Virginia's Lottery - Beneficial or Not?
VIRGINIA 'S LOTTERY BENEFICIAL OR NOT?
In 1987, Virginia residents voted on a referendum for a state-operated lottery, and even though, according to an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch on February 9, 2003, the majority of politicians believed that the state should not be "in the business of promoting gambling" (Robertson), Virginians voted overwhelmingly for the lottery, and consequently the Virginia Lottery was born. According to the Virginia Lottery 's Web site, in 1999 all proceeds from the Lottery were allotted to local public schools, to be used for educational purposes, and in 2000 Virginians voted affirmatively on the State Lottery Proceeds Fund, which was an amendment to Virginia 's Constitution that directed all Virginia Lottery profits go to education. Every day people purchase Lottery tickets in the hope of hitting the "Jackpot" or even just making a few "extra bucks", and believe they are justified because the money goes to help local schools, but should Virginians rely on the Lottery for the funding of their schools? Does the Virginia Lottery really help our schools? According to an article from MONEY Magazine (1996), there are two reasons that lotteries don 't have as much tax benefits as politicians and the Lottery commission would have us believe. Firstly, even though lottery sales are huge, they do little to help State budget issues, as the proceeds that the schools actually receive are much less than the sales give the impression of what schools should obtain (Keating 144). For example, according to the Virginia Lottery Web site, in 2004 lottery sales were over $1.2 billion, but only a little over $408 million was given to the State Lottery Proceeds Fund (retrieved September 26, 2005 from the World Wide Web: www.valottery.com/money). This seems like a large amount of money. However, if you divide the amount of proceeds by the number of public schools in Virginia (there are approximately 1,850 public schools according to the
In 1987, Virginia residents voted on a referendum for a state-operated lottery, and even though, according to an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch on February 9, 2003, the majority of politicians believed that the state should not be "in the business of promoting gambling" (Robertson), Virginians voted overwhelmingly for the lottery, and consequently the Virginia Lottery was born. According to the Virginia Lottery 's Web site, in 1999 all proceeds from the Lottery were allotted to local public schools, to be used for educational purposes, and in 2000 Virginians voted affirmatively on the State Lottery Proceeds Fund, which was an amendment to Virginia 's Constitution that directed all Virginia Lottery profits go to education. Every day people purchase Lottery tickets in the hope of hitting the "Jackpot" or even just making a few "extra bucks", and believe they are justified because the money goes to help local schools, but should Virginians rely on the Lottery for the funding of their schools? Does the Virginia Lottery really help our schools? According to an article from MONEY Magazine (1996), there are two reasons that lotteries don 't have as much tax benefits as politicians and the Lottery commission would have us believe. Firstly, even though lottery sales are huge, they do little to help State budget issues, as the proceeds that the schools actually receive are much less than the sales give the impression of what schools should obtain (Keating 144). For example, according to the Virginia Lottery Web site, in 2004 lottery sales were over $1.2 billion, but only a little over $408 million was given to the State Lottery Proceeds Fund (retrieved September 26, 2005 from the World Wide Web: www.valottery.com/money). This seems like a large amount of money. However, if you divide the amount of proceeds by the number of public schools in Virginia (there are approximately 1,850 public schools according to the
References: Cited: "About the Lottery – Where the Money Goes." Virginia Lottery September 27, 2005. Keating, Peter. "Lotto Fever: We All Lose!" MONEY Magazine May 1996. 142-149. September 27, 2005. SIRS Researcher via SIRS Knowledge Source Nash, Betty Joyce. "The Revenue Game – More States Look to Lotteries to Provide Additional Revenue." Region Focus Fall, 2002. 18-21. September 28, 2005. SIRS Researcher via SIRS Knowledge Source Robertson, Gary. "Lottery-Sales Boom a Boost for Education, Opposition to Gambling Agency Wanes." Richmond Times – Dispatch Feb. 9, 2003. A8. "September 30, 2004 Fall Membership by Reporting Division and School." Virginia Department of Education September 27, 2005 Vatz, Richard E. and Lee S. Weinerg. "Gambling, Psychology, as State Politics". USA Today Magazine May 2003. 56-57. September 27, 2005. SIRS Researcher via SIRS Knowledge Source