Gambling is not "gaming."

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Government and Gambling Don't Mix

By Robert M. Levy

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Taking from the poor and giving to the government is not supposed to be the method used to finance public services.

But that may be the regressive taxation template if the gambling interests now invading North Carolina are allowed to put down roots where longleaf pines used to prosper.

When The Pilot opposed the North Carolina lottery, stating it would soon lead to "even more insidious forms of publicly sanctioned gambling," it was prophetic. At the "Education Lottery," public officials do not refer to their scheme as "gambling"; it is "play to pay" for better schools.

These are the words of leeches that profit from low-income workers and the dollar bills of welfare recipients, none of whom can afford to gamble, but all of whom feel the need to place sucker bets on a dream that they will never be poor again.

The latest scheme to tax the families of the poor and working class is the so-called "sweepstakes" Internet gambling hall. A court ruling recently confirmed a loophole in state law that permits persons to enter into Internet "cafe" sweepstakes for the chance to win big. It should have been met with outrage, and it was by some.

Bipartisan House Bill 226, if passed, would outlaw Internet sweepstakes. But it was referred to two committees in March and appears to be well-buried. Federal officials should have closed such operations for holding "sweepstakes" while ignoring the "no-purchase necessary" requirement imposed on Monopoly at McDonald's, but they were obviously too busy ignoring medical marijuana laws in California.

In the meantime, a bipartisan bill to expand Indian gambling was passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor on June 6.

In Moore County, too, gambling has been met with some friendly reception. The Carthage Town Board is preparing for what The Pilot called the "emerging Internet gaming business." Robbins already has at least two gambling parlors. Whispering Pines now zones such casinos as part of its "neighborhood shopping district."

Meanwhile, back at the legislature, Senate Bill 209 seeks to create a video lottery, and Senate Bill 523 seeks to allow slot machines near Interstate highways in counties that border another state. And still there is no real effort in the new legislature to fulfill Article V(4) of the 2012 Republican Party platform to repeal the lottery passed by a Democratic General Assembly.

The problem with gambling is that it, like other vices, allows government to profit with very little pain. Those who choose to gamble are often the poor or those who financially struggle. These people rarely vote.

Therefore, governments like Aberdeen can pass high taxes on such establishments, increasing revenue with little backlash from the electorate. This symbiotic relationship between government revenue and voter ambivalence is a match made in hell.

Modern casino management preys upon addicted gamblers. On the NPR show "This American Life," in a recent episode titled "Blackjack," the producer explained how gambling "hosts" target the most vulnerable among us, people whose brains are "wired" for gambling addiction, running them into debt even after they have declared bankruptcy.

I am a conservative, not a libertarian. I believe that government needs to outlaw the taking of life at any time after conception. I further believe that government should continue to arrest those who sell intoxicating, recreational, narcotic drugs.

I have no problem when government passes laws consistent with public morality because government, as the collective will of its people, has an obligation to protect families from those who profit from addiction. And government ought to be ashamed of itself when it raises money from those who can least afford to pay.



Gambling is not "gaming." It is not a game. It is the big business of transferring wealth from the vulnerable to those who prey upon the vulnerable. If we need a school, we need to all pay our fair share of taxes for it or simply "make do" with what we can morally afford. Congress ought not overtax the rich, and the General Assembly ought not allow a gambling tax on the poor.

Gambling and class warfare taxes are similar. They are rooted in a desire to pay for our needs using "other people's money."

And that is immoral.

Robert M. Levy is chairman of the Moore County Republican Party. Contact him at Law52@prodigy.net.

http://www.thepilot.com/news/2012/jun/17/government-and-gambling-dont-mix/