Published: September 26, 2009 08:12 pm      

A waste of valuable resources?

In the wake of Friday night's raid on the Queen B in Vidor, it deserves to be asked: Are such actions ultimately in the best interests of the citizens? Or are they little more than a pointless expenditure of valuable resources that would be better used elsewhere?

By no means are we saying the involved agencies are at fault here. After all, they are just enforcing Texas state laws. However, these laws — which prohibit most forms of gambling — deserve a second look for myriad reasons, not the least of which is that they make criminals out of citizens who are not really doing anything detrimental to their fellow citizens. It would seem that Milton Friedman's words to Bush drug czar Bill Bennett in the early 1990s regarding the War On Drugs apply to the illegality of gambling as well — that is, that the illegality of gambling "monopolizes the efforts of honest law forces so that they are starved for resources to fight the simpler crimes of robbery, theft and assault."

Perhaps the illegality of gambling does not take as much of law enforcement resources as the illegality of certain drugs, but it still deserves to be asked if taxpayer money — as scarce as it is in these tough economic times — is best spent penalizing actions which are wrong arguably only because the government says they are. It's long past time for the Texas Legislature to take a second look at the laws prohibiting gambling in Texas, and for them to change said laws. In addition to making criminals of otherwise upstanding, law-abiding citizens, the anti-gambling laws in Texas only serve to deprive the state of a potentially valuable revenue source — because, as opposed to spending their money here in the Lone Star State, Texas gamblers are left with only the option of taking their money across the Sabine River to the casinos in Louisiana.

Of course, those who advocate loosening the gambling laws face a formidable obstacle in Governor Rick Perry, as much of his base opposes gambling expansion in Texas. However, there might still be hopes for expanded gambling in Texas with the upcoming gubernatorial election; Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who recently announced her intentions to seek residence in the Governor's Mansion, has more socially liberal stands on a host of issues. It will be interesting to see what Hutchison's stance is on the issue of expanded gambling in Texas. We already have the lottery, as well as horse and dog racing. Expanded gambling will not be the end of the world in Texas; indeed, it could be quite beneficial, bringing the state more funds and lessening the state's dependence on federal funds — which would dovetail quite nicely with Perry's recent disparaging remarks on the increasing size of the leviathan federal government. It will be interesting to see where his true loyalties lie — with the financial well-being of Texas, or with his social conservative base. If he's worthy of Texans' votes, it will not be the latter.