Illinois General Assembly knows gambling is State sanctioned stealing (or the members are economically illiterate)!
I’ve been dealing with the irresponsibility demonstrated by our elected members of the General Assembly and their inability to have a balanced budget each year including the coming fiscal year as required by the Illinois Constitution. I’ve stated that no new revenue sources should be approved until spending is brought under control. My last post dealt with the General Assembly expanding gambling as a source of new revenue.
I’ve had the following news paper article since February and thought tonight would be a good night to post it with comments. Dave Ramsey is a syndicated financial advisor whose column has recently begun running in the Peoria Journal Star. He also has a syndicated talk show dealing with financial problems and questions that airs locally. I don’t agree with everything he says but he is certainly correct with the topic of gambling. Even though he is writing specifically about the lottery, his comments are even truer in relation to video gambling under Illinois law since the law permits 20% of all money played in each video gambling machine to be stolen—State sanctioned stealing! The following question and answer from his column was printed in the Peoria Journal Star on February 21, 2010, page A8.
“Who plays the lottery? Poor math-illiterates”
“Dear Dave: I’ve been playing the lottery a bit lately. I’m a Christian, and I was wondering what your views are on this.
We’ve been struggling financially, and it seems that a chance to win millions is worth a buck or two. Your advice and opinion on this would be cherished.
Dawn
Dear Dawn:
You’re kidding. Do you really want my opinion? I don’t think you do, but here goes. I’ll tell you ahead of time—it’s not going to be pretty!
Basically, you’ve told me you’re having money troubles and at the same time you’re throwing money out the window. You can tell yourself it’s only a buck or two if you want, but that little bit of money represents a lot of financial IRRESPONSIBILITY (my capitalization! It also represents a lot of financial IRRESPONSIBILITY on the part of the Illinois General Assembly for allowing legalized gambling, in whatever form, within the State—my addition.) in your life.
You’re thinking somebody has to win, right? Well, let me tell you something. You’re more likely to be hit by lightening five times and survive than you are to win the lottery. (It seems obvious that he is referring to a large jackpot win in this illustration—my addition.) Five times! How many people do you know who have been hit once by lightening and survive, much less five times?
You’re not going to win, Dawn. Think I’m being negative? No, I’m not. I’m being positive you’re not going to win. Stop placing your hope in the wrong things.
Honestly, as a Christian, ask yourself if you believe God thinks this is a good use of your money. The lottery is a tax on poor people and people who can’t do math. How do I know this? Because these are the only people who play the lottery!
Dave”
As I’ve said before, gambling, in all its forms, is nothing more than a transfer of money between different groups of people. Those groups are made up of the suckers (the vast majority of the people involved in the process); the government, which takes its slice off of the top for allowing gambling (State sanctioned stealing) to occur legally; the owners of the gambling process; and the statistically small number of “winners.”
Yes, of course. There are some winners and the owners want some winners. No one, not even the suckers, would start gambling if there weren’t some allowed winners. It’s the illusion that I’ll win even though I know that most people lose that draws the suckers into the spider web. “Winning” is the bait that attracts the suckers into giving up their hard earned money (and some not so hard earned) for the unlikely probability, but slight possibility, of wealth without work.
In the long run, there are always many more losers than winners or the government and the owners would not be able to stay in business. It’s simple economics. For “profit” to occur people HAVE TO LOSE! And our General Assembly is promoting that loss every time it sanctions more stealing from the people! Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it isn’t stealing!
I’ve been dealing with the irresponsibility demonstrated by our elected members of the General Assembly and their inability to have a balanced budget each year including the coming fiscal year as required by the Illinois Constitution. I’ve stated that no new revenue sources should be approved until spending is brought under control. My last post dealt with the General Assembly expanding gambling as a source of new revenue.
I’ve had the following news paper article since February and thought tonight would be a good night to post it with comments. Dave Ramsey is a syndicated financial advisor whose column has recently begun running in the Peoria Journal Star. He also has a syndicated talk show dealing with financial problems and questions that airs locally. I don’t agree with everything he says but he is certainly correct with the topic of gambling. Even though he is writing specifically about the lottery, his comments are even truer in relation to video gambling under Illinois law since the law permits 20% of all money played in each video gambling machine to be stolen—State sanctioned stealing! The following question and answer from his column was printed in the Peoria Journal Star on February 21, 2010, page A8.
“Who plays the lottery? Poor math-illiterates”
“Dear Dave: I’ve been playing the lottery a bit lately. I’m a Christian, and I was wondering what your views are on this.
We’ve been struggling financially, and it seems that a chance to win millions is worth a buck or two. Your advice and opinion on this would be cherished.
Dawn
Dear Dawn:
You’re kidding. Do you really want my opinion? I don’t think you do, but here goes. I’ll tell you ahead of time—it’s not going to be pretty!
Basically, you’ve told me you’re having money troubles and at the same time you’re throwing money out the window. You can tell yourself it’s only a buck or two if you want, but that little bit of money represents a lot of financial IRRESPONSIBILITY (my capitalization! It also represents a lot of financial IRRESPONSIBILITY on the part of the Illinois General Assembly for allowing legalized gambling, in whatever form, within the State—my addition.) in your life.
You’re thinking somebody has to win, right? Well, let me tell you something. You’re more likely to be hit by lightening five times and survive than you are to win the lottery. (It seems obvious that he is referring to a large jackpot win in this illustration—my addition.) Five times! How many people do you know who have been hit once by lightening and survive, much less five times?
You’re not going to win, Dawn. Think I’m being negative? No, I’m not. I’m being positive you’re not going to win. Stop placing your hope in the wrong things.
Honestly, as a Christian, ask yourself if you believe God thinks this is a good use of your money. The lottery is a tax on poor people and people who can’t do math. How do I know this? Because these are the only people who play the lottery!
Dave”
As I’ve said before, gambling, in all its forms, is nothing more than a transfer of money between different groups of people. Those groups are made up of the suckers (the vast majority of the people involved in the process); the government, which takes its slice off of the top for allowing gambling (State sanctioned stealing) to occur legally; the owners of the gambling process; and the statistically small number of “winners.”
Yes, of course. There are some winners and the owners want some winners. No one, not even the suckers, would start gambling if there weren’t some allowed winners. It’s the illusion that I’ll win even though I know that most people lose that draws the suckers into the spider web. “Winning” is the bait that attracts the suckers into giving up their hard earned money (and some not so hard earned) for the unlikely probability, but slight possibility, of wealth without work.
In the long run, there are always many more losers than winners or the government and the owners would not be able to stay in business. It’s simple economics. For “profit” to occur people HAVE TO LOSE! And our General Assembly is promoting that loss every time it sanctions more stealing from the people! Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it isn’t stealing!
posted by Christian Gunslinger at 4:34 AM
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