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People get a little confused about the lottery and fiscal policy. All of the lottery net proceeds do go to education. The lottery earns about 30% on the dollar. So when politicians say that the lottery contributes directly to education, they are in fact telling the truth.

Here is what they are not saying. The budget for education is not increased in proportion with the amount that the lottery contributes. In numbers: (Use $50 million as an example). The lottery contributes the $50 million to the education budget (let's say $250 million total). You would think that the total budget would increase to $300 million. No. The $250 from the other sources (taxes) is then reduced by $50 so that the net budget is still $250. This gives the government $50 in taxes to spend elsewhere. (the majority of states that have lotteries do this now. I think Georgia is the only one that doesn't)

So to sum it all up. They do not lie when they say that all of the money goes to education. They just don't tell you that they allocate the other part of the pool to something else.

I'd love to see an N&O investigative report.