In their commercials the Michigan Lottery states that all profits are used to fund michigan schools, so you can feel "good" about buying tickets. The reality of the situation is that it doesn't matter how many tickets you buy, schools will not see an additional cent of funding! These commercials are completely deceptive, and just plain wrong.
The problem comes down to how schools are funded in the state of Michigan. The money goes into a pocket called the "School Aid Fund". The state then adds money from taxes, federal aid, etc to "fill" this pocket to the desired amount for this funding year.
Perhaps the commercials should say "Feel good about the money that you're saving the state when you buy a lottery ticket".
In a perfect world, this money would be above and beyond any state/federal funding. (and schools could just receive a monthly check from the lottery).
I feel that at minimum these deceptive commercials should be removed from television. Obviously, I also feel the way schools receive money from the lottery should be reformed.
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