This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
"Why not a Utah lottery?" (Opinion, Dec. 8):
It will never happen here, but a Utah lottery is a fantastic idea. If you want to play, fine; you don't have to go to Idaho and increase our emissions, etc. If you don't want to play, don't. No one is forcing you.
Just make sure the funds are earmarked for education in some permanent, impossible-to-get-around way. Texas' lottery funds were supposed to go only to education, but somehow $400 million of lottery proceeds seeped back into the general fund.
Also, although Utah is at the bottom of the barrel in per-pupil funding, money spent on education doesn't mean much — it all depends on how that money is used or wasted.
Candace Wetzler
Sandy