The Prime Minister’s breathless reaction to suggestions by Labour to limit Lotto jackpots and retailers is priceless…
“At the end of the day, people have to take personal responsibility, they have to make their own decisions, there are certainly people that have addictions to gambling – it might be a small percentage but nevertheless they’re there and they have some real, serious issues that often cause chaos within their own family. But typically that’s more at casinos I think than ultimately it really is in terms of Lotto.”
…a shrugging, ‘well you know, that’s how the cookie crumbles’ style of luck egalitarianism that just leaves the tragedies of the personal to the forces of the market rather than a fellowship between citizen and state. The problem with Key’s intellectual shrug is that it is the policies of allowing the market freedom that is compounding that misery, not minimising it.
Gambling is a prohibited product. An industry we allow tightly regulated and highly taxed so that its misery can be refunded back to those it robs. We tolerate regulated gambling because to ban it would empower organised crime overnight. What Labour are proposing is that they Govern, that they use the State to have an active hand in the market to regulate for the benefit of those it hurts. Key’s ‘sad-but-not-my-problem’ attitude leaves this to the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune as a solution.
The danger in over egging this for Labour is that they are perceived as meddling with millions of NZers only weekly hope. That dream chance to win Lotto and be debt free is desperately deep and dimming someones only hope reaps little electoral warmth.
If Labour fight the ground on being an active Government minimising social harm, they can make this an issue of Key’s narrow free market view of NZ rather than a socially engineering Nanny State.
“A socially engineered nanny state.”
Thank you Mr Bradbury, that saves me from saying it. We are only talking Lotto here, a no compulsion, frivolous flutter involving a few bucks a week (for some) with a VERY slim chance of a return. Mere entertainment value. Government regulation would look overbearing and unnecessary.
I think the point is that selling tickets at Countdown checkouts, where a credit card can be used, makes it too available and tempting for the less strong willed and vulnerable in our society.
We all know that Lotto can be a state tax on the dreams of the poor – John Key once admitted that he had never bought a ticket, he has no need to as he already has a considerate fortune.
I well remember once giving a small amount of money to a destitute couple with a baby. I was horrified when I later saw them smoking cigarettes which had obliviously been purchased along with their other provisions. I was indignant that they had used some on that money for such a frivolous pleasure. On reflection I decided I was wrong in mentally chastising them as I had no right to judge what the needs of those people in that desperate situation could be. Perhaps the mere pleasure of being able to have a smoke was enough to make them feel normal again.
I can well image some Countdown customers eschewing some food staples, in exchange for the slim chance on gaining untold wealth, and thereby lifting themselves out of poverty.
Nothing in your reply suggests to me that we need more state control. The purchase of a lotto ticket to some people is what makes them happy. I am surprised that there are people on this site that think that they know what makes people happy more than the people themselves and are prepared to use the might of the state to enforce ‘good choices’ on an ever more frustrated mass.
Gambling is inconsequential to some, fun for some, frustrating to some and an addiction for some of us. Some are addicted to gambling, yes, but others are addicted to coffee, some to masterbation and others to shopping. Is it time for the regulators to step up and ban coffee, halve shop opening hours and….um….I’m not sure how even nanny state could regulate that one!
A substantial amount of money is spent on all mitigation of all types of addictions, including gambling already. We will just have to learn to say NO.
Mike says “We will just have to learn to say NO”
Well I hope that works out better than the “Just Say No” ad slogan during the Reagans’ “War on Drugs” campaign.
It would seem the Mexican drug cartels are still doing a roaring trade feeding the U.S. illegal drug market.
How can the example you gave be compared to lotto at the checkout? Partaking in lotto is totally legal (at the time of writing) and there are no cartels in sight.
To attempt to compare the illegal drug trade with the purchase of a lottery ticket is drawing a very long bow indeed!
Mike,
It was your comment about learning to say NO that suggested the “just say no” analogy to my twisted, little mind, so all this drug talk is your fault! (As it’s impossible for you to see me, I should let you know my tongue is firmly lodged in my cheek)
The drug cartels are supplying an illegal product for which they and their customers could be incarcerated. Despite the considerate risks involved, this market is booming as the customers’ demand is being supplied. Surely helping to satisfy gambling customers’ demand, with easypayment at every checkout, is similar to the drug cartels facilitating drug use in the States; particularly if one considers both gambling and drug use can be addictive pursuits.
