Flush the Lottery

From michigan.gov:

The Michigan Lottery reported annual sales of $2.2 billion in fiscal 2006, and generated $688 million in net revenue for the state School Aid Fund, which supports public education programs throughout the state. Retailers received annual commissions of $165.3 million, while Michigan Lottery players collected prizes worth $1.3 billion.

$2.2 billion is about $220 per resident of Michigan. But the revenue generated is only about $69 per resident. Retailers received $16 per resident, almost a 25% commission on revenue generated. One could generate that amount of revenue with a normal everyday tax with a lot less than 25% overhead.

That is not even getting into the fact that most lottery players don't receive winnings anywhere near 60% of what they spend.