As the saying goes, it only takes a dollar and a dream-one could win the lottery and become a millionaire overnight.
However, in the state of North Carolina, Rep. Paul "Skip" Stam, R-Wake, doesn't believe that those receiving welfare benefits should be allowed to partake in this simple dream.
"We're giving them welfare to help them live, and yet by selling them a ticket, we're taking away their money that is there to provide them the barest of necessities," Stam said, according to Pat Gannon at the insider.
In terms of vendors determining who is on welfare, Stam acknowledge this issue, but stressed that in obvious cases, "when customers pay for groceries with food stamps-they shouldn't be allowed to buy lottery tickets at the same time."
For a state that received a certification from the World Lottery Associate for its "responsible gaming program." The certification was for the state's inclusion of "Play Responsibly," along with a gambling hotline phone number on each ticket sold.
Stam wanted to make it clear that this would not eliminate the N.C. Education Lottery all together and that all the profit created by the lottery would still end up in improving the education system.
He felt it was a necessary statement to make, due to a previous proposal calling for the removal of the word "education," strictly for advertising purposes.
"The word 'education' shouldn't be used to sell something that is essentially a scam, especially because lottery proceeds account for a small percentage of state education funding. It's just inappropriate to take what is a very important function of state government ... and use that as a selling point, when obviously the more educated you are, the less likely you are to play the lottery," he said, again, according to Gannon..
Last week, Alice Garland, executive director of the N.C Education Lottery said "taking [the word] 'Education' out of the title would cut into lottery sales. "
According to lottery spokesman Van Denton, "officials haven't fully reviewed all of the legislative proposals to gauge the impacts. The lottery tries to keep up with best practices in the industry. We work hard to make sure players have the information they need to play the lottery ... and to make good choices about how to spend their money," Gannon reports.
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