Why Do Lotteries Fund Educational Programs

Gambling and the lottery is a tax on the poor. The Texas Tech University did research on the people who played the Texas Lottery and discovered that people with no high school diploma spent a monthly average of $179. They also did a study on what the average is on college graduates and the spend an average of $49 a month. As well as the Texas Tech study other studies show that people who live in lower income ZIP-codes spend more money on the lottery than anyone else. Gambling and the lottery is a tax

Alabama is one of seven states that does not have a lottery system. Because of this, Alabama is missing out on millions of dollars per year. In fact, lottery systems generated $65.5 billion dollars in 2012, twenty-five of which goes directly to state funded projects (Isidore). That is an average of over a billion and a half dollars in revenue per state per year. If Alabama did approve a lottery system, the money it generated would go to education and healthcare. Alabama ranks forty-fifth and forty-sixth in these two areas respectively out of fifty states.

The idea of winning a lottery is associated with luck, happiness and anticipation of good things. In Shirley Jackson's story, " The Lottery", this is not the case. The irony of the story is that the winner of the lottery gets stoned to death by everyone else in the town. The story is very effective because it examines certain aspects of human nature.

The concept of the lottery is the same throughout every state, people have money and are interested in “playing the odds”; the revenue from these people is then divided and used to benefit organizations of the state’s choice. Exactly where the money goes to is what differs from state to state. Some states put all the revenue from the lottery into one trust fund that is allocated for a more broad and generalized group. Other states target specific programs such as, preserving natural parks or assisting the educational system with additional funds. The State of Alabama does not have a lottery and its locals are the ones missing out. Due to the lack of the lottery in Alabama, those who choose to play the lottery must travel out of the state, which means their money goes to other state’s lotteries benefiting that states programs and ultimately its residents. By keeping the peoples money in the state a lottery will open an endless amount of opportunities to better state supported programs and the state as a whole.

The lottery offers a wonderful opportunity to possibly win millions of dollars. While this might seems amazing, it might not be as wonderful as imagined. In fact, maybe even the opposite might true as stated by numerous studies and research done since the 1970s.

The Texas Lottery negatively impacts the people that play the lottery and the programs that are supposed to benefit from the proceeds. Because of the big dream of winning, the lottery has taken a toll on Texans. “People believe that the Texas Lottery is their only chance to strike it rich” (Buckland, 2010). There is not near enough money going towards the Texas Education

To what extent is the lottery beneficial to the North Carolina education system? What is a lottery? A lottery is used to raise money for the government and for people to win big money prizes. The North Carolina Education Lottery is a government-run organization that funds various education programs and school systems in North Carolina. If one hundred percent of lottery money went to education, it would only cover nineteen percent of the state’s total expenses for schools. The lottery is not beneficial to education in North Carolina if schools struggle to gain instructional supplies, and if the government has to cut spending for school funding levels to barely make it over the national average.

In her essay “Against the Odds, and Against the Common Good,” Gloria Jimenez asserts that states should not promote and advertize gambling. Jimenez lists many clever lottery slogans that are deceivingly interpreted. She also argues that these slogans advertise the advantages of gambling and playing the lottery because the money supposedly goes to things such as education and social service. Jimenez explains some arguments in favor of state-run lotteries, such as free participation and the creation of jobs, but argues that they are not relevant to the problem. She briefly touches on a statistic claiming that low income individuals are more likely to spend money on lottery tickets than their opposite, higher income

North Carolina School Systems have been ranked near the bottom in the Country. With the lottery, lottery advocates felt that the lottery could help build new schools and fund additional educational programs that could make North Carolina Schools much better. The Governor won out and the lottery was adopted in 2005 with much skepticism. Many that opposed the lottery felt that the lottery would set back the state because it would force people to choose between purchasing fundamental things needed to survive or purchase lottery tickets. Governor Easley was successful in selling to the parents who were tired of failing schools and the lack of money to fund different programs in schools. The final vote for the lottery was deadlocked at 24 oppose and 24 for. Lt. Governor Bev Purdue was the final vote, her vote helped pass the legislature to allow the lottery to come to North

The article entails information about the numerous benefits of having a state-run lottery. The first portion gives recent information about the economic climate in the United States. As several states are seeking creative ways to meet financial needs without increasing taxes. It is noted that a state lottery is a form of voluntary taxation that allows the state government to achieve enhancements in education, welfare program, public transportation, etc. Secondly, information about the history of the lottery was explained in great detail as to why the lottery is used as a tool by government and other entities dating back over 500 years. Great examples were given such as President Thomas Jefferson using the lottery as a means to sell his property,

Sales tax is regressive in nature, and dependent on taxpayers having enough confidence in the economy to spend their money. Sales tax is a consistent form of revenue for school funding, however the yield is inconsistent as the tax is not collected unless merchandise is purchased. Like the sales tax, the sin or sumptuary tax has an elastic yield and is only as stable as the economy. The sin tax applies to tobacco, alcohol and gambling, and is not considered a reliable source of public school funding (Sorenson & Goldsmith, p. 23 2013). Sorenson and Goldsmith describe the lottery as an assessment on legal gambling, and closely related to a sin tax. The public perception is that a state lottery is an excellent source of funding for state education programs, the reality is that the the lottery does nothing to fund educational initiatives. In fact, “there is no evidence that any state lottery has significantly supported or benefitted any school district or, for that matter, public education in

To support her side of the argument and to answer these counterarguments Jimenez share a few statistics. She tells us that the New York Times reported in 2002, that the state-run lotteries brought in a revenue of $20 billion dollars, and that this is only 4% of the states income. She also tells us about one study in a report from the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy that shows people who earned $10,000 a year bought almost three times as many lottery tickets than those who made $50,000 or more a year. This shows us that more poor people buy lotto tickets, so more poor people are paying the taxes that benefit education and social services.

In the short story, “ The lottery” by Shirley Jackson the purpose of the lottery is for a religious purpose. This book is about a town of 300 people who still a tradition of stoning people to death. To make it random they hold a lottery. In the story a woman named Tessie Hutchinson gets stoned. I know the purpose of the lottery by the fact that “ No one wanted to upset the tradition that was represented by the black box” they use for lotteries.

Initially, the state government should utilize more of the thirty-five through fifty percent of the Powerball money they receive to directly address and alleviate poverty because they are using that money on things that we already have. They are using this money for local transportation, teacher retirement funds, and sports

Erb, Kelly P. "Everybody Wins! Lotteries Like Mega Millions Benefit Taxpayers, Seniors, Schools & More." Forbes.com. Forbes, 18 Dec. 2013. Web.