Ep. 19: Lotteryism Part I -- How a Compliant Press Fuels the Spectacle of 'Winning'

"Lotteryism" is the use of the media by large corporations to obscure solidarity in favor of morality tales of “making it”. It’s the atomization of parties of mutual interest by lording over them the promise of something greater than what they could achieve if they simply banded together. Lotteryism is an ideology and a PR operation. Lotteryism, above all, renders us politically impotent.

Lotteryism is a scam practiced by large corporations in various iterations to extract resources from local governments in hopes they can “win” their money, "jobs", or presence in their city.

Cities compete in a race-to-the-bottom to offer billionaire team owners the best tax breaks and enticing perks. Bill Gates uses it to pit state education departments against one another for funding. Corporations like Mercedes-Benz and Amazon use it to get massive tax breaks and sweetheart deals in cities that want their headquarters. Walmart uses it against local governments to skirt minimum wage requirements and crush unions.

The media––namely local media––mindlessly go along with these spectacles without any context or critical analysis. How is the Lotteryism scam practiced? Who does it benefit? And, most importantly, how can we fight it?

Guest

Anne Orchier is an organizing member of NOlympics LA.

You can donate to NOlympics LA here. 

(And stay tuned for Part II, next week, when we'll be joined by Dave Zirin, sports editor at The Nation.)

Show Notes

Sports Tax Scams Laid the Groundwork for Amazon Bidding Madness 

Dave Zirin | November 28, 2017 | The Nation

Misapplication of Sources 

Adam Johnson | April 4, 2014 | Citations Needed

U.S. Cities Battle Each Other for Jobs With $45 Billion in Incentives

Ruth Simon | March 16, 2017 | Wall Street Journal

Amazon’s 50,000 new jobs? Why some cities don’t play tax-break game. 

Henry Gass | October 19, 2017 | Christian Science Monitor

This City Hall, brought to you by Amazon

Danny Westneat | November 24, 2017 | Seattle Times

While One City Will Lure Amazon's HQ2, the Rest Will Lose Hundreds of Staff Hours 

Sarah Gantz | October 16, 2017 | The Baltimore Sun

Cities are doing wacky things to host Amazon's second headquarters 

Kaya Yurieff | October 4, 2017 | CNN

Should we ban states and cities from offering big tax breaks for jobs? 

Emily Badger | September 15, 2014 | The Washington Post

Despite big job promises, incentives often fail to deliver

Tyler Dukes | October 14, 2014 | WRAL

States Use Big Tax Breaks To Lure Companies, But What’s The Payoff? 

Michell Eloy | January 16, 2015 | WABE

Government Incentives To Attract Jobs Are Terrible Deals For Taxpayers 

Jeffrey Dorfman | September 6, 2017 | Forbes

Tax Incentives: Costly for States, Drag on the Nation

August 14, 2013 | Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy

Los Angeles Residents Start to Organize Against the Olympic Bid

Dave Zirin, Jules Boykoff | May 8, 2017 | The Nation