The idiots in California authorized a lottery about ten years ago to raise money
for the schools.Its nothing but a scam. The school system is falling apart and in my local district a few years ago, the morons authorized a parcel tax to raise $65 million in order to repair old school bulidings. Every year its the same thing: "we need MORE money for the government shcools." The state lottery fund is now self-perpetuating since the winners are paid out over a 20 year period. What's happening with all that money is anyone's guess. It sure as hell is NOT going to the schools, at least not very much of it. My bet is that the whole thing is run by the mafia, which makes the state government the partners of criminals - oh, you say that's what they have always been?
On the other hand, some have said that the lottery is a way of making the poor pay their fair share of taxes!
Your post is almost word-for-word what happened here in Virginia. The lotto profits were supposed to go, in large part, to the schools. Just a couple of years ago in my local district, there was a HUGE tax levy earmarked for the county schools. They raised everything. Personal property, tool and machine, land taxes. Everything went up.
And get this... It is all supposed to go back to pre-levy rates as soon as the money is collected. LOL!! They must have written that into the legislation for it's comedic effect.
Lotto is such a scam.