Tennessee lottery turns over $288.8 million to state

quote:

Originally posted by midknightrider:
Gambling is not an investment strategy....it's a recreation. I didn't read where anyone claimed it was a good investment. Compared to buying mutual funds spending twenty dollars a week on lottery tickets is a poor choice, but compared to buying a $20k bass boat...not so much. Money spent for recreation is different than money spent for investments. If money spent on lottery tickets is looked on as an investment, so should bass fishing...and the ROI in the lottery is a lot better.

quote:

Originally posted by paw-paw:
Mr. H-- I think we are talking two different things here. I re-read the original post and would agree 100% that as an investment strategy, this would never make any sense. What I am getting at is the fact that you cannot legislate morality. Prohibition proved that beyond a doubt. Humans are going to gamble. No law we pass will stop that. Humans are going to consume alcohol. Voting an area "dry" only allows bootleggers to flourish. With these facts in mind, I'm simply saying that if we had a way for people in Alabama to spend their gambling dollars, they would not be going to Tenn. Georgia, Mississippi, Florida or other areas to gamble. And as far as the government, the only thing I have seen most of them "run" is run up the debt numbers. But, all lotteries are controlled by state governments. When everything is said and done, we would simply be getting a portion of the dollars that will be spent somewhere, regardless.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Hooberbloob:
Trader, get off your high horse and reread the original intent of this post.

"i think the whole country should legalize gambling, let the government run it and use to money to get the country out of debt."

Nobody can say that you can't gamble. You can drive down the road and toss money out the window for all I care. You can bet, gamble, and flush your money down the toilet 24 hours a day here in Alabama. All you need is one other sucker and you've got yourself a gambling hall. Do it in the privacy of your own home, nobody is going to give a rats behind.

Anyone who believes a good investment strategy is to spend 1.1 billion dollars to get back 289 million has got to have their head inserted deep into their fourth point of contact. This is pure liberal math, and we know you guys aren't known for having stellar math skills.

I would love to see pawpaw try and convince any credible economics professor that gambling is a sound investment strategy. It's not going to happen, you just flunked Economics 101 along with Common Sense 101. Show me one example in any economics textbook that says gambling is a smart way to make money.

Getting back to the original intent of letting the government run it. Can anyone tell me anything the government has it's hand in that is not swimming in red ink? And you want the government to gamble with our money to get us out of debt? We are most certainly a doomed nation if you guys, with the exception of GOM, represent the majority.

quote:

Originally posted by midknightrider:
Gambling is not an investment strategy....it's a recreation. I didn't read where anyone claimed it was a good investment. Compared to buying mutual funds spending twenty dollars a week on lottery tickets is a poor choice, but compared to buying a $20k bass boat...not so much. Money spent for recreation is different than money spent for investments. If money spent on lottery tickets is looked on as an investment, so should bass fishing...and the ROI in the lottery is a lot better.

quote:

Originally posted by BFred07:

quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Hooberbloob:
Trader, get off your high horse and reread the original intent of this post.

"i think the whole country should legalize gambling, let the government run it and use to money to get the country out of debt."

Nobody can say that you can't gamble. You can drive down the road and toss money out the window for all I care. You can bet, gamble, and flush your money down the toilet 24 hours a day here in Alabama. All you need is one other sucker and you've got yourself a gambling hall. Do it in the privacy of your own home, nobody is going to give a rats behind.

Anyone who believes a good investment strategy is to spend 1.1 billion dollars to get back 289 million has got to have their head inserted deep into their fourth point of contact. This is pure liberal math, and we know you guys aren't known for having stellar math skills.

I would love to see pawpaw try and convince any credible economics professor that gambling is a sound investment strategy. It's not going to happen, you just flunked Economics 101 along with Common Sense 101. Show me one example in any economics textbook that says gambling is a smart way to make money.

Getting back to the original intent of letting the government run it. Can anyone tell me anything the government has it's hand in that is not swimming in red ink? And you want the government to gamble with our money to get us out of debt? We are most certainly a doomed nation if you guys, with the exception of GOM, represent the majority.

