IN MY OPINION Leo Lawyer

Saturday, January 01, 2005

HAVEN'T WE GAMBLED ON THE FUTURES OF OUR CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONS ENOUGH IN THIS STATE? NOW WE WILL RELY ON MORE LOTTERY DOLLARS TO FUND THAT GAMBLE?

The day I turned 18 I purchased a scratch-off ticket from the Oregon Lottery. I can't remember if I won or not, but I understood a new door had opened for me that could lead to financial hardship and a loss of income. I also understood it meant I could WIN A THOUSAND DOLLARS! But the odds of that happening were not in my favor. In fact, the odds in gambling are never in the gambler's favor, so I tend not to gamble unless it means my exclusion in a golfing buddy weekend.
As the Oregon Lottery continues its expansion, I really fear a new evil will infect the lives of young people susceptible to misdirected promises of money and fame. When I was a senior in high school, playing cards was against the rules in school, but it didn't deter buddies of mine from playing on Friday nights, hoping to make a little gas money. Today, as I walk the halls in the high school in which I teach, there are Texas hold 'em games in the cafeteria, blackjack games during independent study time, and kids planning poker tournaments over holiday breaks. The stakes in these games are sometimes harmless, but they can lead to huge personal deficits and broken friendships.
A recent article in The Oregonian highlighted the fact that there are 59,000 addicted gamblers in the state right now, and they have cost us an estimated $360 million in social and economic losses ("Gambling in Oregon: from bingo to a billion," Dec. 22). Do you think any of the young people I see may be among those addicted gamblers in the future? I wonder what the odds are?
With the expansion of gambling in Oregon, generations of taxpayers will get used to deflecting their tax burden, knowing that those who play the lottery or video poker will make up the difference. Haven't we gambled on the futures of our children's educations enough in this state? Now we will rely on more lottery dollars to fund that gamble? Am I the only person who sees this dichotomy?
As long as gambling continues to be a widely accepted form of economic support for social services in Oregon, the budget crisis will never end. It's a backdoor way of asking people for money they really don't want to give up.
Well, that back door is opening wider and wider every year, and there isn't a doorstop anywhere close.
Leo Lawyer lives in Northeast Portland.