Lawmakers within Pearl River County received some good news recently; additional funding sources are on the horizon.

While this is good news for lawmakers, it will hopefully be good news for taxpayers as well. That’s because, technically, they don’t involve tax hikes.

While one of those additional sources of revenue will come from the collection of sales tax from online purchases, which was recently signed into law by Governor Phil Bryant, it’s honestly something that should have been mandated a long time ago.

The second source of revenue will be from the sale of lottery tickets. Opponents will say that bringing this form of legal gambling to Mississippi will result in negative consequences. Keep in mind that Pearl River County is located a short drive from where lottery tickets are already sold.

This change, for Pearl River County at least, will only mean that those intent on playing the lottery won’t have to drive to Louisiana to do it.

Dreams of winning the lottery cross everyone’s mind from time to time, but the reality is that if we want to pay our bills, we should spend only a very small portion of all of our hard earned cash on a game of chance.

So, the next time you see taxes added to your online purchase, or the availability of lottery tickets at your local convenience store, don’t fret. Just think about the infrastructure work that will be done and education programs that will benefit.