Stop Predatory Gambling

Whatever happened to Reinventing Government?

by spgadmin

In the early 1990’s, David Osborn wrote a book titled Reinventing Government which for a time received significant national acclaim for its ideas on how to make government work better. The energy around reinventing government was so infectious in the country that the Clinton Gore administration made it a centerpiece of their agenda.

Today, some state governments across America show virtually no energy to reinvent themselves. The latest case comes from New Hampshire. While he opposes allowing slot machines and casino-style gambling, Gov. John Lynch said over the weekend he might support the legalization of online gambling to close a growing budget deficit.

The New Hampshire House is now debating a Senate-passed bill that allows up to 17,000 slot machines and casino-style games at six locations in the state but Lynch opposes it because he said it fails to prevent the proliferation of gambling.

Put aside the fact that the very idea is the ultimate example of the proliferation of gambling because it would bring a casino into every home and office in New Hampshire that has a computer. What does it say about the condition of our democratic government when the big, bold thinking of today (Osborn called it “the entrepreneurial spirit”) is forming a partnership with the most predatory business in America to perpetuate an illusion of phony prosperity?