It's hard to turn on the television or radio these days without seeing or hearing a heartwarming commercial about how the North Carolina Education Lottery has sent a kid to college, built a new wing at a school to ease overcrowding or saved hundreds of teachers' jobs.

The commercials are admittedly an improvement over the usual lottery ads with their carnival barkers, sumo wrestlers painted blue, and a man's pants falling down in an elevator. That last one brought us the inspiring thought "every day is a great day when you have the chance to win $50,000."

And what could be more perfect for the times. Cheer up you North Carolinians who have been laid off or lost your house. You have the chance to win $50,000 today.

While the new ads aren't that insulting, they are reminders that the lottery has sold a lot of tickets since it began several years ago, enough to raise around $4.5 billion. The state has received roughly a third of that which paid for the school buildings, college scholarships and teacher jobs highlighted in the new slick commercials.

The other $3 billion has gone to prizes and the out-of-state companies that print the tickets and run the promotions. That's not mentioned in the ads, that two-thirds of every dollar spent on lottery tickets does not go to education.

And there's nothing about how many jobs would have been created and how much tax revenue would have been raised if that $4.5 billion was not taken out of the economy and was instead spent on restaurants, travel, clothing and other goods that are taxed and support local jobs.

It's also worth thinking about the commercials that haven't been made, one featuring scenes inside a rural convenience store where a group of poor men stand huddled in the corner scratching off ticket after ticket hoping to strike it rich.

Or maybe one that takes us inside a check-cashing establishment in Raleigh or Charlotte where people living day to day stop by to cash their checks because they don't have a bank account.

They too have the chance to buy lottery tickets, just after they get their cash minus the cut taken by the check-casher. Opportunities to make it a great day are everywhere. Why not produce commercials to show us all of them?

There's nothing wrong with celebrating the value of public investments in schools, scholarships and early childhood programs, but let's be fair about it. How about an ad touting the state corporate income tax that has paid for billions in school construction over the years?

Or maybe a commercial about the sales tax that's raised General Fund revenue that's paid for teacher salaries and financial aid for poor kids who can't afford to go to college? The possibilities are endless if we want to tout what state investments pay for, but we only hear about the good the lottery is doing in the 60-second ads.

Maybe the marketing folks can produce a spot touting Lottery Director Tom Shaheen's decision to leave his $246,000 a year salary for the even greener pastures of a company exploring selling lottery tickets at ATM machines, just what we need. The lottery really is an avenue towards prosperity.

This week we learned that Harris Teeter will became the latest grocery chain to begin selling tickets in their stores. They'll be available in machines that are impossible to monitor to see if kids are buying them and practicing the lessons that their state government is teaching them, that it's better to try against all odds to strike it rich instead of saving your money and spending it wisely.

It makes you wonder what's next after check-cashers and vending machines near the express checkout lines. Maybe high school cafeterias.

"I'll have fish sticks, fries and three power ball tickets please."

Many seniors are 18 after all, if folks are actually worried about keeping minors from playing. Cafeteria workers could monitor who is buying them, just like we are apparently expecting the grocery store clerks to do.

Think of the commercials we could make.