Dialing for Dollars??

 We live just a few miles from the North Carolina-Virginia border. As such, I am in Virginia frequently. A couple of weeks ago, as my wife and I were returning from our Christmas visit to Williamsburg, we stopped in South Hill, Virginia. to get cheap gas. At the gas station there were several machines that were turned around and had signs on them. They were "skill" games that the state is banning starting in the New Year. There were notices telling people that the state has banned video gambling machines and how to contact their elected representatives about this. Right beside the forbidden gambling machines was a vending machine for Virginia Lottery tickets which was in service. We may need to redefine "two-faced".

This is a result of a state law passed in 2020 but implementation of the law was paused for the COVID crisis and then for legal challenges. Do I need to mention that it was a Democratic legislature and governor who put this package together?

I read several news stories about this and found the same theme was prevalent in all of them. They all played the same tune. That is "This form of gambling is wrong because the state doesn't get any money from it." WOW!! So gambling is good if the state gets a piece of the action? So, as long as the state gets a cut, it doesn't matter if people gamble away the rent and grocery money? The people who gamble the most are frequently among those who can afford it the least.

An hour down the road from these now illegal video gambling machines, they are building a Caesar's Casino and Hotel in Danville. The state is promoting this venture. The casino will be filled with gambling machines. We may need to redefine the term "mixed messages".

Am I opposed to gambling? Not really, I buy a $2 lottery ticket about once a week. However, I don't spend hundreds of dollars buying Powerball tickets in an effort to win $400 million. Two bucks is my personal limit and that comes out of my recycling money fund. 

I grew up in Florida. In my years at the Waffle House, I met several folks who were involved in illegal gambling. At the time, there was legal gambling in Florida with dog racing, horse racing and jai alai. Since the state got a portion of the revenue, that kind of gambling was okay. Organized crime ran a "lottery" at that time. The state called it the "numbers racket". If you won that, the "mob" paid you in cash. They didn't take out for taxes. You could also find someone (bookies) willing to take bets on sporting events. Imagine that! But the state prosecuted the entrepreneurs who ran the "Numbers racket" and took bets on sports and put them in prison.

In 1988, Florida got into the lottery business. I often wonder if they freed anyone who was in jail on gambling charges when the state took over the gambling racket. Of course, they didn't. In simple terms, the State of Florida muscled the Mafia out of the "numbers racket". And it is a racket. The state controls how many winners there are in the games. They tax your winnings to get back some of the money you won. Even the Mafia didn't do "withholding".

In North Carolina and many other states, the state took over the "numbers racket" and it became the "Education Lottery". The only thing you learn from the "Education Lottery" is not to waste your money. Is education in North Carolina any better with the money from the lottery? Of course not. "Truth in Advertising" should compel the state to change the name from "Education Lottery" back to "numbers racket".

So, what's my point in all of this? The government is addicted to the revenue that "sin" taxes produce. It's not just the lottery. In North Carolina, as well as many other states, the government controls the liquor business. Liquor in North Carolina costs about twice as much as in Florida. Liquor taxes are that high. This is why some states are legalizing marijuana sales. That are taxing these sales and raising large amounts of revenue. It's all about money. The state doesn't give a rat's ass about your health or well-being. They don't care if families suffer because someone gambles away the grocery money buying Powerball tickets.

The first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem. The government needs to start by getting out of the "numbers racket".