State should build revenue with good public policy, not ‘shady, shifting sands of gambling’
Should Kentucky give the Good Housekeeping seal of approval to sports gambling? The lessons of Hippocrates, Carl Fox (father of Bud Fox in the movie Wall Street), President Dwight David Eisenhower, and Daniel Boone lead us to answer “NO,” Kentucky should not legalize institutional sports gambling.
First, some preliminaries. The question involves state sanctioning of institutional sports gambling, not personal betting. Current Kentucky law prohibits the former but seems to permit the latter. Like drinking and smoking, an individual’s decision to gamble is considered a matter of personal choice, regardless of the harm that may result.
But state sanctioning of institutional sports gambling is altogether different. Like the lottery, legalization would be tantamount to the state falsely promoting sports gambling as a healthy activity to be consumed the same as the food we proudly grow, the school-cheer gear we passionately wear and the thousands of other legitimate consumer goods and services that fuels our economy and adds to the overall health of our community. Gambling is just the opposite. As Professor John Warren Kindt, an economist at the University of Illinois has concluded, the state loses three dollars in social and economic costs for every dollar of revenue it takes in.
Hippocrates: “First, do no harm.”
Government’s fundamental duty is to promote the general welfare. Accordingly, it must craft laws, policies and institutions that nurture overall societal strength and well-being. Its guiding principle should be “First, do no harm,” the same directive Hippocrates gave to doctors. Unlike traditional goods and services, gambling is not harmless. And the greater the accessibility of gambling, the greater gambling’s harm.
Congress knew this. That is why by a bipartisan 95% vote it banned sports gambling in most states with the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA). The Supreme Court’s recent decision striking PASPA as unconstitutional has unleashed this national race to the bottom to legalize sports gambling. Mayhem will reign until Congress passes a new law.
Carl Fox: “Money makes you do things you don’t want to do.”
Like Congress, we know it too. We know in our souls that we don’t want to encourage gambling on ball games. Beyond its well-known corruptive influence, gambling’s false quick-cash, success-through-luck mentality fights against our values. Yet the little bit of money involved ($22.5 million in estimated tax revenue) is causing us to look the other way and do what we’d really rather not.
Dwight David Eisenhower: “Focus only on the essential to achieve victory.”
The essential factors to building individual and societal success are education, healthy lifestyles, encouragement in a chosen field, and a strong work ethic. Enter Dwight David Eisenhower’s lesson to focus only on the essential to achieve victory. As Supreme Commander of Allied Forces during WWII, Ike did just that in resisting British-argued alternatives that would have prevented victory. The state must therefore promote policies that uplift our greater community, not tear it down.
Yes, raising state revenues is important. But there are far more fair and sustainable ways to do this, namely: 1) Ending the counter-productive and unjust tax incentive system that pours $1.41 BILLION of our tax dollars to corporate and special interests, and, 2) Tax reform that increases income tax progressivity, adds more services to the sales tax, ends corporate loopholes, and adds an earned income tax credit for low to middle income working families.
Daniel Boone: “Pioneers lead!”
And yes, other states will get some gambling dollars. So what? As already shown, gambling thwarts the attainment of our ultimate objective. Further, history shows that the unchecked spread of gambling will so harm society that states will eventually move to restrict it. Why wait? Kentucky should for once get ahead of the curve. After all, we are the home of world-famous pioneer, Daniel Boone. And pioneers lead!
Kentucky should therefore lead the way by building on the solid foundation of proper public policy, not the shady, shifting sands of gambling.
Richard Dawahare is a Lexington attorney.
This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 4:41 PM.