Our state’s legislative wizards are again scratching their heads trying to figure out what to do about the state’s dismal finances.

One of the perennial favorite ideas to banter about the capitol dome is whether or not to begin a state lottery.

Three of the four states bordering Mississippi have lotteries. Only Alabama is the lone surrounding holdout.

Gov. Phil Bryant, being the wizard that he is has suggested that he doesn’t want any potential lottery proceeds to be earmarked for a specific cause, for example, education.

Presumably, Bryant would prefer to simply allow the lottery to be absorbed into the state’s general fund to be disbursed among various state programs as he and the Republican-dominated Legislature see fit.

That’s a horrible idea.

If Mississippians decide to support a lottery, we must collectively plan to spend the money on something productive, not merely use the proceeds to plug a leaking budget ship.

As local Sen. Bob Dearing suggested, why not put the funds toward improving our state’s failing transportation infrastructure?

What about programs to get more welfare recipients to work doing much-needed projects around the state? Taxpayers would be far less concerned about entitlement programs if those receiving the benefits that are able to work actually produced tangible work for the betterment of society?

What about building and funding more state prisons to lock up habitual prisoners so truth in sentencing laws could actually be realized?

The list of state needs goes on and on. Lawmakers need to realize that the specialness of lotteries is lost when almost everyone around us has one.

At least having a lottery in Mississippi might avoid money from Mississippi wallets from traveling across state lines, never to return again.