Repeal the Lottery?

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder



Or decreasing the BAC to .08 when most DUIs are over .15

I seldom disagree with your points.  However, gaming really doesn't put other's at risk as does drunk driving.

Lowering the BAC was to increase the stakes and lower the overall numbers of drunk drivers on the road.  It's worked.

The numbers prove that with even more drivers on the road than 25 years ago, that drunk driving fatalities are down with tougher drunk driving laws and better awareness.

[MichaelC]

I think the argument of whether or not gaming is detrimental to society is a double-edged sword.  On the one hand, you could argue that at least for some, access to gaming can lead to the rise of gambling related issues such as addiction or theft.  On the other hand, you can't really say for sure whether or not those that are adversely effected by gaming, would get themselves into something else that is relatively negative, had gaming not existed.

I still believe that those specific items that were passed during the lottery vote, were largely a net negative to the Tulsa economy.  But gaming is here, it's going to be here, and I'm going to play.  Casinos anyway, on occassion.  I still haven't bought a lottery ticket, I have a thing for smoke, bells, and flashing lights.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

Sgrizzle - do you really think banning ATMs from casinos would do any good?  The QT next door would simply see its ATM traffic go through the roof.  To me that sounds like a great government bandaid solution that would do nothing at all.  

Like, for instance, making me walk next door to buy soda for my scotch.

Or making me stock up on wine on Saturday for Sunday dinner.

Or decreasing the BAC to .08 when most DUIs are over .15

Or allowing slot machines and banning dice.

Or any number of other government 'solutions' that no nothing but frustrate business and citizens.

Probably not but listening to casinos saying they "discourage" people from out of control betting yet doing cash advances on credit cards all the while seems ludicrous.

Yup, according to Gore, the earth has a fever, and the only cure, is more cowbell.

[shadows]

Lets don't be hastily to repeal the lottery.  We are still scratching for all that money that racing, machines at the tracks, liquor by the drink, tax on liquor and all the pots of gold that we were assured was at the end of the rainbows.  I am sure there is some more money lying around we can be promised we can have access to.  .  

Don't forget we have an arena that will bring in millions and developments on stink river.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by shadows

Lets don't be hastily to repeal the lottery.  We are still scratching for all that money that racing, machines at the tracks, liquor by the drink, tax on liquor and all the pots of gold that we were assured was at the end of the rainbows.  I am sure there is some more money lying around we can be promised we can have access to.  .  

Don't forget we have an arena that will bring in millions and developments on stink river.

Let's start taxing pre-marital or extra-marital sex, that's the only sin-tax they haven't thought of yet.  Well wait, I'm sure some greedy politician has thought of it, it's just never been implimented. []

[rwarn17588]

That's because if there were a tax on extra-marital sex, Republican politicians like Giuliani and Gingrich would be in the poorhouse.

[cannon_fodder]

Conan, lowering the BAC simply changed the presumption of guilt.  It means if you are over .08 you are automatically presumed intoxicated and arrested.  You could always get a DUI at .08 as you can currently get a DUI below .08.

The issues has never been an officer's inability to arrest someone because they didnt hit the magic .1 BAC.  The issue is too many people WAY over .1 on the road.  Lowering the BAC to .08 has not helped address that at all.  Higher fines, community service, jail time, loss of a CDL has and a change in public attitude toward drunk driving has.

However, I understand and appreciate your distinction. But lowering the BAC changed nothing but the understanding the politicians were being 'tough on drunk driving' by the federal government blackmailing states to comply to the .08 standard. Huge tangent looming.  I better stop.

[rwarn17588]

I agree with you, cannon_fodder. The number of drunken-driving accidents was already going down sharply before lawmakers jumped on the .08 bandwagon.

One police chief I knew opposed the lowering of the law from .10 to .08 because the average drunk driver blew a .17. The DUIs were already so far above the threshold, lowering it was meaningless.

He also said that lowering the threshold doesn't address the problem of chronic drunken drivers, which are the big problem.

