Hey, I'm doing a debate in class for gambling. It's me and a friend (pro-gamblin) vs. 2 anti-gambling. So, I'm looking for some Pro's why Texas should legalize gambling. I know money is a big one, but so far, it looks like the only one. Any help appreciated

 

We have legalized gambling here in BC. It's kind of a government operation. They take a cut, and that cut in turn subsidizes other budgets.

 

Recognizing that this is for a school assignment and not so much about the topic at hand...
I recall reading a brief history of Nevada (I wish I had authoritative sources for you, you'd want to research this first). Back in the early 20th century, Nevada's economy was based mostly on mining. This proved problematic, because the precious metals market was so volatile. When the price of gold and such was high, things were good. When the price of gold and such went down, things were bad. They found it difficult to maintain a stable economy based on such a volatile commodity. In the 1920's (or was it 30's?), they investigated various options for diversifying and stabilizing their economy and decided that legalized gambling was the way to go. It brought stability and prosperity to their economy.
I know it's still "about the money," but it puts a different spin on it. Do some research ("Some guy on the internet said..." probably won't cut it) and see what you find. It will take some work to authenticate this and to apply it to Texas, which has a much larger and more diverse economy.

 

Great Stuff Guys! Keep 'em coming.

 

When the lottery (and later video poker) was originally sold to the voters in Oregon, the money was to cover a massive budget deficit in the schools. Of course, when you throw a lot of money into the general fund, politicians will find a way to spend it. Fast forward twenty years- we still have a lottery, more video poker, and we still have a massive budget deficit in the schools. This after the largest tax increase in Oregon's history last year.

No one talks about how many lives and marriages were ruined by gambling addictions though. And I seem to be the only person in the State that has issues with using gambling profits to finance schools. [sarcasm font]Why don't we just sell pot and use those profits to finance schools? Maybe we could even finance a few extra D.A.R.E. TV spots while we're at it?[/sarcasm]

The Northwest Chapter of FTE
we don't get lost,
we just get found

 

Come to Montana. There is a casino in every street corner. To drive down the main drag you would think we did nothing else. Around here it seem that those who can least afford to gamble are those who do it most.

 

Gambling (def): a tax on people that are bad at math.

 

To me, a much better question than why Texas should legalize it, is why they made it illegal in the first place. Specifically, how did they decide that the public interest was better served by banning this activity?

Arguments for repealing the ban:

- it's something that people want to do
- the government has no place making such decisions for their residents
- handled properly, it is a good source of municipal (and sometimes state) income
- the law is morally bankrupt

Arguments against:

- none come to mind

Last I checked, we were still a people trying to operate under the assumption of freedom. Silly blue laws like this fly in the face of this principle.

 

Don't hate me polarbear. Back in 84 or 85 I got to borrow the company forklift at lunchtime at do a side job - driving a crate a block down the road to lottery headquarters. The crate contained the very first Oregon lottery mainframe. I made $50 cash and haven't won't the lottery since! (They didn't tell me what it was beforehand, just a big crate. Should have seen their eyes when I drove it through the door at 10 mph. I mean I had a whole inch either side, but they felt I cut it a little close.)

I believe originally that the money was to go to economic development and at first a big portion did. (A good program, basically ANYONE who could write up a business plan that showed they could start a business that hired people was given grant money. Had to be feasible and not shakey - like a restaurant or something that might fail in a couple years.

The people in power at the time wanted money for schools. But just like polarbear and I, the voters didn't want "sin" taxes used to educate their kids, but in the early/mid 80's Oregon was in desperate need of companies to hire folks - something to offset the displaced timber workers, so it was voted in with a relatively small percentage going to schools - and it was suppose to stay that way, gaming money for schools being fine as long as it was for extras, never anything to depend on . But as the economy got stronger the education percentage increased and they finally dropped the finacial grants. Now our economy is bad again AND the schools are overcrowded - and unfortunately the schools depend on lottery dollars.

I don't like what the lottery has done to people I know, but if I wanted to research the pro points, I would look at the individual states lottery webpages to see where the money goes - and try to figure out the impact. There has to be a few states that have worked it responsibly.

 

Back in the late 80's, my town was debating the same situation about a dog track...Needless to say they passed it and a dog track was built.. soon after a gambling riverboat was brought in... Since then our town has just boomed in size and economy...They (buy the local law) "donate" a large portion of the profits to city development, which in turn attracts more tourist..

 

Dig up a few facts on how cash strapped, money thirsty gov't will love the seemingly endless stream of tax revenue.

In WA, we tried to expand gambling; it was on the ballot last fall. The anti's had "cute" TV ads showing kids staring through windows watching adults gamble and tried to make it look "bad for the kids" (typical behavior of some; use kids as a human shield to avoid discussion on unpopular subjects). Be ready for this in your debate. Fire back with how nobody forces anyone to gamble, and how some states do not allow gambling within X feet of schools and places where kids congrigate.

 

We have legalized gambling here on the river in MS. They were supposed to bring in money for education......they do but the schools still beg for money for supplies.
One of the "con" arguments for gambling here was that the folks against it said that they were afraid some poor soul would spend his last few dollars in a casino..or lottery...while they had kids that were starving. Granted there may be some that do that but not everyone does although I know of several instances of folks here loosing everything they had to a casino. My wife(before she passed away) worked for a man that loved to gamble and she made monthly payments to the casino's to pay off his gambling debts.
Gambling is fine in my eyes...as long as you can control it. Everything in moderation!

 

The number one reason: You can't legislate morality!

Laws designed to keep people from "sinning" are futile! They don't work, but cost taxpayers lots of money trying to enforce. If they worked, we wouldn't have prostitution, illegal drug use, sex outside marriage, etc., etc., etc.

The prime example of this is America's great experiment with alcohol. The Volkstead Act made producing, selling, or consuming alcohol illegal from 1920 - 1933. Did it work? NO! Instead, it bred violence, the rise of the mobs, contempt for authority (nearly everybody knowingly broke the law), and cost the federal, state and local governments (in other words, the taxpayers) hundreds of millions of dollars. It also caused the deaths of thousands of people from "bad booze" - much like our "war on drugs" does today!

Don't get me wrong - I'm not advocating gambling, the use of drugs, or any of these things. But these can't be combated with laws. This is an individual responsibility. If parents teach their kids the stupidity of these things, why they're not smart ideas, we're much more likely to eliminate them.

Hope that's useful for you!

Allen

 

I'll be the first one to agree that governments can't...and probably shouldn't regulate or legislate morality. But what about being the enabler? As an analogy, it's one thing to make strip joints illegal, but quite another for the state to allow them to exist and own them.

 

We have gambling here in Oklahoma but regular people can't run a casino, just the Indians. I only have one argument against gambling and it's already been mentioned. The people who can barely afford to keep a roof over their head and food on the table are the ones that do most of it. They go to the casino, blow their whole paycheck, and the rest of us pay for it with welfare checks and food stamps. We are a people operating under the assumption of freedom, but individual freedom is not allowed to infringe on the rights of other people. I have the right to keep my paycheck, not give it to some deadbeat that can't control his drinking, smoking and gambling.