Lottery Further Evidence of General Assembly's Dangerous Spending Addiction, Say Libertarians
Renewed talk of a state-sponsored lottery has hit a
sour note with North Carolina Libertarians. While in the
past Libertarians have supported letting the voters decide
on a state lottery, party officials greeted the current
proposal with dismay.
"If the General Assembly were considering using a
lottery to reduce the personal income tax, we might support
the idea," said Sean Haugh, State Chair of the Libertarian
Party. "But in its current form, a new state lottery would
just be another way for our spendthrift legislature to suck
more of our hard-earned dollars from our pockets."
Even if introduction of a state lottery led to
direct tax relief for North Carolina citizens, Libertarians
would still approach the idea cautiously. "It's just one
more industry for the government to take over and ruin,"
explained Haugh. "Government monopolies don't work for
schools or cable tv, so why should one work for gambling?"
Entry into the lottery business also represents a
thorny moral issue, note Libertarians. "Do we really want
the politicians in Raleigh having a stake in promoting
gambling?" Haugh asked. "Can we trust government with
another monopoly on vice?"
Haugh expressed surprise at the number of Democrats
willing to support a lottery. He noted that "progressives
usually lead the fight against regressive taxes, and this
is as regressive as they get." Haugh cited a recent report
of the John Locke Foundation, which showed the median
income of lottery players to be significantly lower than
the incomes of families the lottery bill is supposedly
designed to help.
One argument used to promote a state lottery is
that neighboring Virginia draws thousands of players from
North Carolina. Haugh replied, "If Virginia was making
money selling crack, should we sell crack too? Just
because Virginia has a lottery doesn't make it moral."
Haugh admitted that from one perspective, a state
lottery is a natural. "Given our legislators' addictive
personalities when it comes to spending, it only makes
sense they'd be attracted to gambling," said Haugh. "We
urge the members of the General Assembly to seek
professional help for their spending addiction, instead of
inventing new ways to enable it even further."
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