While Washington looks for ways to boost the nation’s struggling economy, South Carolina has before it a simple solution to help this state overcome its economic troubles.
The General Assembly and state agencies are struggling to balance the state’s budget. Furloughs and across-the-board spending cuts could go even deeper. But we don’t have to take such drastic measures that harm working-class people when we have a workable economic bailout plan that could unleash new revenue and put people back to work.
New money could come from an old industry ”” video poker.
Hmmmm. “we don’t have to take such drastic measures that harm working-class people..”
So instead, we’ll take measures that primarily harm those already in poverty!
I agree with you Kendall, this is incredibly misguided. It’s even way worse then a state lottery, which is already a bad idea by itself.
Thank you – this is one of those instances where secular liberals and religious conservatives are (usually) in agreement. Let’s pray that they can again work in solidarity to prevent the re-implementation of this practice.
BTW, I did not mean to exclude [i]religious[/i] liberals who are also (usually) part of the coalition against this type of exploitation, it’s just that this is one of those rare instances where the “extremes” fight a horrendous public ill.
In October of last year, I think, there was a story on T19 about author Amy Blackmarr’s addiction to gambling, esp. video gambling, and the consequences it has had in her life. This is not an answer for anybody. It’s the sort of cheap “answer” that does more harm than good.
Video poker was terrible. That nasty money slushed all over Columbia. People sat in gas stations playing it endlessly, smoking cigarettes. Woe to you if you just wanted a non-stinky Snapple. And now we are blessed to have a state lottery, so rich and poor alike can throw their money down a state-approved toilet.