It is not my attempt to hinder the candidacy of Steve Beshear due to my posting about Casino Gambling. I am for Steve and Dr. Dan, but I can not agree with their decision to bring Casino Gambling to Kentucky.

There are a number of facts that should be acknowledged before this issue is forced to the ballot.

1. This is a CHICKEN TAX. Politicians have wanted to vote this issue in for a time now, but each time it comes to a committee it is shot down. The reason being, some members of the General Assembly feel they would loose votes if they came out in favor of the CHICKEN TAX. (CHICKEN TAX: The ability for politicians to add taxes on a certain income level, without saying they raised the taxes, so it is a safe play.) Now, the fact that the D’s are for the Casino issue many politicos will feel safe to bring it out of committee as they will claim that is what the public decided in the mandate given to the Beshear administration.

2. Gambling creates no new wealth for our state it is the sterile transfer of money without producing new goods or materials.
Nobel Laureate
Paul Samuelson.

"(Gambling) involves simply sterile transfers of money or goods between individuals, creating no new money or goods. Although it creates no output, gambling does nevertheless absorb time and resources. When pursued beyond the limits of recreation, where the main purpose after all is to kill time, gambling subtracts from the national income.

3. Demographics prove the suicide rate among children, who come from families involved in compulsive gambling, is two times higher than children that do not come from compulsive gambling families.

4. The survey from KEEP, they are the lobby group that paid for the survey, is flawed.This survey was made by pro gamble organizations and certainly these pro gamble forces do not want to add anything that might prove objectionable or challenging.

5. There is not factual survey that shows 250,000 Kentucky citizens cross our border to gamble. (I am sorry but counting license plates is highly speculative.) If there is such a survey then it should be made known to the public. And the public needs to know who paid for the survey.

6. Gambling plays on that portion of our citizens that can least afford to loose the money.

There is more . . But then Steve Beshaer is paying too much attention to Brer Jones. He is the real champion of bring gambling to the racetracks. It is the same way Jones raised money to get elected as our most “DO NOTHING GOVERNOR” in many years. It was the HORSE PEOPLE that paid significant part of the tab for Brer Jones to be elected. And, now he is back again, pleading the case for the HORSE PEOPLE but using Beshear as the front man.

I wonder what the public reaction would be is the pro gamble dropped the idea of adding Casino gambling to racetracks and wanted to build geography, within Kentucky, that had stand alone casinos operated by questionable associates?

This is last, but it may just be the most important and that is THE HUMAN COST OF DIVIDING FAMILIES AND DESTROYING FAMILY VALUES.

If we need the money then raise the taxes and then we don’t have to give up 80% of the revenue generated by Casinos claimed as operating expense. No one knows for sure what the gross figure will be, just like all surveys is speculative.

Politicians won’t do that . . . cause it makes them vulnerable in the next election.

If the Republican wedge issue is gambling and the Democratic wedge issue is political corruption, then Kentuckians are left once more with nothing to vote for. So why the hell vote?