Mr Hoober your argument does not hold water. Since you want to talk about economics 101 let me catch you up a little. The lottery had gross sales of 1.14 billion dollars, they had a profit of 288.8 million dollars to turn over to the state. That’s a 25.3333 percent profit, most outfits consider it to be a great year to turn a 3 percent profit or any at all for that matter. Even the oil companies are only doing 8 to 9 percent. The only ones that ever approach those percentages are companies such as Microsoft.
I would say that if the state enters an endeavor and profits even a tenth that much that it would from a business standpoint be unquestionably well worth the effort.
If Alabama were to have an education lotto and even do two thirds (The population of Alabama is about two thirds the population Tennessee) as well that would be 192.5 million in a year and if divided equally among all 8 school districts in Alabama that would be 24.1 million per district. So anyway, do you think 24.1 million extra dollars per year could be well used by each of the districts?
If the benefits outlined above are not enough for anyone we must also remember that there are additional aftershocks of revenue for the state that would come from a lottery too. One would be that winnings are taxed so the winners would be pouring a decent percentage of winnings back into the state coffers over and above the hard profits from the lottery. It would create more jobs, part for administration of the lottery, additionally we would be able to hire more teachers and other school employees. This of course brings down unemployment a little and there are more taxpaying citizens in the state spending money here. Of course the most important part is that the real winners of an education lottery are the kids. Overall they get a better education out of the deal and are offered more opportunities for learning. In turn they grow up and end up with better jobs than they might have had otherwise.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Hooberbloob:

quote:

Originally posted by BFred07:

quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Hooberbloob:
Trader, get off your high horse and reread the original intent of this post.

"i think the whole country should legalize gambling, let the government run it and use to money to get the country out of debt."

Nobody can say that you can't gamble. You can drive down the road and toss money out the window for all I care. You can bet, gamble, and flush your money down the toilet 24 hours a day here in Alabama. All you need is one other sucker and you've got yourself a gambling hall. Do it in the privacy of your own home, nobody is going to give a rats behind.

Anyone who believes a good investment strategy is to spend 1.1 billion dollars to get back 289 million has got to have their head inserted deep into their fourth point of contact. This is pure liberal math, and we know you guys aren't known for having stellar math skills.

I would love to see pawpaw try and convince any credible economics professor that gambling is a sound investment strategy. It's not going to happen, you just flunked Economics 101 along with Common Sense 101. Show me one example in any economics textbook that says gambling is a smart way to make money.

Getting back to the original intent of letting the government run it. Can anyone tell me anything the government has it's hand in that is not swimming in red ink? And you want the government to gamble with our money to get us out of debt? We are most certainly a doomed nation if you guys, with the exception of GOM, represent the majority.

Mr Hoober your argument does not hold water. Since you want to talk about economics 101 let me catch you up a little. The lottery had gross sales of 1.14 billion dollars, they had a profit of 288.8 million dollars to turn over to the state. That’s a 25.3333 percent profit, most outfits consider it to be a great year to turn a 3 percent profit or any at all for that matter. Even the oil companies are only doing 8 to 9 percent. The only ones that ever approach those percentages are companies such as Microsoft.
I would say that if the state enters an endeavor and profits even a tenth that much that it would from a business standpoint be unquestionably well worth the effort.
If Alabama were to have an education lotto and even do two thirds (The population of Alabama is about two thirds the population Tennessee) as well that would be 192.5 million in a year and if divided equally among all 8 school districts in Alabama that would be 24.1 million per district. So anyway, do you think 24.1 million extra dollars per year could be well used by each of the districts?
If the benefits outlined above are not enough for anyone we must also remember that there are additional aftershocks of revenue for the state that would come from a lottery too. One would be that winnings are taxed so the winners would be pouring a decent percentage of winnings back into the state coffers over and above the hard profits from the lottery. It would create more jobs, part for administration of the lottery, additionally we would be able to hire more teachers and other school employees. This of course brings down unemployment a little and there are more taxpaying citizens in the state spending money here. Of course the most important part is that the real winners of an education lottery are the kids. Overall they get a better education out of the deal and are offered more opportunities for learning. In turn they grow up and end up with better jobs than they might have had otherwise.

