Lottery stirs debate for education fund

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, June 11, 2002

Alabamians may need to pick up a stick and find some sand again. It is looking more and more likely that we will have to draw a line and decide where we stand on the issue of a lottery in this state.

A poll recently released indicated that 75 percent of the residents in the state would prefer a lottery if the lottery-generated funds were directed toward education. Perhaps after experiencing proration, citizens are beginning to soften on the issue of a lottery.

When the lottery came up for vote in 1999, it lost. A clear majority, 54 percent of Alabamians, said no to it. It might be interesting to explore why so many people have changed their minds on this issue in a short period.

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Assuming the polling numbers are correct, public opinion has made a big turnaround on the lottery issue, even though the basics of the lottery argument have not changed.

A lottery will generate revenue, but some of us may still struggle with the idea of state-supported gambling and the inconsistent revenue produced by gambling.

Those opposed to the lottery have not fully mobilized. At this point there is little need to do so because a state lottery is only a proposal by current Gov. Don Siegelman, who faces re-election. Because the opposition has been quiet, the polling data is understandably shifted in a pro-lottery direction.

But if Siegelman is re-elected we will again have to make a choice on the lottery issue and the anti-lottery folks will be out in force. Before the debate begins, we ask that those who are against a lottery offer a solution to the education funding issue. That is really what all of Alabama seeks.

Proration is bad for Alabama children and bad for our state’s reputation. No one wants to face another proration. That said, those who are pushing the lottery are doing the public a favor because it will spur debate and conversation on how to solve the education funding issue.

And if we can move forward on that front, we all win.