Photo credit: sincerelyhiten
Under the outgoing head of Oregon Lottery, programs and advertising geared toward gambling addicts have been terminated as contrary to their goal of raising more revenue. Moreover, they appear poised to restart the failed ORcade - online video gambling over the Internet.
They pulled the plug on that over concerns that such a venue would make it too easy for kids to get sucked into the maw, but they're taking another look at it. After all, it'll make it that much easier to snag their target demographic: the small segment of the population who presently camp in front of the machines until all of their money's gone. If they could get an online venue up and running, those folks wouldn't have to walk two blocks to a place with video poker/video slot machines; they could just fire up the ol' laptop, key in their credit card numbers, and play, play, play.
There's a lot of money to be made from convenience. This is the future. And it's kind of scary.
Now, one may think, "Well, it's a tax on the stupid. And it may be sad that they blow all their money on the machines, but nobody forced them to make lousy decisions." One would be right - as far as it goes. But such thinking fails to consider the further ramifications: addicts hurt more than just themselves, and for a state to so heavily promote addiction carries more than merely ethical issues, because addicts become desperate - and in turn, that affects many others.
Thus, it can be argued that in promoting such behavior, the Oregon Lottery fails in the single task that justifies its very existence: raising funds for economic development and the benefit of the general good.
As an example, my Bride worked for many years for a non-profit organization established to aid parents of children and young adults with disabilities in navigating the complex terrain of creating an effective Individual Education Program. Over the years, the director of the NPO apparently became addicted to video lottery, and despite being paid a good salary, she took to finding other ways to get money. Among them, she deducted income tax withholding from employee checks, and then pocketed the cash rather than transferring those funds to state and federal departments of revenue. In addition, it appears that she misappropriated certain other NPO funds, with the result that once found out, the organization closed.
In addition to no longer having a job, my Bride had no forms W-2, which made filing taxes rather a convoluted process. As well, disable children and parents across the state suddenly found themselves with no one to turn to for help with their issues. In all, the now former director was eventually indicted on 14 felony counts. She'll never be able to find another job, so she's severely damaged herself. But she also damaged employees, and any number of people around the state who depended upon the services provided by NPO staff.
Of course, nobody forced the director to make lousy decisions. But the impacts of her decisions affected people across the state. Oregon Lottery has unquestionably been effective at producing a money stream; it has equally unquestionably failed in its mandate to promote the general good.
For a state whose politicians cultivate a "sustainability" image, their reliance upon Oregon Lottery to generate a revenue stream appears quite the opposite.
