Sunday, February 05, 2006

KEEP: the Magic Bullet - CASINOS

Appearing in the 05 February Op-Ed section of the Lexington Herald-Leader is an advertisement claiming that “Fayette County stands to gain $15,252,082 annually,” and includes a list of things for which that money will be used – education, healthcare, local government and economic development initiatives. The vehicle driving the advertisement is designated as the “Keep It In Kentucky Gaming and Revenue Plan.” The ad’s sponsor is KEEP (Kentucky Equine Education Project), which is pouring money into state campaigns in an effort to help secure legislative seats for candidates who will support legislation ostensibly allowing for a Constitutional amendment(s) initiative to be placed on the ballot in November.

Predictably, the ad doesn’t mention that KEEP is for having gambling – probably casino-type – at ONLY the racetracks, thus shutting out all the other possible venues for this methodology of gaining revenue enhancement, a euphemism for just raising a bit of cash thank you. The IRS calls this simply “taxes.” The term taxes would not strictly describe this new revenue source, of course, since those being fleeced, rather than being held-up by the state, would choose voluntarily to let the “gamers” separate them from their hard-earned cash.

In its survey, KEEP has found out that Kentuckians would be against voting for further gaming (52.5%-46.2%), according to statistics disclosed on its Web site, if the gaming would only be allowed at racetracks. This was no good, so the survey included this further question: How would you vote if it specifically limited casinos to existing horse racetracks, AND guaranteed that a portion of the revenue generated would go to public education, healthcare, local governments and the environment? Voila!!! According to KEEP’s survey, the vote would be 65.2% to 32.9% in favor.

Of course, the only racetracks in Kentucky are for horses, unless someone has installed a dog-racing facility somewhere. Also, there’s no indication as to what percentage of revenue enhancement would go to what portion of the beneficiaries. Presumably, that matter would be settled by the Kentucky Legislature. Those who remember all the hoopla accompanying the passage of the lottery some 15 years ago as a godsend to education may also remember that the lottery proceeds all went into the General Fund as per ordered by the General Assembly, there to be parceled out as the lawmakers saw fit, with none of the proceeds earmarked directly for education. As to the prohibition of casinos anywhere other than at racetracks, the transparency of this question is cause for blindness. In other words, that dastardly term discrimination rears its ugly head, as all the convenience stores, grocery stores, discount stores, and other outlets handling lottery tickets would be constitutionally out of the loop.

Also, there’s no definition for the term casino, so what exactly would be allowed? Probably the whole gamut from slots to roulette tables to black-jack to poker to whatever else can be dreamed up. Of course, accompanying all such establishments as casinos are such things as prostitution, drunkenness, filth, robberies…and, ultimately, an insidious influx of “characters,” who would eventually take over the entire enterprise – mob stuff. They would do this with the help of “bought-off” legislators and bureaucrats, as defined clearly some 12 or 13 years ago in the BopTrot scandals that rocked the legislature and eventuated in a passel of lawbreakers/lawmakers, including the Speaker of the House, and some bureaucrats going off to the Big House. If the administration hadn’t changed in Washington in 1993, with the concomitant changing of federal prosecutors in Kentucky, there probably would have been another passel so dispatched.

KEEP has on its Web site the projected hundreds of millions of dollars it has calculated to flood the state treasury…by county. That’s right. KEEP has arrived at the magic figure each county would receive, but without benefit, apparently, of having a clue as to how the legislature would divvy up anything. Not only that, KEEP has even determined, as seen on its Web site, the amount each county would have for each segment – education, healthcare, etc. Again, this has been done without benefit of any local control.

Well…placing revenue enhancement on the backs of the suckers might seem to the non-suckers not such a bad idea, since, at least supposedly, this would foreclose any tax increases. So, one is faced with the question: “Would it be worth it?” The strange thing is that the racing industry seems to be having banner times lately, even, or perhaps especially, including the trafficking in horses (Keeneland sales, for instance), so one wonders about the actual reasons that KEEP members have for pushing casinos. Anyone with a suspicious mind would have no trouble with that. In any case, a novel by the perpetrator of these words entitled Lucifer’s Hope…the Guv deals with this problem, is noted in the right-hand column, and is recommended to anyone who can abide a bit of a stretch of the imagination. It’s in stock in Lexington at Joseph Beth Booksellers. [Green used purposely – color of MONEY].

And so it goes.

Jim Clark

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