Currently in the United States, only six states do not have a state lottery. These six states include Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, Mississippi and, lastly, Alabama, which we strongly believe should have a state lottery.
According to The Washington Post, “Alaska and Hawaii are isolated enough that they do not feel pressured by sales from their neighbors. Nevada has a gambling lobby that doesn’t want a state lottery encroaching on their turf. Utah and Alabama have strong religious constituencies that do not want their flocks led astray. And Mississippi has both a strong gambling lobby and a strong religious constituency.”
Alabama’s most popular argument against a state lottery is due to religious beliefs. While we respect those beliefs, we also think separation of church and state must be taken into account. In addition, many Alabama residents are still gambling, these people are just giving the money to another state instead. After all, three of Alabama’s surrounding four states have state lotteries.
In addition to creating jobs, establishing a state lottery has many possible benefits, one of the most obvious being helping fund the state budget. There is ongoing controversy in Alabama about whether the budget should be funded by tax increases or spending cuts. However, we do not necessarily believe this is how the revenue from a possible lottery should be spent. Instead, funding higher education should be the ultimate purpose and goal of a state lottery for Alabama.
In the state of Georgia, the lottery furnishes all funding for Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally, commonly known as the HOPE program. According to the Georgia Lottery website, the program “currently provides Georgia students with financial assistance for attendance at eligible Georgia colleges, universities or technical colleges.”
Higher education is imperative to the prosperity of any given state, in this case, Alabama. Higher educated citizens are less likely to participate in criminal behavior, leading to a reduction in crime rates. These people are also more likely to maintain better health and feel a greater sense of responsibility to engage in civic and charitable work that will benefit the community and state.
Research has indicated those in the lower socioeconomic class are most likely to participate in state lotteries. Interestingly, this is the same class of individuals who are likely to gain the most benefit from lottery-funded higher education.
Higher education will lead to the enhancement of not only individual lives, but also the state of Alabama as a whole. A state lottery would make these benefits more easily achievable without relying on taxpayers.
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