LETTERS: VOTE TO KEEP GAMBLING IN CHECK

To the editor:

Again I have been assaulted in my own home through TV ads asking Missourians to vote yes on Amendment 9. And when we reach into our mailboxes we find more of the same. I will be voting a big NO to approving further expansion of this cancer that plagues this state.

These ads tug at our heartstrings wanting us to believe there will be a vast number of people put out of work. These ads use our children's education as a reason for which we should be voting approval. That's not sufficient for me.

First of all, this does not, unfortunately, remove gambling from the state. It only moves it back onto the flowing river waters where it was previously approved to be. How many jobs are really going to be lost? I suspect very few.

Secondly, if our schools rely on revenue from gambling for our children's education, what message are we sending our children? Do the ends justify the means? There are far more losers than winners in these casinos. All their lights and glitter are not paid for from the winning of their patrons. I doubt the loss to tax revenue will be all that great simply by moving the gambling back onto the river.

I would ask the voters to consider strongly the effects of gambling on our state's society. Gambling debts have to be paid. Too often the result is bankruptcy or crime. This is an increased burden on our justice and legal system, a spending of tax dollars that could otherwise be partially directed to our educational programs. It also has become a cause in the loss of businesses and family farms. Many homes have been disrupted over loss of money, divorce or even suicide.

I plead with voters to help keep this cancer in check. If this amendment is approved, then where will it expand to next? How much more will it cost the taxpayers to cover the undisclosed cost to our society.

ROBERT G. EISENHAUER

Daisy