02-17-2010, 06:01 AM
From the midwest state I am from (ILL), lottery money "went for education".... but not quite how most people thought.
The districts still made their request to the state, and the state allocated money to the districts, from the general fund.... the lottery went to assist paying for the general fund request money to the school districts. There was never a surge of money that went to the schools, they got pretty much what they had always gotten.... (the general fund had more ways to spend money, as the school portion was 'subsidized' by the lottery)
From that experience, I look at 'lottery for schools' as a tax ponzi scheme, just another way of increasing the tax revenues... but making it more palatable.... & I really doubt that it will be different here (the 2 states are way too alike!)
The districts still made their request to the state, and the state allocated money to the districts, from the general fund.... the lottery went to assist paying for the general fund request money to the school districts. There was never a surge of money that went to the schools, they got pretty much what they had always gotten.... (the general fund had more ways to spend money, as the school portion was 'subsidized' by the lottery)
From that experience, I look at 'lottery for schools' as a tax ponzi scheme, just another way of increasing the tax revenues... but making it more palatable.... & I really doubt that it will be different here (the 2 states are way too alike!)