There are not many things in politics more depressing than the spectacle of elected governments trying to raise additional tax revenue through casinos and lotteries. Well, why not brothels? Why not? Why not legalize marijuana and tax it like cigarettes and monopolize distribution? What exactly is the obstacle to this idea? It sure as hell isn’t really a moral obstacle.
They all do it– Democrat and Republican, Conservative and Liberal, left and right, reactionary and radical: bring on the slot machines!. It’s a cheap tax, and the victims never complain. And no one quite cares very much about the lives destroyed by gambling addictions, or the simple trashiness of the spectacle: weary, worn out drudges in Depends, hoping that something, anything, will invest a moist moment with glamour or glitz.. Not when there’s glorious revenues to be had. Not when there are public buildings to be named after me. Not when there are pictures in the newspaper of me holding a giant check and the beaming faces of underprivileged children receiving their due.