Gambling?

Thought I'd highlight Peggy Fikac's article on gambling:

Only Gov. Rick Perry, who has favored loosening restrictions on gambling, says he won't try it again, but all three of his major opponents said Friday that they would support expanded gambling efforts.

"It has already been stated that the economy has to grow at least about $2 billion a year just to meet the property tax reduction requirements," said Bill Stinson, president of Let The Voters Decide, a group of real estate developers that favors bringing in casinos. "And that doesn't start to address the needs for school finance and health care and transportation and prisons and all the other areas that the state provides for the citizens.

"The only thing that's left is increasing the sales tax, which is one of the highest in the nation, or an income tax, or to allow the voters to decide whether or not they would like to allow full casinos to come in that generate jobs and bring in revenue to Texas," Stinson said.

Opponents say a gaming expansion would foment gambling addictions and a host of social ills, all for an unreliable funding stream.

"I'm going to oppose it until I have no breath left to oppose it," said Cathie Adams, president of the conservative Texas Eagle Forum. "It would so change the culture of Texas, it would be devastating.

"You (will) have people no longer having a work ethic, but instead an ethic of last chance, spending the family's fortune and not ... providing for the future."

Quite a few of the candidates have been on both sides of the fence (actually, I think they all have flip-flopped except for Kinky, but I'm not going to factcheck it), so it'll be interesting to see if this becomes an issue. Voters can be skeptical of gambling, but are often willing to bite the bullet if gambling is sold as in lieu of taxes. So who knows? Something could happen.

Posted by Evan @ 07/05/06 10:13 PM

 
 

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