Lousy Economic Policy

The Bible directs us to live a life free from greed and covetousness.  We look to the Lord as our
provider. Jesus said in Luke 12:15:
15 "...Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."

He told the story of a man who selfishly wanted to accumulate wealth, to build "barns and bigger
barns." We read:
20 But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'
21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

We have been given the capacity to stand strong against that which tempts us.  The lure of more can distract us from enjoying God's best.  We are called in Scripture to find our contentment in Him, to make Him the first priority in our lives.  If we are consumed with the pursuit of pleasure and possessions, that can mute the most important pursuit - a relationship with Almighty God through Jesus Christ.  We lay down our ambitions so that we can be consumed with what pleases Him.

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We have to avoid the temptations that surround us, and as God gives the opportunity, stand against temptations in the political realm that would harm people and communities.  1st Timothy 6 provides
this encouragement:
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

The Alabama Senate, perhaps as soon as tomorrow, will have the opportunity to vote on a bill that provide for a vote by citizens in the state to change our Constitution to allow a lottery; in so doing, voters would also be voting on legalizing electronic bingo, which the state Supreme Court has already found to be illegal, at certain locations, as well as allowing full-fledged casinos on Indian lands. Joe Godfrey of ALCAP provided information and analysis on Tuesday's Meeting House program.  The bill, amended to protect electronic bingo, received a positive vote from the Senate Tourism Committee on Tuesday.  This is a huge matter of prayer and you can respond by contacting your senator, asking him or her to vote "no" to such a comprehensive bill; no, it is certainly not, as proponents have said, a "clean" lottery.

Really, with respect to gambling, it cannot be described as a "clean" endeavor.  It is corrupt activity that is surrounded by and administered by corruption.  Nevertheless, year after year, there are those that propose gambling as a source of revenue for the state.  Of course, a lottery or casino "winner" becomes such because others have to lose.  A Christian Research Institute article says:

There is no “Eleventh Commandment” in the Bible saying “Thou shalt not gamble.” However, gambling violates at least five doctrines of Scripture: the sovereignty of God, stewardship, covetousness, brotherly love, and God’s instruction not to be brought under the power of anything.

From the website Stop Predatory Gambling:

In 1969, New Jersey congressman Cornelius Gallagher wrote that if the Garden State enacted a lottery “we could abandon all taxation in New Jersey and increase every service in our state four times over.”

Today, New Jersey has a state lottery, several casinos, online casino gambling, and commercialized sports betting. Yet the state is in the worst fiscal condition of any U.S. state, ranking 50th in the nation in George Mason University Mercatus Center’s report on the fiscal condition of states.

NJ exemplifies how government-sanctioned gambling has been a spectacular failure as a revenue source. It’s proven to be THE biggest budget gimmick and the calling card of anti-reform politicians across the U.S.

There are those in government who want to saddle the state of Alabama with increased gambling, in the form of a lottery.  The Stop Predatory Gambling site says:

According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government at State University of New York-Albany, the organization doing the best independent research on public revenues from gambling, states creating new revenue streams from gambling may see momentary bumps in tax income but “in the long-run, the growth in state revenues from gambling activities slows or even reverses and declines.”

And, as the article points out, "new gambling operations that are intended to pay for normal increases in state spending add to, rather than ease, long-term budget imbalances."

Plus, there are the "major social costs:"

In addition to targeting and exploiting the financially desperate and cultivating addiction, government-sanctioned gambling leads to increases in rates of personal bankruptcy and provides new avenues for crime and money laundering.

Do our lawmakers want to continue to place the state on a path of increased social maladies as the result of increased gambling?  A Business Insider article lists example after example from various states of the negative effects of lotteries. It states:

They are (1) regressive taxes on poor people, in that a ticket costs relatively more for a poor person than a rich person, and (2) punitive taxes on the poor and uneducated people who are the most avid buyers.

The people who can least afford it are throwing away on average 47 cents on the dollar every time they buy a ticket. And the government, which relies increasingly on the lottery for funding, goes out of its way to tell them it is a good idea.

I have shared a host of principles today.  In summary, we can be reminded of four things:

Participation in gambling is a violation of numerous Biblical principles.  That includes the basic call to love our neighbor.  We are not practicing love when our "neighbor" is having to lose so that someone else may win.

Economically speaking, it is an unreliable source of revenue.  As Stop Predatory Gambling states: it is the "biggest budget gimmick" in America.

Plus, there are enormous social costs tied in with gambling activity. It divides families and brings untold harm to communities.   The activity breeds addicts, which is costly to the social structures of a community.

The good news is that it can be stopped - now.  Pray for legislators to exercise Godly wisdom in opposing this menace.