Lottery in Urban Areas
Presented by
Institution
Abstract
Lottery gambling started long ago even before the introduction of money trade. In the years 1920s, dance halls, night clubs and theatres of Chicago’s side Ghetto were the main centers for entertainment. Policy gambling became the order of the day where most blacks involved in illegal gambling. Lotteries have no strengths besides helping the government keep poor, poor and the rich, rich.
Objective: To determine the main factors that contributed to the fall of the NC Education Lottery Policy and came up with recommendations towards ensuring full implementation of the policy.
Why chose this policy: The policy formed the only concern by the U.S. government to cater for the well-being of African-Americans by ensuring they access quality education. The policy would also help more African-Americans engage in development programs and stop gambling
Methods used: The literature from past studies about the NC Education Policy and the relationship between blacks and the poor with gambling acted as the main source of information that helped come up with a methodological plan that allows total application of the policy.
Introduction to the issue being advocated
Lottery gambling started long ago even before the introduction of money trade. In the years 1920s, dance halls, night clubs and theatres of Chicago’s side Ghetto were the main centers for entertainment. The Chicago government with the help of black-politicians legalized lottery gambling for black people whose entrepreneurs had an important place in the states’ economy. People living in Chicago side ghetto took advantage of the situation and started operating lottery gambling without paying revenues to the government. The underground businesses took place upon realizing the illegal activities associated with gambling in the Chicago City. In the twentieth century, most blacks became involved in gambling in the North and South cities of Chicago. The high number of blacks living in ghettos who acted as customers for entertainers and gamblers led to the formation of local black political organization. Policy gambling later came into being in the 1920s, which formed a type of lottery. The gambling business became popular among the Blacks in America and expanded to cities like North Carolina and others major cities in U.S. (Mark, 2014).
The spread of lottery gambling to other cities introduced many problems that affected Africans-Americans involved in the business. The minority populations were the most affected by problems associated with gambling. Examples of such minority groups include the Black Americans, African-Americans, Asians, and Hispanics. African-Americans mostly experience gambling problems compared to any other minority group in United States. A study conducted by Steffensmeier and Ulmer in 2006 revealed that minorities have higher chances of acquiring psychiatric problems associated with gambling compared to white-Americans. In addition, minorities are likely to spend more time in lotteries compared to the white Americans (Steffensmeier, & Ulmer, 2006). In addition, the behavioral patterns related to addictive activities such as the use of drugs and problem gambling leads to impulsivity. Race/ethnicity forms one of the most potential variables that affect impulsivity and addictive disorders. Black ethnicity addicted to policy gambling in Ghettos experience much of these disorders. The cultural experiences of the blacks who lived in Chicago ghettos between 1920 and 1940 controlled their decision-making processes leading to high discounting (Andrade & Petry, 2014).
Upon realizing the challenges facing the black community because of gambling made the North Carolina government introduce a policy called NC Education Lottery in 2006. The policy aimed at supporting vital education programs such as reduced class sizes, starting prekindergarten academic program, construction of more schools, and offer scholarship for needy students from universities and colleges. The State believed that the lottery would play a significant role in funding for the education of the disadvantaged, especially the minorities. The following research article seeks to demonstrate how the policy affected urban Americans because it failed to fund NC’s schools. The policy succeeded during the first years of its implementation, which are 2007 to 2009. Later, the lottery failed to meet its demands, and the lottery’s gross meant for education program declined drastically. North Carolina State should come up with another policy different from the current education lottery policy that helps the African-Americans buried in gambling seek other forms of earning a living and start developing their communities.
Research priorities
Three priorities drive success of this research:
Developing research questions and getting solutions
Attracting the target group, and
Achieving the research objectives
What are your desired outcomes (what is your agenda)? Desired outcomes
The findings from this research article are expected to generate a new advanced policy that will completely cater for the education needs of the black people living in NC State. According to Barry (2011), lottery has affected the urban areas to a greater extent that most families suffer from lack of basic needs such as food, clothing and education. The expected changes in the education sector include increased in the amount of money available for NC schools system, more salaries for teachers, and access to quality education by children. On the other hand, the research expects the state to devise a different approach to getting rid of the negative effects caused by the lottery to the state.
The research is also expected to help the poor population living in urban areas of NC State understands the dangers posed by lottery gambling to individuals and their families. Most African-Americans are of poor backgrounds and suffer from psychiatric problems associated with addiction to gambling and lottery games (Griffiths, 2007, p. 14). In the end, the African-Americans and other poor people involved in lottery gambling should desist from spending their income buying lottery tickets but for other development projects such as education and investment. In addition, the recommendations from the research are expected to help the poor change their lifestyle and become rich in the future.
