Except when it’s not.

From the Charlotte Observer:

Three years after casting the tie-breaking vote for an education lottery, N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue has said she may use up to $88 million in lottery money to shore up the state’s general coffers ? a move that has some N.C. lawmakers steaming.

?This is exactly what the opponents to the lottery said would happen,? said Rep. Ruth Samuelson, R-Mecklenburg. ?And if they continue to bill it as an ?education lottery,’ it’s a farce.?

When it passed in 2005, lottery supporters pledged that proceeds would only go to education. Then-Gov. Mike Easley even called unsuccessfully for a constitutional ?lockbox? to make sure that happened.

But Perdue spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson said Friday the governor had little choice. Already $2 billion in the red, the state faces a $3 billion shortfall next fiscal year.

Why is anyone surprised? It’s important to remember that supporters had to tie the lotto to an idea that generates warm fuzzies among voters (in this case, public education) in order to get it passed.

I seriously doubt we would have a lottery today had it been called the “general fund lottery” instead of “the education lottery.”