Lottery Budgets Little for Scholarships Despite Best Month All Year

Arkansas Lottery

On Monday the Arkansas Lottery released its financial report for the month of April.

The report shows the Arkansas Lottery took in more than $49.5 million last month — the best month the Arkansas Lottery has had since March of 2019.

In spite of this, the Lottery budgeted only $8.3 million for college scholarships — less than 17 cents of every dollar the Lottery made.

For perspective, the typical state lottery budgets about 30 cents out of every dollar for education.

The report also reveals the Arkansas Lottery spent 71.5% of its revenue on prizes last month.

That’s one of the highest prize budgets of any lottery in the nation.

There’s a very real possibility that the COVID-19 economic stimulus was part of the reason the Arkansas Lottery saw such an uptick in sales.

The Arkansas Lottery’s instant ticket sales were up by $2 million in April compared to March and $9 million compared to February.

As we wrote last week, it seems like more than a coincidence that the Lottery’s scratch-off ticket sales would surge at about the same time that Arkansans started receiving economic stimulus checks from the federal government.

Right now the Arkansas Lottery is on track to pay out about $80 – $85 million for college scholarships this fiscal year — far less than the $100 million per year that Arkansans were promised in 2008.

Below is a breakdown of Arkansas Lottery ticket sales and scholarship funding so far this fiscal year.

Month Gross Lottery Revenue Paid to Scholarships % Gross Revenue
July $41,239,173.79 $4,523,930.75 11.0%
August 40,899,086.75 4,942,736.97 12.1%
September 36,202,677.79 6,565,973.32 18.1%
October 38,932,640.23 6,318,099.21 16.2%
November 36,118,641.12 5,947,177.45 16.5%
December 46,134,469.21 6,371,983.49 13.8%
January, 2020 40,802,067.75 8,239,083.77 20.2%
February 40,670,746.71 7,233,556.77 17.8%
March 47,876,969.85 7,386,497.30 15.4%
April 49,549,754.16 8,318,312.64 16.8%
Total $418,426,227.36 $65,847,351.67 15.7%

Photo Credit: Powerball and Mega Millions Lottery Billboard in Missouri by Tony Webster, on Flickr.

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Challenging the “New Normal” on Commercial Surrogacy

Bioethics,

Last week we published a blog post about New York’s recent decision to legalize commercial surrogacy.

On Friday, John Stonestreet at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview released a column about CNN host Anderson Cooper’s decision to hire a commercial surrogate.

Stonestreet writes,

This story demonstrates that commercial surrogacy, including cases in which the child is intentionally deprived of its mother, is now fully normal. . . .

Behind Anderson Cooper’s money and these headlines is this baby’s mom. No matter what we tell ourselves about how willing she was or how better off she is now, she is harmed and so is her son – who somehow knew from the moment he was born to look for her. Unfortunately, he won’t find her. Shame on us.

Stonestreet points out several of the ethical problems with commercial surrogacy, such as:

  • Commercial surrogacy assumes “children” are a right that God never promised
  • It denies children the opportunity to be raised by their biological mom and a dad
  • It treats children as products
  • It poses a significant risk of financial exploitation for women

As we keep saying, being pro-life means believing that human life is sacred from conception until natural death.

It means treating human life with respect at every stage of development.

It also means recognizing that human beings are not products that can be bought or sold. That’s why Family Council opposes commercial surrogacy — and will continue to oppose it.

Read John Stonestreet’s entire commentary here.

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Arkansans Spending Millions on Marijuana During Pandemic

Marijuana

Since March 11, Arkansans have bought nearly $24.4 million worth of so-called “medical” marijuana, according an article published by KUAR.

The major increase in “medical” marijuana sales tracks with the COVID-19 outbreak — and public health officials encouraging Arkansans to stock up on supplies.

According to officials from Arkansas’ Department of Finance and Administration, some “medical” marijuana users appear to be spending upwards of $2,000 per month on marijuana, on average.

Like we have said before, marijuana is big business in Arkansas.

The state’s “medical” marijuana amendment is so open-ended that practically anybody can buy and use marijuana.

Marijuana use is tied to a host of health problems.

A 2019 study presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions found that marijuana addiction among young people is tied to increased risk of heart problems.

A second study found regular marijuana use increases a young person’s risk of suffering a stroke.

Marijuana use is tied to stroke as well as permanent loss in IQ and an increased risk for schizophrenia.

That’s part of the reason why the U.S. Surgeon General has issued warnings about marijuana.

As we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

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