Arkansas voters will once again go to the polls and decide whether a state-wide lottery should be allowed. We’ve been down this road before more than once. Still, those who would suggest that gambling is somehow going to be the saving grace of education in Arkansas are going to give it another shot, but this time it is the duly elected lieutenant governor of Arkansas who is behind the push. This may be a new twist that could complicate things for voters because a state constitutional officer is working tirelessly to influence the vote. He is perfectly within his right to do so as a resident of the state, but it almost seems an unfair advantage when an official of the state throws his weight behind something.
I would like to believe that voters are not that easily swayed, but it is difficult to think otherwise when so many officials run virtually unopposed in state and even national contests secure in the knowledge that voters tend to lean toward familiar names and faces rather than to go into the depths of any particular issue or pay attention to voting records. It has often been said that if one can get elected on the first go-round, reelection is virtually assured unless a felony charge enters into the picture. It is a sad state of affairs when perfectly qualified individuals choose not to run, being aware of the futility of such an endeavor.
Politics and public officials aside, gambling in any form as a means of state revenue puts a great deal of faith in the weaknesses and fears of man. Especially during such economic times as what we are currently enduring, these weaknesses are exposed in such ways of desperation that those who are afraid of tomorrow - and the potential for job and home loss - are willing to risk what should be devoted to a savings account choose instead a “pie in the sky” empty promise of a big, fat “maybe”. There may well be some available college scholarship money in the future as a result should this measure pass, but it is the “here and now” that is being put at risk. This is no investment for the future; it is a waste of resources now.
Arkansans need a stable job market and opportunities to earn their own way; they don’t need games of chance which do nothing more than to take from an already-challenged pocketbook. Arkansas’ elected officials should be devoting their time and the state’s currently plentiful resources to such endeavors as those which led to Conway landing a huge opportunity with Hewlett-Packard and its 1,200 future jobs. These are the kinds of public policies that give Arkansans real opportunities for education and advancement. These are the kinds of public policies that promote honest labor, hard work, and a real shot at the so-called “American Dream”. These are the kinds of public policies citizens have every right to expect from elected officials. Instead, we have apparently surrendered to elected officials who make promises that cannot possibly be fulfilled, and other opportunities may be lost because the lieutenant governor of the state wants a lottery instead of a manufacturer or other major employers.
I pray that Arkansans are not fooled by what may or may not come as a result of a lottery, but isn’t this the rub: what may or may not come? We are already at risk with an economy that has gone sour and will not recover anytime soon, folks losing their jobs and homes, and oil at record prices with no sign of abating anytime soon. In the midst of this reality, the lieutenant governor of our fair state wants us to put our faith in gaming.
Lest there be any confusion, this is not a purely religious objection though I would submit that the Lord has more in mind for what He has entrusted to us than risking money purely for selfish gain. Those who can least afford to gamble will, according to statistics, be the major players in this game of chance. The money spent can be put to better use in interest-bearing savings or checking accounts and held for the sure thing instead of a one-in-a-billion chance of winning. The risk is, indeed, far greater than the reward that will most likely, according to reasonable odds, never come.
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