At a time when Middleboro was debating CPA[Community Preservation Act], the Town's residents purchased a staggering $19 MILLION in LOTTERY PRODUCTS.

The Article below is sorely disappointing because it fails to delve into the great detail available from the state that indicates the massive LOTTERY SALES in poorer communities.

The Commonwealth targets the POOR!

Justifying LOCAL AID distribution does not exempt the Commonwealth from its Addiction to Predatory Gambling Revenues.

Chasing a dream: Who's fueling the lottery's growth?

Elias El-Hahcem owner of Valero gas station in Fairhaven, MA sells some more lottery tickets in this file photo. El-Hahcem recently sold a $1 million ticket. PHOTO PETER PEREIRA/The Standard-Times

By Gerry Tuoti
GateHouse News Service
Posted May. 22, 2016

Business is booming for the Massachusetts State Lottery, which sold a record $5 billion in lottery tickets last fiscal year and consistently ranks among the nation’s leaders in sales.

Statewide per capita lottery sales averaged about $740 in fiscal 2015, a little more than $2 per person, per day. More than 50 cities and towns posted per capita lottery sales in excess of $1,000.

“At the end of the day, we do try to run the lottery as a business and be very effective, but we keep in mind that we have a public mission,” said Michael Sweeney, executive director of the Massachusetts State Lottery. “We drive revenue back to 351 cities and towns as unrestricted local aid. They get to decide each year how the money is going to be spent. It’s one of their largest sources of dollars.”

Last year, the lottery paid out $3.6 billion in prizes and provided more than $985.8 million in local aid to Massachusetts cities and towns. In the coming fiscal year, the level of lottery revenue returned to cities and towns as local aid is expected to top $1 billion. The funds, called “unrestricted general government aid,” can be used to run school programs, hire police officers, pave roads or provide other municipal services.

But that funding comes at a cost, lottery critics say.

“There is no single act of government that creates more inequality of opportunity than its sponsorship of lotteries,” said Lawrence native Les Bernal, a former Beacon Hill staffer who now serves as executive director of national nonprofit Stop Predatory Gambling. “The Massachusetts Lottery is the prime example in the nation of how this policy creates inequality. Nearly all the top lottery retailers are in lower income areas.”

New Bedford is one of the places where lottery sales are high, state records show.

Generally, the most affluent communities rank among the lowest in sales. Of the 20 cities and towns with the lowest per capita lottery sales, six rank above the 90th percentile for per capita income, according to data from the Massachusetts State Lottery and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Of the 20 cities and towns with the highest per capita lottery sales, 14 rank below the 50th percentile for per capita income.

“While part of that may be due to the urban nature of some of those communities where there may be more stores and jobs people are commuting to and from, I don’t think it’s an accident that there’s higher consumption of lottery tickets in lower income areas,” said Michael Goodman, executive director of the Public Policy Center at UMass Dartmouth.

There are exceptions to the general trend.

While poor people may be playing the lottery at high rates, poor communities benefit greatly from lottery-funded local aid.

Sweeney argued that geography, proximity to major travel routes, density of businesses and infrastructure are a much bigger factor in lottery sales than socio-economic status.

Located near the New Hampshire border, retailers in Salisbury, which ranks No. 1 in per capita sales, likely sell many tickets to out-of-state customers, he said.

Bernal, though, cited numerous pieces of research showing elevated rates of lottery sales among the economically disadvantaged.

A 2004 Cornell University study, for example, showed a correlation between poverty rates and lottery sales in 39 states.

Despite miniscule odds of winning, purchasing a lottery ticket can become a desperate attempt to get rich, Bernal said. He took particular issue with the rising cost of scratch tickets, some forms of which cost $30 a piece.

“People think somehow this $30 ticket that’s rigged against me is my best chance,” Bernal said. “It’s a Hail Mary investment strategy for poor people. That’s what makes it dishonest.”

Sweeney said a long track record and high payout rates — 72 percent of sales revenue was paid out as prizes last year — have helped make the lottery a success. Excitement surrounding recent record jackpots in the multi-state Powerball and Mega Millions games have also had an impact, he said.

“While sales in less affluent communities drive a large portion of lottery revenue, those communities do benefit by getting funding back in the form of local aid. The local aid formula disburses lottery revenue to cities and towns based on their population and median home values.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/news/20160522/chasing-dream-whos-fueling-lotterys-growth

Subscribe
Archives

By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan

05/23/2016

Dead heat | Tragedy in Auburn | Hydro versus wind, not

Happening Today

Express train from Worcester

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, U.S. Rep. James McGovern, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack and other officials ride the new non-stop "Heart to Hub" express train from Worcester to Boston, with media events before, 7:15 a.m., Union Station, Worcester, and after, 9:15 a.m., South Station, Boston.

