wfn.org | Gambling industry seeks to exploit Sept. 11, clergyman says

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Nov. 15, 2001   News media contact: Joretta Purdue7(202) 546-87227Washington
10-21-71B{538}

WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- A spokesman for an anti-gambling coalition is
challenging the U.S. Senate to reject efforts by the gaming industry to
obtain special tax breaks being developed in the wake of the Sept. 11
tragedies.

The gambling industry is trying to exploit the events of Sept. 11 for its
own gain, said the Rev. Tom Grey, a United Methodist clergyman and director
of the National Coalition Against Gambling Expansion. 

In a Nov. 12 statement, Grey said America historically has called on the
best instincts of its people during times of crisis.

"America has asked its citizens to sacrifice and to build, not to gamble
with their children's future," he said. Gambling interests are asking
Congress for a tax break of billions of dollars as part of the economic
stimulus proposals. At the same time, the industry is promising states more
gambling revenue to shore up government budgets if it is allowed to expand.

New York's state legislature passed a bill Oct. 25 that had been stalled for
years due to lack of support, Grey said. Decisive for the bill's passage was
the projection of income for an economy badly hurt by the World Trade Center
tragedy, he said.

Gambling proponents are using similar arguments of economic need to push
legislation in other states, including Rhode Island, Minnesota, New
Hampshire, Indiana, Ohio and Kansas, according to Grey. States that defeated
expansion legislation or held the line with mixed results in recent years
will be subject to renewed pressure, he said.

In the past, gambling opponents could debate the merits of such proposals,
Grey said, but today, political leaders are looking more favorably on taxes
from gambling operations as a source of revenue.

At the same time, Grey said, gambling interests are seeking a tax break at
the federal level as part of the proposed economic incentive measures.

"How can that be? What does America gain from using taxpayers' hard-earned
money to subsidize a predatory industry that exploits the old, the poor and
the addicted - and couldn't exist without their money?" he asked.

Grey cited a recent study by Earl Grinols, a professor at the University of
Illinois, showing that governments lose money when they support gambling.
The study documents that for every $1 government collects in gambling taxes,
it loses $2 through decreased business taxes, increased crime and
corruption, and stepped-up social costs arising from addicted gamblers and
gambling-related abuse, divorce and welfare, Grey said.

"In World War II, we didn't ask people to gamble, we asked them to buy
savings bonds," he said.

He called upon citizens to urge members of Congress, particularly their
senators, to reject the proposed gambling subsidy.

"What's the difference between subsidizing gambling and subsidizing big
tobacco?" Grey asked. "Both industries are destructive and prey on those who
become addicted to their products."

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United Methodist News Service
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