Missed opportunity on gambling
thenassauguardian editorial:
In democratic societies, laws exist with the consent of the people. Without that consent, no law can be enforced. It can even be argued that no law is legitimate if the people do not support it.
It is clear from the large number of number houses that openly operate in The Bahamas that a significant number of Bahamians want to gamble.
The number houses advertise in the media, they donate to state agencies, they announce the numbers of the day on television and some have corporate offices in the center of Nassau.
Yet we as a nation still seek to run away from the logical position that the law should be changed, allowing Bahamians to gamble.
Keeping rules in place that cannot be enforced sends the message that people can defy the law, and there are no consequences to this defiance.
And yet again, the church is standing in the way of logic and reasonableness.
Gambling is legal in many parts of the United States. Its unemployment rate is around 10 percent. Gambling is legal in Canada. Its unemployment rate is around 8 percent.
Gambling is illegal for Bahamians and our unemployment rate is near 15 percent. The legalization of gambling has not destroyed those countries and caused mass poverty.
The church has a right to advocate its position. It should not be allowed to dictate policy, however.
The government is in financial crisis. It has to borrow to meet its responsibilities.
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham says they project that the government could take in $30 to 40 million in tax revenue from a fully legalized gambling business.
Having backed down largely from the threat of going to war with local clerics, where now is the government going to get this revenue from in a time of financial crisis?
The church won't provide the funds. Its operations are virtually tax-free. Governments of The Bahamas have also given churches deep concessionary rates on the purchase of Crown land for their operations.
Instead of bringing this industry into the open and taxing number bosses who make millions annually, and those who wish to play, the government will now hike taxes in other areas to compensate for the lost revenue.
The prime minister missed an opportunity to end this decades long debate on gambling with decisive action. However, his announcement that the Free National Movement will commit to a referendum offers some hope.
If the FNM wins the next general election, and the referendum takes place, right thinking Bahamians need to make sure their voices are heard on this issue once and for all.
Those who do not want to gamble do not have to. This is a free society.
Bahamians should be free to choose how they wish to spend their money on reasonable activities just as church leaders are free to spend church funds on what they wish to.
May 26, 2010
thenassauguardian
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