U.S. energy secretary at BC

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, a BC alumnus, will give the commencement address at Boston College's commencement, Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, 10 a.m.

Board of Education meeting

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education holds a meeting to get a progress report on the implementation of the commonwealth's educator evaluation framework, DESE, 75 Pleasant St., Malden, 5 p.m.

Today's News

Weekend polls: It’s a dead heat between Clinton and Trump

One wonders what supporters of Bernie Sanders are thinking when they see the latest presidential polls showing Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump in a statistical dead heat. They might be thinking, ‘Hey, our guy can do better against Trump.’ Or perhaps they have a pang of guilt and wonder if they’re helping Trump at the expense of Clinton. Unfortunately for Clinton, the almost guaranteed Dem nominee, it’s undoubtedly the former. Anyway, here’s a summary of the most recent survey stats from Slate’s Daniel Politi:

“Hillary Clinton’s once-comfortable advantage over Donald Trump appears to have vanished, according to the latest polls. In the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, Clinton continues to hold the lead over Trump by 3 points—46 percent to 43 percent—but that is within the survey’s margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.1 percentage points. And it is a far cry from the 11-point advantage Clinton had over Trump in April. Things are flipped in the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll that shows Trump on top by 2 points—46 percent to 44 percent—and that is also well within the margin of error. That poll also shows how voters appear to be warming to Trump, as his support amounts to an 11-point gain in support since March. In contrast, Bernie Sanders leads Trump by a much more comfortable margin: 54 percent to 39 percent, according to the NBC/WSJ poll. “

Slate

Central Massachusetts tragedy

A very violent, tragic and long day came to a dramatic end in central Massachusetts yesterday, after police killed the suspect who allegedly gunned down Auburn Police Officer Ronald Tarentino Jr., 42, during a traffic stop early Sunday morning, reports The Telegram in a full recap of the day’s events.

Former Boston Police Chief Ed Davis in the Herald pays tribute to Tarentino, the father of three, and other officers who make the ultimate sacrifice.

The Telegram

Worcester express has hopes high in Central Mass.

The MBTA rolls out its new commuter rail schedule today, including the debut of the Worcester-to-Boston express train, known as the Heart To Hub. That new option has residents and political leaders alike hopeful that the 1-hour ride will help boost the central Massachusetts city’s economic fortunes by making it possible for people to more quickly commute from Worcester to Boston, Cyrus Moulton of the Telegram reports. “This is really making the city of Worcester more attractive to younger people,” said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito.

The Telegram

Hydro and wind power: You know, you can have both

The Globe had an editorial over the weekend that makes perfect sense to most people, but apparently not to others, including some environmentalists pushing hard for wind power:

“It’s unfortunate that hydro and wind have been pitted against each other when either would provide major environmental benefit compared to the current overreliance on natural gas. Indeed, the power grid of the future needs to involve both (as is so often pointed out, the wind doesn’t always blow). The fact of the matter is that right now only hydro can meet the state’s goals on the state’s timeline. But the state will need wind, too, so farsighted legislation would provide for both.”

It’s true: You really can have both hydro and wind at the same time. Hydro and wind are not incompatible. They complement each other, even if some critics of hydro strain to obscure this point.

Boston Globe

Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Baker, RIP

Bryan Marquard has a moving story in the Globe this morning on the inspiring life of Elizabeth “Betty” Baker, the mother of Gov. Charlie Baker. Betty Baker died over the weekend at 84, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, reports CBS Boston. In a Facebook post on Saturday night, the governor wrote: “Rest In Peace mom. You raised three boys, along with tons of other kids from around the neighborhood (and some outside of it too), and along with Dad, taught everyone about life, love, service and sacrifice. God Bless.”

Our condolences to the entire Baker family.

Dirty tricks alleged in Cape Senate race

A feisty weekend candidates’ forum among Democrats vying for the Cape and islands Senate seat has sparked cries of dirty tricky, according to a report from Sam Mintz of the Cape Cod Times. It was revealed during the event that Rep. Brian Mannal, D-Barnstable, had a civil arrest warrant issued for him earlier this year—he says it was due to a clerical oversight—while one of his opponents, Julian Cyr, acknowledged he had hired a firm to dig up dirt on his primary opponents. “I am profoundly disappointed that someone in my own party would attempt to use dirty tricks to win an election,” Mannal said.

