by Larry L. Page, Executive Director, Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council: An article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette disclosed that Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter will push the legislature to refer to the voters a proposed constitutional amendment to establish a state lottery. In each regular session of the General Assembly, legislators may submit up to three constitutional amendments for the voters’ consideration in the following general election. Over the last couple of decades, proponents of a state lottery have encouraged the legislators to refer a lottery amendment to the state’s voters. Conservative family-value Arkansans have always been able to deter those attempts to establish a state lottery through the legislative referral procedure. (Arkansas voters have also defeated at the polls lottery proposals that were qualified for the ballot by the initiative process.) It looks as if we will again need to step up and block yet another run at a state lottery. We are one of only eight states that have resisted the urge to adopt a lottery. Lottery gambling is a notoriously poor economic tool. It is a regressive tax that hits members of the lower socioeconomic classes the hardest, often making them even more dependent on state services and assistance. In addition, revenue from lotteries does not provide a boon to education and in many instances it even proves harmful to the educational system. The bottom line: A lottery makes the state an economic predator of its weakest citizens. It inverts the role of government, so that instead of looking after the best interests of vulnerable people, it manipulates and exploits them for crass economic gain. Arkansans are better than that, as we have demonstrated time and time again at the ballot box and in the halls of the capitol.
The issue is out there and will probably be in the legislative mix soon. It is time to contact your state senator and state representative (or leave them a message) and advise them that you would appreciate their opposition to any attempts to refer a state lottery amendment to the voters.
Tags: Arkansas, Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council, Bill Halter, Larry Page, lottery To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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