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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2003

"Gambling money is the crack cocaine of government finance. If the state Legislature expands gambling this session, lawmakers will do it again — and again.

The illusion of easy money combined with the endless budget crisis — oddly persistent in good economic times and bad — guarantees gambling would be repeatedly tapped to pay for government.

Gambling is no boon for the treasury. It is a civic tax on stupidity. Why encourage an industry rife with law-enforcement and social problems, and difficult for city councils closest to the people to regulate?"

Get the Story:
Editorial: Don't expand gambling to balance the budge (The Seattle Times 2/9)