Expand gambling, really?

Rep. Gary Alexander, Republican and ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, is proposing legislation to expand off-reservation gambling in Washington by allowing slot machine-like devices in existing card rooms. This would be a huge expansion of off-reservation gambling.

I don’t get it. The Republican legislators won’t consider closing tax loopholes such as the sales tax for elective cosmetic surgery. Yet they will consider expansion of gambling when the negative impacts of gambling, including the breakup of families, are well-documented. The National Council on Problem Gambling testified to Congress Oct. 25 that “The estimated social cost to families and communities from problem gambling-related bankruptcy, divorce, crime and job loss was almost $7 billion last year.” Tribal casinos in Washington contributed $3 million in 2009 to programs supporting smoking cessation and confronting gambling addiction (The Spokesman-Review, Dec. 3).

The Legislature is facing the potential of huge cuts in funding to education, health care, child care and more. An alternative is to increase revenue by closing tax loopholes or increasing gambling. I don’t want any more Republican anti-family legislation; I support closing tax loopholes and making our tax system more equitable.

Dean Lynch

Spokane