AUSTIN, Tx. — As lawmakers look at whether the Texas Lottery Commission is operating effectively, influential Baptists are suggesting the lottery shouldn't merely be tweaked. They want it abolished.
"Ask the pertinent questions. Has the lottery fulfilled its promise? My answer would be 'no,'" said Suzii Paynter, director of the Baptist Christian Life Commission, in an interview Friday.
Baptists contend the lottery was sold to Texans 20 years ago as a "voluntary, non-regressive" way to raise money, but instead it preys on the poor and caters to impulse purchases of scratch-off tickets. Attempts to bring in higher-income players with $50 scratch-off tickets haven't worked, they say.
They question whether the lottery has provided a real revenue increase for public education or has simply replaced other revenue sources.
About $1 billion a year from the lottery goes into a public education fund, after prize money, retail commissions and other expenses. Ticket sales in fiscal year 2011 totaled $3.8 billion, most of it coming from scratch-off tickets.
This year lottery sales are running 10 percent ahead of last year and are on track to surpass $4 billion for the year, Gary Grief, the lottery's executive director, told legislators earlier this month. Among top-grossing lotteries in the nation, Texas ranks fourth behind New York, Massachusetts and Florida.
The Texas Lottery Commission is one of several state agencies before the Sunset Advisory Commission, a panel of lawmakers and residents that recommends whether and how to keep an agency running. The full Legislature will make final decisions in 2013.
Although there may be bills next session proposing to do away with the lottery, state Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, the Sunset Commission chairman, warned in a recent public hearing that that isn't the issue his panel is taking up.
"It's our job to make sure agencies are doing their jobs effectively with what they've been tasked to do," he said. "Don't expect that we're going to put a poison pill in the sunset bill to end the lottery."
Sunset Commission staffers recommend continuing the 309-employee Lottery Commission for 12 more years, but with changes. Among the proposals are requiring lottery commissioners to approve major contracts, rather than placing the responsibility solely with the agency's executive director; expanding the commission's governing body from three to five members; and requiring the lottery to develop a comprehensive business plan.
Grief said the Lottery Commission embraces the recommendations.
Rob Kohler, a consultant for the Christian Life Commission, which is part of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, said the group's request to end the agency is not far-fetched. He noted that legislators a few years ago abolished the controversial Texas Residential Construction Commission.
Legislators have made heavy cuts to many areas of state government, and the lottery should be under consideration for elimination as well, Paynter said.
"I don't think it's unrealistic to talk about it going away," she said. "Things outlive their usefulness, as they say."
Paynter also wants legislators to examine whether there is enough public accessibility to the commission and sufficient competitiveness in awarding contracts.
Three companies made proposals for the most recent lottery operations contract, valued at $747 million over nine years. It was awarded to the incumbent contract holder, Gtech Corp.
It's not the lottery that is keeping Americans down, it's the slave wages that we are paid.
In all honesty, Texas does need to increase the odds, and, the amount of wins on scratch-offs. When I look around at other smaller states which seem to have many more frequent winners, I get upset with Texas because we're the largest state and should be doing it much bigger with our own people.
L.L.
"Baptists contend the lottery was sold to Texans 20 years ago as a "voluntary, non-regressive" way to raise money, but instead it preys on the poor and caters to impulse purchases ...."
Gotta love those hypocrites ... yeah, try not paying your tithings in the Baptist Church and you'll see who preys on who. When the Baptist Church opens up their financial books for all to see, then I'll consider their commentary as credible, otherwise, stop trying to legislate YOUR morality onto others. If you don't want to gamble or play the games, then don't.
However, I do agree with an earlier post recommending better odds. If you spread some more of the wealth around, you are sure to get more people playing, thus raising profits.
I stopped going to churches years ago because the various one's I attended all focused primarily on one thing...giving money to the church. So then I started watching the line up on TV...they preach really good, get me all excited and then the sermon ends and the commercials begin...send some money and we will give you our new CD or DVD or book or holy water or prayer cloth or some other mess. The only one's that seem sincere are the Jehovah Witnesses that go around the neighborhood....they have never asked me for money....and neither have the Mormons. There is no point to this rant. Sorry! LOL
If you invited the Jehova Witnesses into your home the reason they didn't ask for money was because they were in shock..nobody ever invited them in before and they were at a loss for words.
95% of all evil in the world is in the name religious beliefs
The Baptists want alcohol abolished also.
Apparently, it chaps their hide to know how much people are spending on lotto, rather than GIVING it to THEIR churches.
As far as "preys on the poor and caters impulse buys with scratch offs"..... See, I find this insulting because I cant say that ive EVER bought something that I didnt want. If a clerk asks " do you have your ticket? The Lotto is worth a quarter billion?" If I dont want one, I say no. duh.
Why why WHY!?!?!? Why do groups want to take things away? Gambling is illegal here in Texas already. The Lottery is the obvious exception.
