February 20. 2013
The
Portland Observer Black History Month
Page 19
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Gambling Preys on Human Frailties
Growing addictions
bring state profits
and pain
by
W illiam A. C ollins
The gambling industry's under-
the-radar political heft got a shot
of overdue publicity when Sheldon
Adelson, its biggest mogul, tried
to use casino profits to buy the U.S. presidency
last year. Fortunately, the candidates the quirky
conservative promoted were so flawed they
lost.
But today's big gamblers aren't losing all their
bets. Like the mob, the government authorities
that run lotteries have learned to capitalize on
human frailty — even if they use the profits to
substitute for taxes. About a quarter of the $65
billion we spend each year on lottery tickets land
in state coffers.
Unfortunately the frailty itself mostly goes
untended. Funds to treat gambling addiction
remain thin, whether their beneficiaries are tax
payers, gaming moguls, or tribes. No one wants
to dilute profits by squandering cash on saving
the poor souls who make the whole system
work. After all, any successful treatment pro
gram would reduce the number of customers.
The states are the worst villains of all. Rather
than treating the growing addiction to gambling,
they prey on it. State lotteries proliferate like flora
in the rainforest, guided by advertising to target
lower-income citizens. Revenue departments act
like the numbers runners of old, while shame in
legislatures remains in very short supply.
At least the mob has been cut out of the deal.
After all, profits from lottery addicts do go to the
public treasury and the body count has been
zeroed out. This is more than can be said for the
drug war, where addicts are still jailed, the mob
rakes in the booty, and the death toll persists
unabated.
Also, gambling is now debated openly. Pros
and cons are argued freely and passionately in
legislative assemblies, whereas drugs can only
be discussed guardedly — well, except in the
states of Colorado and Washington.
This openness about gambling is a big im
provement and occasionally leads to moder
ately intelligent decisions about the nature of
legal wagering. Still, despite best efforts and
hopeful fantasies, it can never replace taxes.
Even after a steady climb, the states get $16
billion a year from lottery tickets sales. That's
only 2 or 3 percent o f their total budgets.
And now a new threat has cropped up —
Internet gambling. Computer poker is already
popular, and many states are contemplating
opening the bam door to all games, thereby
making it easier to fleece the gambling public.
Casinos at least require that you physically get
there before you lose your shirt.
The Internet allows the poorest and least
mobile the chance to do that right at home.
Nevada and Delaware have already legalized it
but the concept isn't spreading at full tilt yet.
While New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie just ve
toed an Internet gambling bill for the second
time since 2011, he's expressed a willingness to
reconsider if lawmakers come up with a plan that
calls for a bigger revenue stream for the Garden
State.
Gambling, like drugs and alcohol, is a world
wide addiction. Its sufferers abound everywhere.
Thus, governments may be evaluated based on
how intelligently they manage both the profits
and the pain from these afflictions. Unfortu
nately, we're stumbling awfully close to that
Internet precipice.
OtherWords columnist William A. Collins is
a former state representative and a former
mayor o f Norwalk, Conn.
Hearing the Cry for Immigration Reform
Laying out a pathway for justice
by
comers from many lands, who
have journeyed, like so many
before them, fleeing wars and
poverty, and seeking work
and safety.
Men and women cross bar
ren deserts on foot under
cover of darkness. As we in
c re a se d su rv e illa n c e in areas
close to towns, the pilgrim s ven
tured farther into the desert where
m any lose their lives. We erected
three layers of wall, crow ned by
barbwire.
Still the m igrants came. They
fled poverty and violence. Many
perished trying. Those who made
it across told horrible stories of
wars and violence, as M exican
law enforcem ent battled the drug
traffic.
M any businesses were happy
to w elcom e these new laborers.
From farms to meatpacking plants,
to restaurant kitchens, they were
welcom ed and often paid less than
M ari C astellanos
President Obama has
ju s t re le a s e d
his
administration’s blue
print for immigration
reform. It is notable that
this is one of the first
acts of his second term in office.
