment Republicans don't like it, especially so soon after the recent tax changes created massive revenue shortfalls and uncertainty about next year's budget.
The Tea Party loves the idea, on one hand, because it provides teacher raises without higher taxes. And if it leads to a revenue shortfall, they will just cut government some more. But the budget in its entirety must concern the tea drinkers because it shows that Tillis is already moving to the middle after he shifted right to win the nomination.
Democrats are apoplectic about the proposal, saying it balances the budget on the backs of the poor. But Democrats don't count.
Republican senators do, however, and they just chuckled at the lottery revenue proposal. They know they can wait out the House in budget negotiations because they're in no rush to leave, as is Tillis.
Tillis didn't stand his ground for long on the lottery idea. It is up for negotiation, he said, when the budget conference committee meets to find a compromise between the widely different House and Senate budgets.
June 17, 2014 at 9:53 am
Norm Kelly says:
The author refers to 3 factions of the Republican party. I'm glad there's only 3. But it DOES SHOW THE DIVERSITY of the party, contrary to typical lib think. One needs to keep in mind that the demon party would LOVE to have only 3 factions to deal with. There are more factions in the demon party than can be counted. Most of the factions within the demon party don't agree on most topics; most of their stands are contrary to each other. But, since the majority of the factions within the demon party agree that government is the answer/solution to EVERY problem, perceived or real, then they can come together to win, then deal with the disagreements afterward. At least Republicans only have 3 factions to deal with.
Lib handbook item on display in this post. Whenever possible, denigrate the TEA party/TEA people. Don't use facts to backup your derogatory remarks about TEA people, just insinuate negative things about the group as a whole. Like claiming they are the new KKK, just a racist bunch of white guys. For instance, refer to people who align with the TEA group as 'tea drinkers'. This implies something negative, like kool-aid drinkers. Like the cult that killed themselves. Like what happens in the demon party where they fight against people who don't agree with them; the abortion plank comes to mind.
'And if it leads to a revenue shortfall, they will just cut government some more'. And this is a bad thing? There's not room in the budget for more cuts? Really? Well, we all need to remember that when the Demoncrat party controlled Raleigh they claimed there was nothing else that could be cut even when they were paying to build a tea cup museum! Talk about wasteful spending! Also, remember that it was when the DemocRAT party controlled Raleigh that the state bought a lake-rated ferry to transport school kids on the outer banks OCEAN! A ferry that had to be taken out of service due to safety concerns. Because the budget had been cut to the bone, there was no fat left! But buying the wrong ferry didn't present a problem. And didn't the state buy the Randy Pardon theater? During a time when the budget was cut to the bone.
And wasn't it the democRAT kool-aid drinkers who forced the lottery on us in the first place? And wasn't it Gov Mike who repeatedly told us that the lottery would solve ALL of the states financial problems if only it were passed? Yeah, I know. You libs don't believe me when I type this. So, go back & listen to Gov Mike. Not only was he the slimiest Gov we've had in a long, long, long time, the most dishonest among a large group of dishonest demon Govs, but he also actually did tell us that it would solve everything. The only thing he didn't claim it would fix was snow on the road. But only if conservatives gave up on every one of their objections. And only if everyone allowed an unfair tax on the poor to pass. Because even before it passed, every person in the state knew without doubt that it really is a tax on the poor. But, since demons supported it, the plan had to be good. Demons would never do anything that was detrimental to 'the poor'. Not even raise the sales tax, which negatively impacts the poor most. But demons wouldn't do this. Trust them!
The best part of this authors post is the statement where he says 'democrats don't count'. Isn't that good news for a change. We tried it the demon way for about a century (that's 100 years for all you Communist Core supporters!). We ended up with increased spending every year, increased taxes & fees every year, increased regulation every year, increased government give-away programs every year, and unbalanced budgets. But we are not supposed to remember this. We are supposed to simply accept when demons tell us they would do it different. They have NO NEW IDEAS but somehow it will be better if they are in control again. $2Billion in debt for unemployment payments, but somehow it would be better anyway. No plans. Just better cuz they say so! And thinking people are supposed to accept this!?!?!!! Talk about kool-aid drinkers!