Just because they are expressing their religious beliefs, doesn't mean that these things will happen!
I am not sure why people get so upset with Baptists expressing Baptist Beliefs!
I guess that Baptists are OK with some people as long as the Baptists don't act like Baptists ...........
As far as Alcohol is concerned, I do believe that many more people are killed by drunk drivers, than are killed by Baptists .............. just a guess ...............
If like Alcohol, don't impose YOUR beliefs on Baptists by getting drunk outa your skull, ramming your car into theirs and killing them!
dpoly1, I believe your logic is flawed.
I don't think most people have a problem with them expressing their views, but dissent because the Baptists very readily attempt to use the arm of government to impose their values on other people. Drunk Driving is already illegal, and so as far as alcohol is concerned, an attempt to ban it (which was already done) would be going too far, and is an imposition of force (by the government).
Not to say that a drunk driver killing isn't an imposition of force, but an irresponsible citizen can be put on trial, while the government imposing force can't, so we must be careful what regulations we have on people's lives.
There are other arguements for abolishing State Lotteries that I could get on board with, but those mainly have to do with private markets taking over. And besides that, I do believe that a voluntary form of revenue for the government is preferable to taxation, which is done through the use of force, so I don't feel as strongly about the Lottery's being privatized as other government agencies and programs.
And while I'll agree that some of the worst people in the world were aetheists (more specifically, Communists or Fascists - and as an extension, aethiests) that doesn't mean that a lot of bad doesn't come from religious notjubs. Bad people are bad people, "religious" or not. You can't discount that, because most of the world's terrorists are religious exetremists. Most good people who are religious do a lot of good, and most good people who aren't do nearly just as much. Hell even "doing good" is relative to your own values. It just depends on the individual.
Anyone who says most of the world's problems are caused by religion is ignoring lots of problems. And anyone who says that most of the world's problems are caused by aetheists would also be wrong.
Thank you for your most thoughtful and respectful response!
This is the kind of respectful and stimulating dialogue that is lacking today! Instead of attacking me, you rebut my assertions respectfully. I am impressed!
"I stopped going to churches years ago because the various one's I attended all focused primarily on one thing...giving money to the church. So then I started watching the line up on TV...they preach really good, get me all excited and then the sermon ends and the commercials begin...send some money and we will give you our new CD or DVD or book or holy water or prayer cloth or some other mess. The only one's that seem sincere are the Jehovah Witnesses that go around the neighborhood....they have never asked me for money....and neither have the Mormons. There is no point to this rant. Sorry! LOL"
HT, men and women of God have a responsibility to present the truth even when it's not popular or contradicts society's preception of what should be taught or challenged. Having attended church for a long, long time now I can tell you from
experience that we are often most sensitive to the things we do not want to hear because we need to hear them most. Giving to the Lords work is as much a priveledge as it is a responsibility. Tithing is merely giving back to God a protion of
what He has already blessed us with. You cannot out give God! In his own words He challenges us to test Him in regards to our giving and He promises to pour us out a blessing we cannot contain. The blessings may be spiritual, financial, family,
health related etc... Personally, I've been blessed beyond my wildest expectations and look forward to even greater blessings in the future. May you and other's here at LP, experience the fullness of His peace, love and joy!
Christian Bashing is very popular these days ............... but that is OK for "Progressives", because they get to decide what is "Hate Speech" ..........
I say we kill all the violent people.
there wont be any one left on earth if you did that
ROTFLOL!
that'l teach'em to be violent ...........
I've been saying that for years..
"About $1 billion a year from the lottery goes into a public education fund, after prize money, retail commissions and other expenses.
..are the baptists ready to assume that tab for the schools?
yeah they'll build baptist schools.
As one of those Bitter Clingers who enjoys the lottery, I say hands off my lottery, Bible Thumpers!
PS - love the sunset laws in Texas, and loved hearing the sunset commission is in favor of continuing the lottery.
I can respect every single one of these opinions as we're purposely and rightfully designed to all think differently on all matters. However, in the end, when a state as large as Texas still has approximately the same overall prize payouts as states reasonably smaller (less populated), I see a big problem. More money going in should equal a parity of outgoing prizes per dollar spent...and there isn't. Five people can go into a corner store purchasing all high dollar ($20 or up) scratch-offs and not one will win anything worthwhile.
I believe the prize matrix is all wrong, and, it didn't use to be this way when things first started here, you know. In fact, I spoke with a complete stranger this morning about this very thing and the first thing they said was, "You know, I used to win big, and, more often years ago when I bought high price tickets." The I see it is now that they've gotten things rolling pretty good, they've cut way down on the outgoing which isn't fair to any of us who've been participating over the years. There's no reason why a player shouldn't get at least a portion of their money back based on cost(s) of the ticket(s).