Description of the policy
The NC State discovered that per capital sales of lottery tickets were very high because of the large number of people buying tickets daily. North Carolina (NC) Policy Watch recorded 106 million dollars as the average amount of revenue collected daily from lottery sales (Fitzsimon, 2014). The NC education policy to support major education programs in NC State. The policy act came up with a 9-member Lottery commission who managed all aspects of the education lottery. The policy demanded that 100 percent of NC Lottery net go straight to benefit the education sector in the State. The lottery funds collected would be used to pay teachers (K-3 grade), finance colleges, and pre-kindergarten children less than four years old. The policy aimed at ensuring a percentage of money collected through sale of lottery in North Carolina contributes to the improvement of the education sector. The introduction of the new NC Education Lottery helped improve the education system in the African-Americans societies (Ovaska, 2014).
Reason for choosing project option, policy and how it relates to your area ofconcentration
What are the justifications?
The fact that lottery have no strengths other than helping the government keep the poor, poor and the rich, rich justifies the selection for this project. People from different races show varying values of problems and pathological gambling (PPG). Minorities living in urban areas of U.S. require a better research on behaviors, problems and other psychological disorders associated with gambling. North Carolina State was selected for this research because it is the youngest lottery system in U.S. Lottery forms one of the most important sources of government revenues in many countries and states. Gambling also stands as a cause of high level of poverty experienced by African-Americans living in U.S. despite it being a source of income. African-Americans spent most of their time in lottery gambling games where they lose thousands buying lottery tickets. The problem not only affects U.S. citizens but people across the globe (Kalischuk, Nowatzki, Cardwell, Klein, & Solowoniuk, 2006).
By government legalizing gambling, it helps the poor community stay in poverty dens as they spend more on lottery waiting to win more cash. Despite the fact that the business earns country high revenues, it causes significant economic costs to the poor. State lotteries act as a simple way of raising taxes by the federal government, but evidence shows that only the poor and disadvantaged suffer from legalized gambling. Most lottery ticket sellers claim that seventy percent of those buying tickets are black, Hispanic, or poor. In addition, the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that the poor and blacks spend more of their income in lottery compared to the rich (Mark, 2014).
Why the policy was chosen?
The NC Education Lottery that failed acts as a case study because it was the best policy in United States that catered for the improvement of the education sector. Failure of the policy to fulfill its objectives demonstrated how the State caters only for the rich and leaves the poor to suffer in poverty. In addition, it hurts discovering how most African American families suffer in poverty, and their children missing out from education because of gambling. Why should a person fail to provide for his family and yet get the money for gambling? Why do people who spend money in lottery use change from the unnecessary spending behavior and provide for their family needs? In addition, the fact that most people in the African-American community lack basic education on building strong foundations for their families like their fellow White Americans contributed to the selection of the policy.
The NC education lottery policy would ensure that all the money spent for the lottery finds its way to the families and children receive education through lottery sales. In addition, the presence of gambling and lottery games has made African Americas more illiterate and underdeveloped compared to white Americans. The issue created more questions than answers for people who sympathize with those families left without food while their parents giveaway money to the rich in casinos and lotteries. The selection of the project followed an argument that the white Americans use minority groups, especially African-Americans, for their monetary gains. Research shows that white Americans take advantage of the minorities in American states because the minorities experience delayed response to psychological issues such as determining the winning numbers in a lottery (Kalischuk, Nowatzki, Cardwell, Klein, & Solowoniuk, 2006).
The target group and their response towards the policy
The most targeted group on this research article is the African-Americana leaving in urban areas of American States, more specifically North Carolina State. The group formed the respondent because it is the most affected by lottery gambling activities in U.S. Policy gambling is a type of lottery with the policy coordinated by a syndicate. The policy allows gamblers place their money on more than one numbers that they hoped would appear among the draw of twelve numbers between 1 and 78. The blacks mostly engage in this game, but most of them end up losing thousands of cash to bettors and went home with nothing to feed their families. Targeting this group and making them understand the dangers posed by lottery gambling would help them change their lifestyle and develop their community. The black community in the United States demonstrates a slow respond to the issue of gambling. Many African-Americans still believe gambling will double their money, and one day become rich. Making the community realized the dangers they engage into while gambling forms the hardest task (Jens, & Mark, 2013).
