Lotteries don’t actually fund education. That’s just marketing to make the idea of lotteries more paletteable.
They will say that all proceeds from the lottery go to education. All that means is that the state’s education budget must be greater than the lottery’s profits.
If the lottery brings in $100 million, that does not mean schools will have $100 million more than they otherwise would. If the state was spending $250 million on education before the lottery, they could spend the same next year while still rightly claiming all of the lottery’s $100 million went to education.
State budgets are based on the priorities of the legislature. If they don’t prioritize education, a lottery won’t change that. In practice, $100 million in lottery income means $100 million in tax cuts, or $100 million the legislature can spend elsewhere.
Lotteries don’t actually fund education. That’s just marketing to make the idea of lotteries more paletteable.
They will say that all proceeds from the lottery go to education. All that means is that the state’s education budget must be greater than the lottery’s profits.
If the lottery brings in $100 million, that does not mean schools will have $100 million more than they otherwise would. If the state was spending $250 million on education before the lottery, they could spend the same next year while still rightly claiming all of the lottery’s $100 million went to education.
State budgets are based on the priorities of the legislature. If they don’t prioritize education, a lottery won’t change that. In practice, $100 million in lottery income means $100 million in tax cuts, or $100 million the legislature can spend elsewhere.