No it's you who have failed the course. The Tennessee lotto consumed over 800 million dollars and gave back 289 million. That's about a 75% loss anyway you look at it.

quote:

Gov. Mike Easley has moved the issue of a state lottery to the center of North Carolina policy debate. However, what is often overlooked in debating a lottery is the very high cost of administering the program when compared to other ways of raising the same amount of money. Indeed, to raise a dollar's worth of state revenue through a lottery could cost anywhere from 20 to over 50 times more than it would cost to raise the same dollar through other forms of taxation.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Hooberbloob:

quote:

Originally posted by midknightrider:
Gambling is not an investment strategy....it's a recreation. I didn't read where anyone claimed it was a good investment. Compared to buying mutual funds spending twenty dollars a week on lottery tickets is a poor choice, but compared to buying a $20k bass boat...not so much. Money spent for recreation is different than money spent for investments. If money spent on lottery tickets is looked on as an investment, so should bass fishing...and the ROI in the lottery is a lot better.

Not an accurate analogy. If you had said I bought a bass boat worth $5000 for $50,000 I would be more likely to agree. A bass boat is not going to lose over 70% of it's value in one year. You would do much better buying a $20,000 bass boat and selling it for $10,000 than what the Tennessee lotto did over the last year.

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I'm not against Lotteries, but understand the money does not go toward educating children. It is, in effect, just money in the General Fund, to be wasted as effectively as all the other money there.

quote:

Lotteries are the most popular form of gambling in America. As recently as 1963, lotteries
were banned in every state in America. Today, however, 38 states and the District of Columbia
have legalized state-run lotteries.
Americans have spent more than $427 billion on lottery tickets—or about $375 every
second—since their legalization in 1964. In 2001 alone, Americans wagered more than $38.9
billion on lotteries—about $136 for every man, woman and child in the nation.
Lotteries are also the biggest source of government revenue from gambling, generating about
$11.8 billion for the states sponsoring them. In most states with lotteries, some or all of this
revenue is earmarked for education.
This lure of “revenue from nowhere” has caught the attention of Alabama politicians since
1986. For the second time in four years, the citizens of Alabama are being told the best way to
boost the quality of education in our state is by legalizing a state-sponsored lottery. The most
recent proposal by Gov. Don Siegelman would establish a state lottery that he states could
generate $200 million in revenues for the state’s beleaguered Education Trust Fund.
With the recurring threat of proration and the lure of lotteries and casino gambling across
three of our state lines, an Alabama lottery may seem to be a quick fix to our state’s financial
woes. Despite their popularity, though, lotteries are not the stable revenue source gambling
supporters claim them to be, nor are they devoid of social and economic consequences. An
Alabama Lottery: Theft by Consent examines the darker side of lotteries in other states, as well
as what might happen if Alabama were to legalize its own education lottery. This report shows:
! To realize $200 million for education, an Alabama lottery would have to sell $571 million
worth of tickets, or about $127 for every man, woman and child in the state.
! Legalizing a state lottery would create more than 16,000 new pathological gamblers, and cost
the state more than $200 million in social and economic costs.
! The poor spend disproportionately more of their income on lottery tickets than middle- and
upper-income families.
! Instead of attracting money from out of state, an Alabama lottery would cannibalize the
existing economy by consuming local dollars.
! States that legalize low-stakes forms of gambling such as lotteries often legalize “harder”
forms of gambling in a matter of a few years.
! Seventy-five percent of all high school students have gambled, and more than 2.2 million
adolescents are already addicted to gambling.
! Five percent of all lottery players buy half of all lottery tickets.
! The fastest growing group of problem gamblers—in terms of those calling for help—is
senior citizens, many of whom are being hooked on the lottery.
! Alabama residents buy only two percent of all lottery tickets from Florida and 4.5 percent
from Georgia.

quote:

Originally posted by Billy Joe Bob Gene:

As long as you know. I play $2/week myself, just for the thrill of imagining what I'd do if I won. Not for "the children". They're low on the list of priorities, after all. Children don't vote. Unions do.

quote:

Originally posted by trader:
Justice...
There are also some posters who feel the same way.
Over 1 billion dollars taken in or put into circulation in Tenn alone....only $288 plus million in profit, why that is not worth driving across the street for, say the PIOUS...

Gee!!! Where did the other 800 million go...into space or was it put back into circulation by the state spending it to run the Lottery in rent, wages, insurance for employees, then those employees and others who received payment for services then paid their bills, and then .....

Wow! I guess Alabama does not need to keep that 1 billion in circulation here....

