Armchair Pundits

The Governor's Gamble

There is an evil afoot at the state capital. Namely, the partnering of the state with the gambling industry in expanding [the states participation in] casino operations. Specifically, the governor has proposed to several Native American bands, "presumably the Leech Lake, Red Lake, and White Earth bands" (as reported in the January 31st issue of the Star Tribune), a new casino operation whereby the bands would operate the casinos and the state would garner an estimated annual revenue in excess of $100 million, by owning the slot machines. The attitude among our legislators in St. Paul, reflects a pragmatism that will be ruinous for families and future generations of Minnesotans.

In the late eighties, several Native American Bands gained the opportunity to build the casinos currently operating in our state. At that time, the state made a crucial error in negotiating the agreement, one that has cost the state a billion + dollars of potential revenue over the past 15 years. I am referring to the tribal gaming compact. It is not uncommon in states with tribal gaming, to negotiate a "profit sharing" agreement so-to-speak. As mentioned, the state of Minnesota did a lousy job negotiating this compact previously; thus, Minnesota enjoys one of the lowest annual revenues from gaming comparitively. It comes as no surprise that lawmakers now want to rethink this agreement. While tantalizing in it's promise as a remedy, the state's budget woes will not be ameliorated through gambling profits. Rather, it will compound problems by increasing costs to social services.

I have been against the gaming industry in our state since inception. Whether casinos or lotteries, such a system preys on the poor and weak-minded. Consider the cost. The National Gambling Impact Commission of 1999 found "a direct link between problem and pathological gambling and divorce, child abuse, domestic violence, bankruptcy, crime and suicide. More than 15.4 million adults and adolescents meet the technical criteria of those disorders." Click on the above link for the full text. As the commissioner of this study, Dr. Dobson indicated that the above figure, is a number larger than any city in America. Government profiteering at the expense of it's citizenry, is a civic injustice, criminal, and morally reprehensible. Some have exhorted (and I agree) that government participation in such an enterprise, makes it all the more hopeless for those caught in gambling's grip.

There was a time in our society when we used terms like virtue and vice. Chief on the list of vices was gambling. It was considered such for the ruin it caused in lives and the denigration of hard work inherent to its nature. A local pastor and author, decried the effects of this vice in an open letter to his church. Go and read it in it's entirety. This is a sobering reminder to the faith community. Consider the following:

"The American exploitation of the poor with lotteries muddies the conscience of many legislators. Statistics abound that "the government-sponsored lottery continues its shameless exploitation of the poor" (James Dobson, April, 1999 Newsletter). This exploitation is explicit in some of the advertising bought by the $400 million spent annually by states to promote lotteries. For example, in Chicago one sign read: "This could be your ticket out." That is shameless. Other promotions mock the virtues of hard work and serious study as a way to make a living. Plan A: Study hard, save money, get old. Plan B: Play the lottery.

Only a few, it seems, are willing to say how far and how manifold are the corrupting effects of the lottery. How many have pondered this insight from Richard Neuhaus, "In a democracy, the need for popular consent to tax is a powerful check on government growth and irresponsibility. A government that raises money by encouraging and exploiting the weaknesses of its citizens escapes that democratic mechanism of accountability. As important, state-sponsored gambling undercuts the civic virtue upon which democratic governance depends" (First Things, Sept., 1991, p. 12)."

This is devastating. The pragmatism that lends to profiting from gambling is a not so distant cry from profiting from drugs or prostitution. Also, old world vices. You may scoff and think that such a thing couldn't happen in the USA, but look at the condition of Europe. Look and see what they are doing in Germany these days!

Mike and I were discussing this recently, and part of that discussion yielded the notion that perhaps the governor is blufffing through all of this. If that is the case, he has gotten himself in over his head. I hope you'll pardon the expression here, but his hand has been called. I really don't know what Governor Pawlenty is thinking, but either way, such pragmatism is akin to walking a fine line over the abyss.

posted by Grisby @ 11:08 AM