Leasing Lottery To Finance Health Reform Is Too Risky
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) proposal to help finance health care reform with proceeds from leasing the state lottery to a private entity "is the wrong way to fund expanded medical care," a Sacramento Bee editorial states.
"The governor and lawmakers cannot ignore the social impact of gambling and the degree to which an expanded, more aggressive state lottery might add to that impact," according to the editorial. "A bigger, glitzier state lottery might help fill state coffers, but is that worth producing more problem gamblers?" the editorial asks.
The "financial benefit" of leasing the lottery is "uncertain and it surely will prove politically difficult," according to the editorial.
"If politically powerful tribes and cardroom operators see a privatized lottery as significant competition, they could mount a campaign against it and probably defeat any proposal they opposed," the editorial states.
The editorial concludes, "The governor and legislative leaders should look elsewhere in their efforts to close the deal on health care reform" (Sacramento Bee, 10/27).