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It's Your Money
by Elaine Rodriguez,posted Jul 1 2010 8:49AM
By Trey Ware
July 1, 2010
The House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee will meet on July 8th to discuss gambling expansion. The issue is picking up steam as lawmakers try to deal with an $18 billion shortfall in the state's budget. Proponents say $1 to $3 billion is being lost to other states who allow video terminals and casinos.
I'm not a gambler. I could care less whether gambling is expanded in Texas. What interests me about the gambling debate is the issue of self control.
Gambling opponents express concern over people gambling their hard-earned money away. They say the majority of people who gamble are those who can least afford to lose money. That might be true, but isn't it their money? If they want to "waste" it on gambling, shouldn't that be their business?
The answer is yes and no.
Yes because people should be allowed to spend their hard-earned discretionary dollars where they choose, (as long as it's legal). No because people who are teetering on the brink might be shoved over into government dependence by their own fiscal irresponsibility. That is when it becomes our business.
Will Texas make more money if gambling is expanded? Probably. Will we pay more in government subsidies? Maybe. Texas lawmakers must now decide if the payoff is worth the risk.
I agree with a comment Bob Bullock once made ... gambling is a sleezy way to raise money for Texas.
07/07/2010 12:52AM
Maximo
Trey, too much of the "self-control" argument on this one. If people are on ANY form of government (State) assistance, then they should not be allowed to spend any money on any sorts of gambling, whether it be scratch cards, eight liners or any other gambling. Once someone goes on the state's "dole", it should be in a database which whill allow business to not allow any gambling when the person's ID is swiped and checked against this database. Some of these people are truly needy, so they should not be allowed to gamble their precious resources away.
07/16/2010 6:57PM
We're all adults here...
Legalize gambling and be done with it. Oh yeah- declare Blue Laws unconstitutional while you're at it. Like Ben Franklin said- Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy.
09/12/2010 4:25PM
Education Fix
A political thought: With rising drop out rates becoming an increasing concern a lot of pressure is being focused on school districts and government to fix the problem. I believe it is a "family" based problem and have a potential solution I would like to gather feedback on. I feel that young teens are being allowed to drop out without much resistance from parents, to stop this I propose that we modify tax law. Currently a child can be claimed as a dependent until age 18, or 21 if the child is enrolled in a school (IE college student). I suggest we change the 18 to 12. If parents allow the child to leave the education system then they loose the deduction. This would provide motivation to keep the child in school. I also site the logic that leaving school is an indication that you have all the education you need to enter the workforce, and therefore should become self supporting (no longer anyone's dependent). This would have no cost to implement and could potentially save the government money in tax refunds. I would hope it would also reduce the dropout rate.
09/23/2010 8:58AM
Common sense
It's just common sense to just do it. We have lottery , horse racing. Why not this.
