August has been an especially busy month for me and as a result I have been neglecting
this blog sight. So much has been happening in the world and among the disabled,
however, in spite of our personal schedules that there certainly has not been a lack of
material to write about. I will attempt to catch up!
August 26, 1971. I was preparing to enter my Sophomore year in High School. Honestly, I can't remember anything from that time of my life. Well, I do remember that I had hair then - - lots and lots of hair. And I was pretty skinny, too. Both features are little more than an illusion now, sadly!
Something far more significant took place on August 26, 1971, however. It has nothing to do with me, yet it had a profound effect on my generation. On that date the Pennsylvania Legislature approved a bill establishing the Pennsylvania Lottery. Six and a half months later, on March 7, 1972, the first state-run lottery ticket in the Keystone State was sold. It marked the beginning of our illicit love affair with legalized gambling.
I have long been an opponent of legalized gambling. When Pennsylvania developed its own State Lottery I tried very hard to avoid any business that sold lottery tickets. I knew persons who actually quit their jobs rather than sell lottery tickets as required by their employer. I admired such persons for being true to their principles.
The Pennsylvania Lottery recently celebrated its 40th Anniversary since the Legislature's decision. To my knowledge no one celebrated, thankfully. There is not much to celebrate as far as I am concerned. Lottery proponents will try to convince us that it is has harmless as a cute, furry puppet named Gus. (For those outside this State, the Lottery has created its own mascot in the form of a groundhog puppet named Gus whom they promote as "The second most famous groundhog in Pennsylvania." Apparently he is runner-up to Punxsutawney Phil who has his own baggage to deal with in the form of a bunch of drunken old fools on February 2.) For good measure they always tell us how funds from the sale of lottery tickets benefit older citizens within the Commonwealth. So not only is it cute and harmless to buy a lottery ticket, it is also humanitarian.
I don't buy it!
Please do not misunderstand me. I'm not saying that money hasn't been channeled into good programs for senior citizens. Admittedly, it has. According to Wikipedia, the Pennsylvania Lottery paid $915.7 million dollars toward such programs in fiscal year 2009-2010. That represents nearly 30 % of all proceeds from the net sales of tickets. Another $1.87 billion dollars (nearly 61 % of gross sales) was awarded in prizes. The balance went toward vendor commissions and advertising and operating expenses.
So why do I have a problem with this? There are several reasons. One is theological. The Church of which I am a member and an ordained minister has passed a paper detailing the effects of gambling on American society. In summary, it plays on the poor by promoting the possibility of instant wealth. People are led to believe that by laying down a dollar they will, someday, hit it big. The sad reality is the odds are stacked drastically against them. Back in the early days of the PA Lottery, before we were married, my wife worked in a convenience store that just started to sell lottery tickets. She told me of the night she saw a family of 5 - - father, mother, and three young children - - enter the store to buy a gallon of milk. At the checkout the man bought a lottery ticket. It was the "instant" variety where you scratch off the coating and see immediately if you win. He didn't, so he bought another one. Then another. And another. This went on for a while until he emptied his wallet. The lady had some money on her so they used it for a few more tickets. They lost. Finally, they put the gallon of milk back on the shelf because they had no more money left. They walked out of the store with no money, no milk, and three hungry children. That was the night my wife decided to quit her job because she could not stand to see such a tragedy as she had just witnessed.
Whether a person can or cannot afford a lottery ticket, or any form of gambling for that matter, is only part of the issue. The larger question involves the morality of unearned wealth both large and small. The Bible clearly admonishes us to work for a living and earn what we have. Any form of gambling runs contradictory to this as it seeks to get something for nothing.
A second reason I oppose the lottery is a practical one. It is the same reason I oppose tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs. It is undeniably addictive. Once "Gus" has desensitized us to the potential dangers of gambling we are free to move on to greater and more serious challenges. This is where organized gambling in the form of slot machines and casinos comes in. It took nearly 40 years for Pennsylvania to make the move from a State run lottery system to licensing casinos, but we have now done that. Already the horror stories are coming in.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported a story on a man named Paul Vargas who pulled into the parking lot of the Parx Casino in Bensalem just north of Philadelphia at 10:16 p.m. He went inside to play a little blackjack. Unfortunately for him, Mr. Vargas left his two sons, age 12 and 7, and his dog (a pit bull, naturally) in his car while he played. Oh yes, he also was driving with a suspended license from a past DUI offense.
Mr. Vargas was caught before he was able to return to his car and charged with two counts of recklessly endangering the welfare of children. In the end he spent 70 days in jail, was given 3 months probation, paid a $300 fine and was ordered to attend parenting classes. He also did an additional 90 days on the suspended license violation. By order of the State Gaming Control Board he is no longer allowed to enter Parx Casino. Naturally, Vargas does not see himself as a gambling addict. He claims the reason he was gambling is that he and his wife were having financial problems! Did you catch that? Financial problems! I guess he didn't help his situation any when he was out of work for 70 days while he sat in jail. And then there is the $300 fine that he would never have to pay if he wasn't trying to gamble his way out of debt. Personally I am glad to see he had to attend parenting classes because at the heart of this particular case is the traumatic effect that this father's reckless behavior had on his children. They were the innocent victims in it all. Oh, by the way, for the record Vargas lost $80 at the blackjack table. Add that onto the cost of the night, too.
This is not a solitary case. Since then ten adults have been arrested at the same casino for leaving children in their cars or on the parking lot while they went inside to gamble. It is not a proud statistic for our Commonwealth. It is, however, a sad commentary on our society. I suspect we are only beginning to see what the future holds for us. Politicians are in a tight spot these days. Budgets are spiraling out of control. "Taxes" have become a curse word. The greed of the people has led to everyone wanting something for nothing. The quick and easy solution is to let someone else pay for the services we demand. Rather than paying more in taxes why not legalize all kinds of formerly illegal activities and collect windfalls from the profits in the form of licensing fees and supposed economic growth. With this kind of thinking we will soon legalize recreational drugs and prostitution, among other things, within my remaining lifetime for surely the people who engage in such activities will pay for them anyway and we can find a way to offset taxes by tapping into the lucrative revenues they create.
This line of reasoning is dangerously flawed. There must be a higher ethic to which we will submit. If not, we are doomed to a future governed by greed, corruption, irresponsible behaviors and increased criminal activity.
Let's face it, when all is said and done, a groundhog is just a rodent - - a scavenger who lives in a hole in the ground and is quite vulnerable to predators. And "Gus" is only a puppet who is completely under the control of someone else. Maybe that is why he is the mascot for the Pennsylvania Lottery!
gdg September 4, 2011
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