Yes! Agree! Lottery or going to a Casino is not a good investment move...its called entertainment and to some simply having the ability to purchase HOPE...no matter how slim the chance...One thing is for sure...if you don't play you AIN'T GONNA WIN...

High Horse...? I thought I was just stating a factual observation, not being critical..

But then again, I am very well much aware of the naive thinking of the PIOUS. Had to deal with it for years as an Officer who dealth with citizens in a Dry County who thought they were helping by keeping their County Dry, not realizing they were contributing to the problem of enforcement not helping..

I also realized I or anyone else will never convince those individuals who see the world from only their side of the fence to look at a better way to do things...
Dry Counties created Bootleggers, corruption, and uncollected taxes. It never did stop drinking...it did make good citizens into criminals every time they went to the bootlegger or had the bootlegger deliver the hooch to their home, because they did not want to be seen near the bootleggers house..

Imagine that... a grown person afraid to show their own true character and stand up for who they really are, because they did not want their other PIOUS friends to know they take a drink occassionaly.(Know anyone like that?)

This type of thinking created the Mafia of the roaring twenties and thirties...it also drives the citizens who are going to go to the casino, purchase a lottery ticket or play bingo for entertainment to go across into the adjoining state to do those things. It never stopped the action, it simply drove the money into another state..
I sit in a lot of County Government Meetings in Mississippi,Tenn, Alabama,Lousianna, Kentucky. I see the stark reality of how much money the counties or states have who allow the casino or lottery to operate. I have sit in a county meeting where hundreds of thousands were available to spend on infrastructure who had the casino or Bingo establishments.
That afternoon I would set in the adjoining County and listen to the commissioners talk having very little money to spend on their infrastructure after meeting their fixed operational budget. Some could not even afford to repair all their roads. But they were the most PIOUS...now that is a banner to wave...

Do ya think the people in that county did not go across the county line 10 miles away to play for awhile..
Sadly, the citizens of the poor counties were the creator of their own situation.

Thought-Word-Deed is the producer of Reality and sometimes that is a harsh reality that hits you square in the face. They are the ones who scream we need more money, we need more money from the state, from the Federal Government, from anybody but from themselves. They vote down more property and school taxes, and also vote down anything they perceive "sinful" if it goes against their view of the fence. Thus, the circle comes around in full circle and the same remains the same until some start to say, this thinking process is not giving us what we need to support our community.
Why is the other county or state getting the money that should be spent here..? How do I stop it? Simply change your thoughts on how resolve an issue.

Think I am being negative or on a high horse...No! this is a factual truth and no amount of idealistic thinking or attempts to control what one percieves as a SIN will change anything...

The HARD COLD TRUTH is people will do whatever they want to for sex, get high or for entertainment.
No amount of laws enacted will change that.It only drives it underground, it does not stop the activity.

It is what it is...nothing else to be said..

Ask yourself, if more laws and threat of punishment from the courts worked, why are we having to build more prisons and hire guards for them?

If Gambling is a SIN, or playing a lottery ticket is an abomination...that why are a large majority of the people who go to Casino's, purchase a lottery ticket or play bingo also call themselves Christians?

But then again, that opens another can of worms doesn't it...

quote:

Originally posted by Billy Joe Bob Gene:
That's simply $288 M that need not come out of the general budget.

That's $288 M that will go toward TennCare and teacher's retirements and about $12 toward fixing potholes.

I'm not against Lotteries, but understand the money does not go toward educating children. It is, in effect, just money in the General Fund, to be wasted as effectively as all the other money there.

As long as you know. I play $2/week myself, just for the thrill of imagining what I'd do if I won. Not for "the children". They're low on the list of priorities, after all. Children don't vote. Unions do.

quote:

Originally posted by midknightrider:
Is there any corruption in the state run lottery? I'm sure. Governments have corruption at every level. Are they wasteful? Sure. Governments are not good with money. Do I care? Not really. Why not? Because it's my money and I'm not buying better eduction or roads, I'm buying a chance to win. Money for education may be a consequence, but it's certainly not a reason. With taxes, you're (supposedly) getting xxx amount of services from your government for xxx amount of money. If the lottery pays whenever someone wins, they have done what they said they would do, one shouldn't expect anymore.