Cape Cod Times

Massachusetts schools struggle with transgender issues

Though the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued anti-discrimination guidelines to schools in 2013, officials continue to grapple with how to handle transgender issues at the local level, reports Christian Wade at the Gloucester Daily Times: “Transgender students still face widespread discrimination and harassment from their peers and misunderstanding from school officials who often don't know what their obligations are under state and federal law, advocates say.”

Gloucester Daily Times

Towns ordered to investigate alleged health agent fraud

The state’s inspector general is telling three communities to do a better job of investigating whether Mark Oram, Ashland’s full-time health agent who is also a member of the Marlborough City Council, double-billed the towns, Brittney McNamara of the MetroWest Daily News reports. Oram denies any wrongdoing, but Inspector General Glenn Cuhna says the towns have not kept accurate-enough records to determine if overlapping billing took place.

MetroWest Daily News

Lottery’s growth raises questions of who is playing (and paying) more

The Massachusetts State Lottery is coming off its best year ever, which saw $5 billion worth of tickets sold, but some are questioning whether the growth is coming at the expense of those who can least afford to play, Gerry Tuoti of GateHouse News Service reports. Less-affluent communities typically see heavier lottery sales than those with higher incomes.

GateHouse News

Why so few cameras in cruisers?

As Boston and other police departments begin rolling out police body cameras, Allison Manning of Boston.com reports that few Massachusetts cruisers are outfitted with dashboard cameras. Experts say resistance from police unions and a perceived lack of need for the technology are some of the reasons the Bay State lags behind the rest of the country in adoption rates.

Boston.com

The most powerful military officer in the world returns to BC High

How’s this for a high school graduation speaker: the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States military. Boston College High School nabbed him as its speaker over the weekend. But they had a small advantage: Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. is a BC High alum, reports the Patriot Ledger’s Liam Hofmeister at Wicked Local. Still, it was impressive.

Our second most impressive commencement speaker from this past weekend: Hank Azaria, the voice actor for The Simpson, dispensing advice, in character, at Tufts University. YouTube video of Azaria’s Tufts address is at Inside Higher Ed.

Wicked Local

Monday’s MASSterList Review of Book Reviews

Before getting into this week's review of reviews, we found this NYT item interesting: Bill Gates’ review of his favorite books. The list is somewhat heavy on business and energy subjects. Instead, our attention drifted toward Gates’ pick of Neal Stephenson’s sci-fi novel “Seveneves.”

Homecoming and Belonging, by Sebastian Junger, reviewed by Jennifer Senior in the New York Times. The local author of best-sellers such ‘The Perfect Storm’ and ‘A Death in Belmont’ takes on a somewhat different topic this time around: How veterans returning home from war find a society that seems to have lost its sense of community and interdependence. “Mr. Junger has raised one of the most provocative ideas of this campaign season — and accidentally written one of its most intriguing political books,” write Senior. “All without mentioning a single candidate, or even the president, by name.” Though the book is dull at times, Senior says, it raises urgent questions that deserve addressing.

The Politicians and the Egalitarians: The Hidden History of American Politics, by Sean Wilentz, reviewed by David Shribman in the Boston Globe. From Thomas Jefferson on, many have complained about the rise and dominance of political parties in America, but Wilentz, a Princeton historian, thinks otherwise, Shribman writes. “Wilentz’s verdict, fortified by examples from Jefferson to Jefferson Davis, and from Grover Cleveland presumably through the conventions in July: Partisanship is not only good, it is also productive.” Though Shribman doesn’t give a clear thumbs up or down on the book, he appears to admire Wilentz for making the non-consensus argument that political parties matter and that they contribute to American democracy.

Today's Headlines

Metro

The Boston Public Library has a new president - Boston.com

School districts grapple with transgender bathroom policies - Gloucester Times

IOC member says Walsh aide indictment makes mega-event planners wary - Boston Magazine

Massachusetts

Crisis long behind, Market Basket pursues aggressive growth strategy - Lowell Sun

Why do so few Mass. police departments have cameras in their cruisers? - Boston.com

Remembrances pour in for Elizabeth Baker, Charlie Baker’s mother - Boston Globe

Who’s fueling the lottery’s growth? - Standard-Times

‘Dirty tricks’ alleged in Democratic race for Senate - Cape Cod Times

More police details mean more money, less rest for Quincy cops - Patriot Ledger