Today I will be discussing three points to back up my belief in the lottery. First I will discuss the history of the lottery. Second I will discuss Virginia's lottery and its success. And finally I will discuss North Carolina and the lottery.
According to Mary Laschober, an author for the Illinois Business Review, the lottery has a long history for government revenue. The lottery was once used to raise money for public purposes in colonial times. Harvard and Yale University were both established with lottery funds. I was surprised to learn that the American Revolution was funded by a form of the lottery. The lottery reappeared in modern times in 1964 in New Hampshire and its proceeds were used for public education. The first big wave of the lottery hit in 1971 when ten states joined in. Since thin the lottery has been the fastest growing source of state revenue than any other type. Just to give you an idea of how much revenue the lottery creates, since 1974 the Illinois lottery has generated close to ten billion dollars and paid out over four billion in prize money. Currently in the U.S. thirty-eight states are offering a lottery. Now that you have a quick history of the lottery lets discuss how the Virginia lottery has affected its state.
I recently spoke to Rick Brown of Virginia's Department of Planning and Budget and he states that the proceeds form the lottery go to Virginia's general fund. Last year 343 million dollars was given to its general fund and 2.5 billion was given since 1988. So what exactly is the general fund? Well, all the proceeds from the lottery are paid to this general fund where the state can determine what amount goes where. Almost all of the profit goes to the states school system. The money is distributed into many areas including improving the state's kindergarten system. Virginia's law states that lower class students have a higher risk of academic failure than upper class. Due to this fact more money is given to schools with poorer students. Other moneys are used to improve schools technology, further train teachers, and provide healthcare for young students.
Winners of prizes have 180 days to collect. Surprisingly some never cash in 17,875,093 dollars to be exact for last year. This year the state is doing something different with this money. Virginia hopes to build a baseball stadium if at all possible. I think they should get a baseball team first!
Think about it, 25 billion dollars was given to Virginia's schools since 1988. Think about how some of North Carolina's schools, maybe even one you attended, needs improvement; which brings me to my next point, N.C. and the lottery.
North Carolina would surely benefit from the lottery. North Carolinians spent about 85 million last year on the Virginia lottery. Carter's quick shop in Virginia is the last lotto stop on Route 29 on the way back into N.C. This store sold 4.4 million dollars worth of lottery tickets last year and most of the buyers were reported to be North Carolinians. Why should Virginia benefit form85 million of North Carolina's dollars when we could. The lottery vote has passed four times since 1989 in one chamber of the legislature only to be shot down in another. This year Governor Jim Hunt is supporting a proposal for a lottery that will help improve our education program. Hunt believes hat the voters should decide if the lottery should be legalized and in a recent pole 62% of the people voted yes in favor of the lottery.
To restate our problem, our school systems are in need of help and Virginia is getting paid. The lottery is easy money so why hasn't it passed? Some argue the moral dilemma of gambling, and the advertisements like billboards will clutter the state.
The solution is easy. The lottery will advertise itself so there will be no need for trashy advertisement. Also we could make the legal purchasing age of a lotto ticket 18 to help with the moral issue.
Again, our surrounding states are improving their states with the use of the lottery. Just think, our children could attend better schools and who knows maybe you could be the lucky winner of a couple mill. So if the N.C. lottery comes to vote, make your vote yes. Thank you.
Jason B. Lewis, JBL2592@uncwil.edu