[Conan71]

I have spent a fair amount of time on this subject, but we may still be talking past each other on this one.

The reason .08 came about was initially a "scientific" model from NHTSA stats.  The break-point in higher incidence of fatalities was the .08 threshold.  Quite a bit less from .00 to .07 g/dl.  It's not as arbitrary as you think.  With lower fatality rates and more cars on the road than there were 17 years ago, it's obviously working to some degree along with other awareness programs.

At the same time as we have .08 as the limit for DUI, there is also now aggravated DUI which is .15 that gives much stiffer penalties in an effort to get the attention of people with BAC's over .15.

It's designed as a deterrent.  I agree that it doesn't make everyone think twice before driving drunk, but it has made an impact since .08 legislation started spreading in the early '90's.  The majority of people who drink to a .15 or higher on a regular basis aren't prone to the best judgement in the first place.

Granted there have been fatality crashes labeled as caused by alcohol which might have been due more to slick roads, driver innattention (which IS exascerbated by alcohol consumption), or even where it was entirely a sober person's fault in another car- it's just listed as a crash involving alcohol.

[jamesrage]

quote:Originally posted by MichaelC

From KTUL

quote:Oklahoma City (AP) - The head of Oklahoma's Republican Party, citing lower-than-expected revenue and escalating social costs, is calling for repeal of the Oklahoma Lottery.

Only 18 months after the first lottery ticket was sold in the state, state Republican Party chairman Tom Daxon says the lottery -- approved with 64 percent of the vote in a statewide referendum in November 2004 -- has not worked out as the voters were led to believe.

Democratic Governor Brad Henry supported a statewide lottery as a way to raise additional revenue for public schools and state colleges and universities.

A spokesman for Henry, Paul Sund, says if Daxon wants the lottery repealed, quote, "he should have at it."

The G-O-P chairman says lottery revenue has consistently been below expectations and that shortfalls have forced lawmakers to dip into other revenue sources to fund education.

Daxon also says an increase in gaming in the state has led to a variety of social problems.

My only beef with the lottery is the powerball,I do not think Oklahoma should have went with a multi-state lottery.Because when the jack pot goes up real high,people in the multi-state lottery system can just buy lottery tickets in their state.If we had just our own lottery system, people from other state would come here to play any time our lottery jack pot was significantly high.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by jamesrage


My only beef with the lottery is the powerball,I do not think Oklahoma should have went with a multi-state lottery.Because when the jack pot goes up real high,people in the multi-state lottery system can just buy lottery tickets in their state.If we had just our own lottery system, people from other state would come here to play any time our lottery jack pot was significantly high.

We have a state lottery, no-one buys them.

[tim huntzinger]

I like JR's idea of having a megalotto exclusive to OK, but repealing the lottery is a bad idea IMO.  Sounds like there needs to be a change in the management there and more realistic goals set for the lottery as a revenue source.

[RecycleMichael]

When I win the powerball, I don't know any of ya'll.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by jamesrage


My only beef with the lottery is the powerball,I do not think Oklahoma should have went with a multi-state lottery.Because when the jack pot goes up real high,people in the multi-state lottery system can just buy lottery tickets in their state.If we had just our own lottery system, people from other state would come here to play any time our lottery jack pot was significantly high.

The reason we tapped into Powerball is because Oklahomans were driving to neighboring states to play it.  It takes too long to generate any sort of jackpot in one state which will be an incentive for people to play it, rather than to drive to Caney, Kansas and have a 1 billion to one shot (or whatever it is) to win $300 million.

I don't pay that close attention to what the jackpot is.  If I happen to notice the billboard on Hwy 75 and it's over $100mm, I might buy a couple of tickets, if I remember the next time I go into QT.

I generally have more of a tendency to give $1 to the heart foundation, Jerry's kids or whatever at a point of sale than buy a lottery ticket.

[jamesrage]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle


We have a state lottery, no-one buys them.

Thats because we have the powerball.