Middle And Upper Lottery Ticket Essay - 1,692 words

Policy-makers are assessing the advice from Kenny Rogers, "You got to know when to hold 'um, know when to fold 'um, know when to walk away and when to run. " They are trying their hand at new and old forms of gambling in the hopes of generating additional revenues. One of the revitalized ideas of the past is to legalize gambling on historic riverboat replicas. Yet riverboat gambling won't be restricted to the Mississippi, but will appear in towns like Gary, Indiana and even our own Jefferson City. Even New Mexico has explored a proposal to float a casino on a dammed section of the Rio Grande.


These ideas demonstrate policy-makers attempts to satisfy taxpayers revolt while maintaining the need for increased revenues. Riverboat casinos are on the minds of policy-makers and citizens alike. This policy has passed through the Missouri legislature; and voters passed the idea by a large margin in a statewide referendum. Soon people will be boarding these vessels resembling historic steamboats of the past in the hopes of winning a return on their investment.


By state statute this could mean as many as 20 riverboat casinos floating Missouri's waters. At least seven riverboats licensed to operate gambling are expected to hit the water early this year. We will have to wait and see what affects this policy will have on revenues and Missouri residents. However, we can look to other states that have already implemented riverboat gambling to see what promises have been fulfilled and what problems have transpired. There is little debate that these riverboats, floating casinos as they are sometimes referred, will produce some revenues without relying on higher taxes. A large majority of Missouri voters support the idea of riverboat gambling.


In fact, voters all across the Midwest seem to support the notion that gambling is fun entertainment and comes at a cost they are quite willing to pay. Staggering economies brought on by the recession have pressured policy-makers to find a means of stimulating growth in towns all across the nation. Iowa legislatures, prompted by the farm crisis of the 1980 s, were first in discovering riverboat gambling as a resource to stimulate growth, (Greenberg, 1991). I admit it is tempting to support such a means of generating revenues, after all, the majority supports it.


But policy-makers must ask, "Can we depend on riverboat gambling as a stable source of revenues and is it really painless revenues we will be generating?" . Of course, the answer is a resounding no! Clearly, states should not be in the business of operating casinos. Even though the amount of revenue generated by state sponsored gambling is small it is foolhardy to rely on unstable sources of income in place of taxes.


There are many other reasons I can not support this policy and I will discuss each in detail. I do not support state-sponsored casino gambling, but there are some compelling arguments for its establishment. I will attempt to point out both sides of the argument while ultimately showing the costs will not outweigh the benefits. First, it is important to discuss the origins of casino gambling and how it gained its recent acceptance among the public. Lotteries were the driving force in changing the attitudes of the public about gambling. New Hampshire instituted the first state lottery in 1964.


Many other states quickly followed suit. In the late 1970 s New Jersey approved casino gambling in Atlantic City, mostly to bring in tourism and lift the tax burden. The mood was set for other states to pass similar legislation, but repeatedly states voted down proposals for casino gambling. It was not until 1989 when South Dakota voters approved a measure to bring casinos into the landlocked town of Deadwood that other states began to consider casino gambling. Even though Deadwood now operates casinos, the idea of state sponsored casinos on dry land has not gained the wide approval of gambling on water. Some experts believe gambling is cyclical, (Hansen, Second, 1991).


Professor of law at Whittier College, I. Nelson Rose, predicts state operated gambling will encounter a mass of scandal. Public dismay will then mandate outlawing gambling once again. If history repeats itself, gambling will once again be viewed by the public as an unacceptable act. The state will then have to find a new source of revenue or hope people will support paying higher taxes in place of the loss in gambling revenues. Revenues from gambling are variable, meaning one year revenues may be up, but the next year revenues might be down.


One reason for its variability is that it is not recession-proof. Riverboat gambling could suffer significant loses in revenue during economic downturns. In the down years states may have to cut spending to make up the difference. More importantly, this shows that states can not depend on this money when they need it the most, during hard times. The message state sponsored gambling sends to taxpayers can also be damaging. The lottery, for example, has provo ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

...................You are reading a preview................... Visit our Blog and Unlock Full Access to this essay

Continue READING the FULL Essay by clicking HERE

Essay Tags: casino gambling, lower income, lower classes, middle and upper, lottery ticket

This is an Essay sample / Research paper, you can use it for your research of: Middle And Upper Lottery Ticket