Lottery Update (and a new educational tool)

According to reports in the Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News and Observer, the state lottery is well behind projected income expectations. Projections were to be 35% of gross income and a net of $450 million or more for education initiatives. Now it looks as though $300-350 million might be the figure, which is still nearly a million dollars a day that we didn’t have before. According to Tom Shaheen, the lottery’s executive director, this is still “hugely successful.”

Apparently, the scratch and win games aren’t as popular as officials hoped. Players complain there aren’t enough winners. If scratch rewards pay on a 1 in 4 rate, it means you should win 25% of the time, but what do you win? Usually it is enough for another ticket as bigger prizes are rare. Other states have a 1 in 2 or 3 ratio which gives players a slightly higher win rush. The Powerball and Cash 5 games seem to be growing, but not enough to make up for the lower participation in the scratch games.

So what can we expect of our state’s foray into the lottery? To their credit in the beginning, they did prohibit excessive and aggressive advertising which would have increased sales. However, in my opinion, advertising is the most egregious part of the lottery due to its successful exploitation of the public. Advertising works. Remember that most people who wager lose, so with more advertising they lose more. Plus, for our state to take from the gamblers (who are usually poor) to give to the children for education has always seemed like a poor message. It seems our country will continue to struggle when government encourages attitudes of entitlement and a lottery mentality instead of hard incremental work and independence.

Most state lottery revenues slide incrementally lower each year. They usually start advertising more to increase results. We expect that to happen here. In Michigan, I remember one ad where a lady goes to the mailbox and is buried by cash that gushes out of the box. Now if Merrill Lynch were to create an ad like that, all the employees would go to jail and the state would be the prosecutor. That irony should not be lost on us. If it is, then we deserve the exploitation we receive.

My fight is over; the lottery is here to stay. If we think it will fix education, we are kidding ourselves and sadly our children. I believe our new hope for education will be in technology embraced by a new breed of educators.

Consider a new product - a small computer with a power lever (instead of a battery). This small computer is being designed for remote places like developing countries. And what does it bring to those remote peoples? Your right, education! For only $100 per computer brings an education to anyplace in the world (Mars too)! So with that type of inexpensive technology available, tell me again why we are building expensive schools all to get a mediocre and declining result. It costs $6,000-$8,000 a year to educate one student. $100 versus $6,000. Sorry lottery, we don’t need you after all.