Proposition One—Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be
by Brent Hill
Proponents of gambling in Idaho tout that Proposition One will create Idaho jobs, benefit Idaho schools, restrict gambling to the reservations, and promote Idaho’s economy. Such claims are not only misleading, they are blatantly false.
Proposition One Will Destroy Idaho Jobs!
You do not need a PhD in economics to understand that there are a limited number of discretionary dollars available to be spent by Idaho citizens. If people spend money in casinos, they have less money to purchase goods and services from legitimate Idaho businesses, forcing those companies to scale back or shut down. Consequently, at least one job in the business sector is eliminated for every job created in the casinos.
Proposition One Will Harm Idaho Schools!
Tribal casinos pay no state taxes. Gambling is exempt from sales taxes and the casinos are exempt from property taxes. Any amount the tribes may elect to share with off-reservation schools, which is solely at their discretion, is a poor substitute for the state taxes that would have directly supported Idaho’s public education.
There is another cost to the education of our children: The cost of moral decline among our youth as they are subjected to increased addiction, crime, and bankruptcy that always accompany the expansion of gambling. Make no mistake, gambling is addictive. In Iowa, after gambling was legalized, compulsive gamblers rose from 1.7 to 5.4 percent of the population. The National Bureau of Economic Research reveals that states with legalized gambling can expect 10 percent of their citizens to become problem gamblers. Is this the legacy we want to teach our children?
Proposition One Opens the Door for Expansion of Gambling!
Despite efforts to persuade the proponents of Proposition One to limit gambling to Indian reservations, the final wording of Proposition One permits casinos to be located on any Indian lands. In other words, real estate purchased by the tribes in downtown Boise or anywhere else in Idaho is eligible for casino gambling. It would not be subject to local or state regulations since the tribes would own the facilities. This is not a scare tactic—it is already a reality in other states that have allowed tribal gaming.
Proposition One Will Cost the Taxpayers of Idaho!
Far from a "quick fix" to our economic problems, gambling generates huge costs that must be borne by the public. Every study available confirms that the poor are the most common victims of gambling. Cases of bankruptcy accelerate. Welfare costs increase. Incidents of theft, embezzlement, suicide, domestic violence, and child abuse multiply. In Mississippi communities that legalized casino gambling saw an 800 percent increase in their crime rate, with rapes increasing 200 percent and robberies 218 percent. These consequences are borne by our society and the resulting costs paid by our taxes.
We must take a stand against self-serving individuals who disregard the costs to the rest of us—both in terms of dollars and our way of life. The notion that gambling is simple entertainment must be challenged, for the involvement is often not simple at all. It results in ruined lives, broken homes, a weakened economy, and a selfish society. Say NO to these destructive consequences. Say NO to Proposition One.