THE CHANCES are greater that you will be struck by lightning twice tomorrow than have bought a winning lottery ticket for the Big Game, as of last Tuesday afternoon. The jackpot in the seven-state game played in Virginia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and New Jersey climbed $25 million early in the week. By the time of the drawing Tuesday night, the prize almost swelled past the U.S. record of $363 million, split by two Big Game winners in 2000. Virginia is one of many states that uses state-run gambling as a supplement of general fund revenue for the Commonwealth's primary and secondary schools. In these times of fiscal emergency, Virginia's multi-million-dollar cash cow must be redistributed to include higher education institutions.
Virginia's lottery system dates back to 1987, when voters voted by referendum for a system that they believed would supplement education. In 1989, the funds were used for capital improvements throughout Virginia. From 1990 through 1999, those revenues simply were transferred to the Commonwealth's general fund, from which legislators had free reign to allocate the resources as necessary. Another constitutional amendment in 1999, again by referendum, earmarked all lottery revenues for primary and secondary education. Revenues from the lottery in Virginia are approximately 35 cents for every dollar. In 1989, Virginia's take on the lottery proceeds exceeded $140 million. Last year, revenues had increased $5.7 million from the year before to $329.2 million, all of which went toward primary and secondary education.
|
With public universities sustaining millions in cuts over the next biennium, our legislators must turn to alternate sources of revenue. While the legislature has allowed the University to recapture much of the budget cuts by increasing tuition, the burden of covering the Commonwealth's diminishing revenue should not fall completely on the student. North Carolina does not have a lottery system and an estimated $100 million in annual sales come from Virginia's southern neighbor. Additionally, the I-95 corridor brings tourists through the Commonwealth headed for points north and south. These constitute 13.5 percent of sales for the lottery system. With Virginia tax revenues in the tank, the lottery system offers a way that legislators can increase funding to higher education, which also benefits a smaller percentage of out-of-state students, without alienating Virginia voters with increased taxes. This also avoids the state-issued public debt of a general obligation bond issue.
Such measures then beg the question of whether higher education funds should be increased at the expense of primary and secondary schools throughout the Commonwealth. Currently, local regions in Virginia, specifically Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, have struggled with ideas for raising revenues for local education. The proposed measures often conflict with similar initiatives to increase funding for traffic improvements in the region. These regional approaches to increased education funding alienate poor and rural regions of the Commonwealth, as local revenues are raised by taxing land value.
So what can be done at the statewide level to increase education funding uniformly across Virginia, if lottery funds are to be partially reallocated toward higher education? The answer lies in increasing the tobacco tax. The current tax is a half cent per pack of cigarettes. In fiscal year 2000, the Commonwealth made over $15 million in tobacco tax revenue. Noting tobacco as an addictive product, the percentage sales lost from a significant hike in the tax would be minimal. The tax also would serve as a deterrent to those who would acquire the dangerous habit. Also, by allocating tax revenue from tobacco to primary and secondary education, it presents a selling point with the voter for increasing the tax in the first place, and helps hold the powerful tobacco lobby at bay. Because the revenues from the increased tax appear to benefit the youth of the Commonwealth, it becomes an easier sell to legislators' constituents than if the money were used for highway construction or increased state employee salaries.
The lottery system in Virginia offers a temporary solution to the fiscal problems currently facing the Commonwealth. By shifting lottery revenue to universities and colleges, it relieves much of the financial burden recently placed on the student first by the General Assembly and subsequently by the Board of Visitors. To accommodate this drain on funding for primary and secondary education systems, the legislature should more than double the tobacco excise tax. By shifting funds in this manner, the legislature can find a plan to increase funding for the Commonwealth's universities without alienating their constituencies. Perhaps someone ought to let them know.
(Preston Lloyd's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at plloyd@cavalierdaily.com.)
Read More
EDITORIAL: Carla Williams deserves her seat at the table
By Editorial Board | 14 hours agoLooking beyond basketball and football reveals that Virginia Athletics is, in many ways, thriving.
UPADHYAYA: The Great and not-so-Good sides of U.Va.’s 2030 housing plan
By Apal Upadhyaya | 2 days agoInstead of improving the dire state of existing infrastructure, however, the University has shifted attention away from it and chosen to expand.
EDITORIAL: Support low-barrier shelters in Charlottesville
By Editorial Board | 3 days agoInvesting in low-barrier shelters now will pay off in increased stability for the homeless, which will undoubtedly improve the safety of shelters and the community writ large.
