Why lotteries are bad public policy

The North Carolina legislature just passed a lottery this summer, and it is already mired in corruption before the games even begin.

The Texas Lottery suffered last month when the failed Harriet Miers nomination dredged up some old, bad history of how corrupt it has been.

Georgia is so desperate for easy money that it may soon sell lottery tickets over the internet, which would make tickets far more accessible to minors.

The Southern experience with lotteries is bad and getting worse--yet South Carolina, Tennessee, and now North Carolina have all passed lotteries in the past four years.