No, I'm not saying that everyone should win every time, but rather if more prize money was allotted that players would be okay knowing that at some point they win pretty good. As it is, I can go into any store and purchase several $20 tickets and be very, very lucky to see $5. This really needs to change in my opinion.
L.L.
I don't think we should be painting all Baptists with that same broad brush. 99% of 'em are good, decent, honest people who mind their own business.
It's just some of the Preachers that sometimes tend to be zealots and busybodies. I've had run-ins with 'em my own self about drinking and serving alcohol at public events in my area. They can be very stubborn. Even when I tell them that Jesus drank alcohol and even made alcohol out of water when they ran out of it at a wedding party.
But don't blame the whole congregation or all Baptists for the zealotry of a few Preachers.
I know Baptists who drink and I know Baptists who play the lottery too.
sunset laws are good, now combine them w/ term limits and we got it going.
My Mom's family is Southern Baptists. I am Catholic (Mom converted), but spent many a summer with my cousins at their vacation bible school. Being a heathen Catholic provided lots of summer fun with them. :D They are a very good, honest, hard working, God fearing family, and they know how to throw a good party. And I'd be willing to bet most of them play the lottery now and again. It's a few bad apples that show the more extreme side now and again. Not bad people, but people who just take things too far and want everyone to follow the rules that they themselves live.
I do agree that the Texas lottery winnings are slim. I go through hot and cold periods with the scratchers, mostly cold. :( I had better winnings on fewer scratchers in MI. In Texas, I have bought 5 $10 tickets and walked away completely skunked even though the lottery claims the win ratio is something like 1:2.5678.
Thats Not Right At All
Kinda vague here...please be more specific on what's not right.
L.L.
This is what I'm getting at. I know people in other states that win very frequently...and the larger prizes at that! It's not hard for these people to walk into a store and drop $20 total on tickets and at least get their money back, or, most of it. This is what it's all about...rewarding the players because without them, there is no successful lottery at all.
L.L.
As a side note: while I definitely don't agree with the Baptist's position here, all people are allowed to try to influence public policy, regardless of their religious beliefs. They've phrased their position in secular terms here. They've said they don't like the lottery because it "preys on the poor" and "caters to impulse purchases." They haven't said anything about their doctrinal beliefs, so their religious beliefs aren't all that relevant. Other people in the public square can respond to their arguments rationally, and that's all that civil discourse requires.
My response would be that they are wet blankets, and I am glad that they are likely to fail in abolishing the lottery. Some studies I have read say that poor people play the lottery more; some don't. Either way, poor people who earn their money have a right to decide how to spend it. And all kinds of products cater to impulse purchases... including the candy racks at the check-out ailses. Neither of the reasons presented in the article seem compelling to me, esp. when you are talking about states that are incredibly strapped and cutting essential services, like the budget for police departments and school systems. How else are you going to get people to WILLINGLY pay the government $4 billion/year? We have to pay for public education one way or another. Might as well do it the fun way.
I think the most salient point they make is about whether the lottery has provided a real revenue increase or just replaced other revenue sources.
I have always thought of it like this. The lawmakers come and tell us they are going to give us MORE money for education if we have the lottery. They tell us the money is marked for education. That's great. But that is not enough for them not to scam the taxpayers. Legally, the law makers have to spend the lottery revenue on education, however they can take the other money that was previously funding education and spend that money elsewhere. This gives no actual increase in the education budget.
I would love, love, love to see a study which showed the year-to-year education budget PRIOR to the lottery extrapolated to today. In other words, I want to know what we would have been spending on education today if there was never a lottery and then compare that to what we are spending on the lottery. I think what we will find if that there has been zero benefit to education. That doesn't stop lawmakers from telling us about the billions the lottery has given to education (so that they can rob the education funds of the billions that would have come from the general fund!)
And us chumps just sit here and eat it up.
Also, if the commission billed the lottery as a non-regressive tax, they probably need to go look those words up. I doubt Bill Gates is spending as much dollar-for-dollar on the lottery as the average working poor does. It is, however, voluntary.
I also wanted to say my pastor is a great guy. He takes a small salary and lives humbly. Despite his small means he is generous with his money and leads by example. He doesn't hold people up to the standard he lives by. But he does encourage us and lift us up.
"Tithing" is an old testament word. The people back then actually had many other financial obligations to the temple beyond "titihing" and manditorily gave way above 10% in addition to their freewill offerings.
Here are some quotes from the new testament:
Mark 12:41-44 (New International Version) Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on."
2 Corinthians 9:7 (New International Version) Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
1 Corinthians 16:2 (New International Version) On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
Jesus mentions money a lot. I could post many more things here, but this is not a sermon. I just wanted to show that God is not interested in a dollar amount or a percentage, but He is interested in your heart! Some give more, some give less. Let God be the judge of their hearts.