Though som e may ascribe p o
litical m otivation, the President is
laying out a pathw ay for justice, a
way for those who have lived in
the shadows to com e out into the
light. T his is not ju st politics; this
is doing what is right.
The U nited States is a m ulti
racial, m ulti-cultural country. The
strength o f the nation com es from
diversity and unity. W e who are
m any, who com e from m any cu l
tures, choose to be one people,
devoted to shared principles and
com m itted to the w ellbeing of all.
For over a decade, law m akers
and citizens alike have recognized
the presence am ong us of new-
© bstrU tr
P u blisher :
Established 1970
Mark Washington
minimum wage.
A lm ost all work at least two
jobs to m ake ends meet. They are
hum an shadows silently walking
in the light o f dawn and in the
moonlight. All fear “la m igra,” the
Im m igration and N aturalization
Service police who raid factories,
taking away those lacking proper
papers and som etim es leaving
behind terrified children, who
d o n ’t know where their parents
are.
During hard tim es, even ten
der-hearted people can get tough.
Perhaps the econom ic downturn
of the past few years fueled it.
Im m igrants through many states
suddenly had to fear, not only “la
m ig ra ,” b u t law en fo rc em e n t
agents from states and m unici
palities who had passed their own
im m igration laws. In at least one
infam ous case, they had to en
dure terrible hardship and hum ili
ation. Im m igrants fled once more.
The Latino community mobilized,
and leaders denounced the inhu
-----------------
man conditions of the INS deten
tion centers and other facilities
where the undocumented were held.
Religious leaders of all faiths con
demned the treatment of immigrants.
President Obam a seems to have
heard the cry o f the poor, the un
docum ented im m igrant women,
men and children who want to
remain a family, an American fam
ily. The President has introduced
his plan for immigration reform. A
bi-partisan group o f senators have
produced a plan as well.
In the N ation’s Capital, where
Ethiopian and Salvadoran faces
abound, where people from the
entire world visit to behold the
experience that is Am erica, the
President and the Congress must
find a way to incorporate the un
d o cu m en ted to the A m erican
story, a story o f resilience and
perseverance, a story o f freedom
and grace.
Mari Castellanos is a policy
advocate fo r domestic issues fo r
the United Church o f Christ.
USPS 959-680 ---------------------
First Black
Quarterback
I read the obituary for Bob
Reynolds (Portland Observer, Feb.
13 issue). Reynolds was an out
standing all-around athlete at
Jefferson High School and the Uni
versity of Oregon as the article
pointed out, but he was not the first
black quarterback at Oregon.
The first black quarterback at
the U niversity o f Oregon was
Bobby Robinson who was also a
Jefferson high graduate and played
quarterback for Oregon during his
first varsity season in 1927.
You can read more about Bobby
R o b in so n on my w e b site at
oregonstars.com under the biogra
phies section. Several years ago I
did a documentary with the Univer
sity o f O regon about B obby
R obinson entitled, "F orgotten
Ducks: the story of Charles W ill
iams and Bobby Robinson."
The Portland Observer is one of
my favorite newspapers. Keep up
the good work.
Herman L. Bram, Portland
Honoring
Rosa Parks
I would like to thank President
Obama, the Post Master General,
and all others involved in playing
a part in the Feb. 4 issuance of a
U.S. Postage stamp in honor of
Rosa Parks.
In 2006, following her death, and
the 50th anniversary of her arrest in
Montgomery, Ala. for refusing to
relinquish her seat on a segregated
bus, I petitioned the Post Master,
President George W. Bush, and
other elected officials, to honor
Parks by placing her picture on a
new stamp.
The actions of Rosa Parks were
legendary and changed the course
of human history. We need to be
thankful for her fight for freedom
and honor her every day.
Rev. Willie Banks
Portland
4 7 4 7 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211
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