Lottery Gives 18 Cents on the Dollar to Education in July

1 CommentArkansas Lottery

Last week the Arkansas Lottery published its first financial report for Fiscal Year 2016.

The numbers reveal the Arkansas Lottery gave 18 cents of every dollar to college scholarships during the month of July. This is roughly on par with previous months from the past year; it is less than what the Arkansas Lottery allocated when it first started six years ago–roughly 21 – 22 cents of every dollar–and well below the 30 – 35 cents of every dollar the typical state lottery allocates.

All told, the Arkansas Lottery took in $31.7 million in scholarships during the month of July, and it paid $5.8 million to the state’s scholarship fund.

While it is too early to start making serious predictions, at this rate the Arkansas Lottery is set to pay out approximately $70 – $75 million in scholarships by the end of Fiscal Year 2016 next June.

Below are the specific numbers the Arkansas Lottery published for the month of July:

Month (FY16) Gross Lottery Revenue Paid to Scholarships % Gross Revenue
July, 2015 $31,665,651.14 $5,784,683.09 18.3%

For context, here are the numbers for Fiscal Year 2015, which just ended last June.

Month (FY15) Gross Lottery Revenue Paid to Scholarships % Gross Revenue
July, 2014  $30,925,067.43  $5,928,447.99 19%
August 31,571,412.10 5,296,965.80 17%
September 30,710,493.31 4,317,227.10 14%
October 32,959,739.29 5,939,625.59 18%
November 30,617,278.28 5,577,035.16 18%
December 34,507,731.54 5,474,318.77 16%
January, 2015 35,433,619.67 7,287,773.28 21%
February 41,770,314.46 6,161,343.01 15%
March 37,367,453.25 6,898,524.35 18%
April 33,866,970.54 5,881,005.95 17%
May 35,689,036.10 5,409,050.48 15%
June 33,815,559.59 8,278,928.14 24%
Total  $409,234,675.56  $72,450,245.62 17.7%

Lottery proponents continue to argue if the Arkansas Legislature requires the Lottery to set aside a minimum percentage of its gross revenue for scholarships–such as, for example, 30%–then the Lottery will have to cut prizes and advertising; that’s going to translate into fewer people buying lottery tickets, and that will mean less lottery revenue all around–and ultimately less money for scholarships.

We have demonstrated quite clearly that this argument simply does not hold up. If the Arkansas Lottery budgeted at least 30% of its gross revenue for college scholarships, it would pay out more money than it does for scholarships right now–even if lottery ticket sales plummeted by $100 million, from $410 million to $310 million.

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In CO, Marijuana Use by Kids 58% Above Average

Marijuana

An article in Citizen magazine’s August issue reveals some disturbing facts about marijuana use in the U.S.:

  • Some of today’s products laced with marijuana concentrates have 400 percent greater potency than marijuana joints sold 30 years ago.
  • Marijuana concentrate is available in forms designed to appeal to children, including lollipops, gummies, cherry drops, brownies, chocolates, cookies, fruit punches, and sodas.
  • In Colorado, marijuana use by kids between the ages of 12 and 17 is now 58 percent higher than the national average.
  • The rate of use among college-age adults in Colorado is 54 percent above the national average.
  • Drug-related suspensions from Colorado schools jumped 34 percent from the 2005-2009 period to the 2010-2014 period, while alcohol-related suspensions stayed flat.

We have written before about how children and adults mistake marijuana edibles for traditional candy.

Emergency rooms are seeing more cases of children accidentally ingesting marijuana, and marijuana is increasingly linked with schizophrenia and other mental problems.

Rod Thomson writes for Citizen,

A top concern for many people who are now part of the resistance is the fact that kids under the age of 21—the minimum age for purchasing marijuana that was written into the law—are nonetheless consuming it at stunning levels, according to the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (RMHIDTA), an offshoot of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which coordinates efforts between federal, state and local drug-enforcement agencies.

Moreover, today’s marijuana includes concentrated products, like cannabis butter or oil, which are made by extracting the psychoactive ingredient of the plant for a very powerful effect.

You can read more here.

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Arkansas Awards $724,000 to Abortion Providers in 3 Years

1 CommentAbortion,

On Friday Governor Asa Hutchinson announced the state will terminate its Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood’s affiliates in Arkansas. This will help further ensure the State of Arkansas does not award public dollars to abortion providers.

Many people are wondering exactly how much money the state has awarded to groups like Planned Parenthood.

Using Information compiled from Arkansas’ transparency website, we have determined the state has awarded nearly $724,000 to abortion providers in the past 3 years.

Check out the numbers below. (more…)

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