Relationship of the policy to the area of specialization
Social workers mind about the well-being of people in the community. Education forms one of the basic requirements in every society. A well-educated community lives a happy lifestyle free from poverty and other life challenges that affect normal people. The policy aimed at ensuring more funds get into the education sector and help poor communities in NC access quality education services. Specialization in social work helps improve the setting of urban areas through ensuring communities stay in crime free areas, and take advantage of every opportunity to strengthen their foundations. Life in urban areas is expensive and difficult especially for people who earn low incomes. The policy must be adjusted and executed to meet its goals and help African-Americans access education.
A discussion of what occurred during the implementation of the project
The NC Education Lottery Act was expected to succeed and the government to collect taxes through lottery sales for improving the education sector. The plan did not meet its goals because of the various challenges faced during the implementation process. Firstly, the state legislature used funds contributed from lottery sales for other purposes other than the constitutionally proposed purpose of funding the education. Only 50 percent of the total amount collected from the lottery goes to education improvement while the policy proposed that 100 percent of the funds be set aside for education. The initial project demanded that 50 percent of the funds be set aside for class-size reduction in pre-kindergarten and early grades programs for poor children. Moreover, 40 percent would go to school construction. The remaining 10 percent was for supporting needy students in universities and colleges. The implementation process failed in the financial year 2011-2012 where the State budget-committee allocated different amounts of funds to the three main sectors. According to North Carolina Justice Center (2014), the budget allocated fewer funds for school construction even as the population grows exponentially and the need for new schools increases.
Secondly, Lottery officials allocated less money for funding NC’s schoolchildren, and the rest was allocated to awarding prizes. The profits generated from lottery sales would fund higher prizes leading to underdevelopment in education programs. The poor state of education because of the decline in the amount of profits received from lottery contributed to the fall of the project.
The identified allies and opponents
Some people opposed the implementation of the policy because of their personal gains. Contribution from the government played the most important role in ensuring the successful implementation of the policy. Gambling forms one of the main sources of revenue in U.S. This made the government reluctant in accepting the policy amendment because it would eventually reduce government revenues collected from sales of lottery tickets. The federal government receives a high amount of taxes from the sale of lottery tickets and revenues collected from licensing legal policy gambling. The federal government also acts as a monopolist provider in every state that houses a legalized lottery gambling (Kearney, 2005). The government failed in ensuring the funds meant for education did not go to other usages such as paying salaries for civil servants.
Moreover, the policy implementation process received opposition from the White Americans. The White-Americans did not like the idea of educating black Americans because they wanted to exploit and make them remain poor. Any decision that affects the majority groups in U.S. is highly politicized, and as the biggest opponents to such decision-making processes they totally oppose the decision. Out of the 47 states, about 34 funded and legalized gambling. The funds came from state governments, private companies, powerful politicians, and other white foundations (Abbott, Volberg, Bellringer, & Reith, 2004). Gambling is a game for the rich and most politicians owned casinos while others benefited from lottery ticket sales. The White community highly rejected the move to stop gambling and make black Americans more enlightened on the issues that promote development.
Self-analysis during the implementation of the project
Tailoring the information to meet the target group
Establishment of a concrete and sustainable self-analysis plan helps in the success of the project. Self-analysis plan helps in ensuring the project achieves its objectives and ends within the set time frame and budget. Most researchers in gambling research assume that all problems associated with gambling are robust and measurable because they exist in the community. The information presented to the target group will persuade them to engage in developmental projects such as education and investment and stop wasting time in gambling.
A close look at the history of gambling in the black community of Chicago initiated the need for writing this research article. The need for African-American people living in North Carolina to access education and promote development was one of the needs to introduce the policy. The target group should receive better education on how to use revenues collected from the White community to improve the education status of the poor black American community.
Likely arguments that the research should counter
Identification of research gaps provides an avenue for analyzing the likely arguments and how their mitigation approaches. The minority group had been for a long time sidelined in the United States because of their ethnicity, color, and race. The white Americans used lottery to exploit the minority African-Americans their money. Many previous studies concentrated on the psychological problems such as diseases and disorders associated with gambling problems among the black Americans. The study uses a different argument that encourages a policy for promoting education among the black community living in NC. The argument is supported by the fact that the previous policy enacted in 2006 failed because the target group never contributed to its implementation.
Conclusion
The black community undergoes a lot of suffering in the west. The discussion shows that the effort by the NC government to support the African-American community development through an education policy failed because of the lack of proper execution plans. The black American community should come out in large numbers and support the implementation of this policy in order to change their poor living standards and enjoy a wealthy lifestyle. In addition, the government should stop discriminating its citizens and give equal education opportunities for all, especially the minority groups. The above research article helps the African-American community gain more ideas on how to strengthen their foundations for the future benefit of their families.
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