Moving on to your comment about there being no cartels in sight, based on the definition below, I suspect many would feel the supermarket duopoly in this country could be classed as a cartel…
Cartel: a combination of independent commercial or industrial enterprises designed to limit competition or fix prices.
Granted, given your definition of a cartel, I think you may have a point…:)
What is the selling age for gambling? I thought it was 20. Why can Lotto outlets sell to kids?
Did some one never see “they shoot horses don’t they?”
Anyone can buy a lotto ticket – even a 3 year old. Must be 18 to buy an instant kiwi scratchie.
It’s as if Labour lofted an easy ball over the net just so Key could whack it back and score a point.
PS the irony of the “free” market is that it actually reduces people’s choices
Before the ‘neo-liberal revolution’ it was difficult to buy something that wasn’t made in New Zealand, now shops are full of things made overseas and no one has a job. The Key economy is built on market and property speculation, racking in profits for greedy Australian owned banks, exploiting migrants, exploiting the poor, and sending jobs overseas. That National is pulling the ‘nanny state’ reeks of desperation, as their days in power are numbered.
To illustrate what I mean by the second comment. When you create a free market open to cheap overseas goods, the bulk of shoppers choose the cheapest product which is nearly always inferior. This removes from the market the middle ground of buyers who were prepared to pay a bit more for quality. Businesses who produce quality goods find their market has shrunk and hence have to charge even more for their product to make a profit. In very many cases, this makes their product even more unattractive to the market and they go out of business. So the range of products in store diminishes. You often end up with no choice but to buy the cheap crap that doesn’t last as long. You also find that your choices in clothes, for instance, are limited to what the overseas suppliers produce which reflects the tastes of the masses and what is cheapest to produce. The smaller manufacturer whose product once gave more choices is gone.
Hence one of the greatest ironies of the free market in New Zealand- it limits your choices – personally, I’ve had to resort to learning to knit, sew, preserve, have farm animals, buy from op shops to not only get by, but to have a choice.
Labour’s concern is about removing easy access to the lotto tickets ie away from the counter where they can be easily included as part of the grocery purchase. Gambling is a major and terribly concerning issue for many families and of course the poor. Why put another ‘treat’ within easy reach. I know I hardly ever buy lotto tickets because I have to go out of my way to get them and even less when I couldn’t use an eftpos card. Now, if they are at the counter I know I could easily be a frequent buyer – and I don’t have an addiction.
Nanny state – what a cheek! I suppose spying on one’s citizens is better than trying to look after the vulnerable. Because we could all be terrorists or potential terrorists and thieves, bludgers and ….whatever else this government can dream up. I prefer a nanny state where government ‘regulates for those who hurt’ to one where autocratic power is disguised with a smirk and a few glib words.
So Key thinks the problem lies “more in casinos”? That would be like the Sky City one in Auckland he’s been so happy to assist in its expansion of misery?
If someone is addicted to gambling, how does our esteemed leader expect them to ” take personal responsibility, they have to make their own decisions” when their gambling is out of control? And what about desperate families needing money to pay off bills and buy new clothes for their kids??
I guess this shows why I won’t be voting for him again. He is so far out of touch with the rest of us that he can’t see what is happening to those parts of New Zealand he never visits.
Funny how Key and his sick Tory mates don’t mind the dominatrix state at all. While they froth at the mouth at the thought of beneficiaries in airport lounges, the likes of Whalespew haul themselves onto dry land to stand in line for membership at Gusher’s CBT club. The other thing I know about nannies is that children are a lot safer with them than with certain bald philosphers, especially if they’re related, and also safer than with anyone who thinks dressing as Jimmy Savile is a great idea. Nannies don’t usually steal their passports when they die either, or spend hundreds of thousands of dollars chasing after some right to bash the shit out of them. Fuck Key and his acolytes. They are a bunch of sick, sick people who want nothing more than to hold our curtains open so that the NSA can gather material for their masturbatory fantasies.
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