Lockyer and Feinstein to oppose Lottery proposal in Budget Deal
At the Milken Institute’s State of the State conference today, California Treaurer Bill Lockyer said he would join with Senator Dianne Feinstein in opposing the governor’s proposal to use the lottery to help fix the budget hole. This propsal was part of the budget deal. If defeated in next year’s special election, another five billion dollar hole will appear in the budget.
A Few Canaries in the Coal Mine To Think About
The term “canaries in the coal mine” has been around for a long time. Unfortunately we are a nation of urbanites, suburbanites, and ex-urbanites who have no idea what it means. For that matter most Americans have no idea where their food comes from either, but that is a story for another day.
Here is the best definition I have found, courtesy of wisegeek.com.
“Life for an actual canary in a coal mine could be described in three words – short but meaningful. Early coalmines did not feature ventilation systems, so miners would routinely bring a caged canary into new coal seams. Canaries are especially sensitive to methane and carbon monoxide, which made them ideal for detecting any dangerous gas build-ups. As long as the canary in a coal mine kept singing, the miners knew their air supply was safe. A dead canary in a coalmine signaled an immediate evacuation.”
In modern terms, the canaries were an early warning system to keep the miners out of danger.
Threatening Businesses Over Proposition 8
Threatening businesses that have made donations in the Proposition 8 campaign on gay marriage has become a weapon used by both sides in the debate. Opposing Proposition 8, Californians Against Hate, created specifically to draw attention to donors who contributed to the measure, organized boycott efforts against some business contributors as reported in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. ProtectMarriage.com, a leading group supporting Prop 8, announced it will publicize any business that donates against the measure unless that company also makes an equal donation to the Yes side. Rest assured, that publicity is intended to be negative.
Asking consumers to be political activists with their dollars is not a new phenomenon. Some have argued it is a good way for people to become active in politics. University of South Carolina history professor Lawrence Glickman argued in a 2005 Boston Globe piece that, “The fact that so many Americans are not only ardent consumers but avid consumer activists suggests that they see consumption not only as a private pleasure but as a public good.”
Lottery: The Schools Win Again!
Modernizing the State Lottery and allowing the state to “securitize” (get an advance on) future revenues are well-known elements of the budget deal hammered out in September. A constitutional amendment and related changes to the lottery initiative will be proposed to voters at the next statewide election. The Governor estimates that these changes will result in a $5 billion bump in revenues in 2009-10, which will be used “to pay down debt and fill the rainy-day fund in the out-years.”
But one of the lesser-known features of this deal will be to disconnect the Lottery from its original purpose to supplement public school and college budgets. Instead, any surplus revenues beyond prizes, administration, and loan repayment will be deposited in the state General Fund. In return, the amount of lottery spending for public education this year will be added to the Proposition 98 guarantee, and increased as the constitutional minimum floor is raised. This is not a trivial change: for the eight years through 2006-07 (most recent data), lottery revenues increased by 34 percent while the Prop 98 guarantee increased by 54 percent.