Democrats, GOP collude to lure people into gambling

Here’s a quick election-year quiz: Name one issue where Republicans and Democrats consistently agree, no matter where they live. And if you get this question wrong, we can go double or nothing on the next one.

The answer, of course, is gambling. From taxes and the environment to abortion and same-sex marriage, it seems like America’s political parties have never been more polarized. But when it comes to state-regulated gambling, they’re often playing the same hand.

In Pennsylvania, where I make my home, a Republican-led legislature approved casinos in 2004; the measure was signed by a Democratic governor, Ed Rendell. Across the river in New Jersey, Republican governor Chris Christie is working with a majority-Democratic statehouse to introduce on-line gambling. And New York governor Andrew Cuomo – a Democrat – has joined hands with GOP lawmakers in support of legalized commercial casinos, which will complement the ones that already operate on the state’s Indian reservations.

Elsewhere, too, Americans are doubling down on gambling. Forty-one states now have some form of casino gambling, and all but seven sponsor a lottery. Successful efforts to expand gambling have been spearheaded by Deval Patrick, the Democratic governor of Massachusetts, and also by Haley Barbour, the GOP governor of Mississippi. On almost every other issue, they’re miles apart; but on this one, they’re two of a kind.

But gambling also contradicts the principles that each party claims to hold dear. Sure, some Republicans celebrate it as a triumph of free-market capitalism. By its very nature, however, gambling also corrodes the basic values at the heart of capitalism: individual initiative, discipline, and responsibility.

If you think otherwise, consider a recent advertisement for the Connecticut state lottery. “When I was younger I suppose I could have done more to plan for my future,” says a smiling young man. “Or I could have made some smart investments.” But he didn’t, the man admits. Instead, he bought a one-dollar lotto ticket, and he gets “a nice big check every year.”

Last time I checked, meanwhile, Democrats were supposed to care about fairness and equality. So it’s especially galling for them to throw in their lot with the gambling industry, which redistributes income away from the poor. The less money and education you have, the more you spend – and lose – in gambling. There’s also a stark racial disparity: African-Americans spent nearly $1,000 per capita on lottery tickets in 1999, as compared to just over $200 for whites.

1 | 2

Next