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Oregon Has Worst Gambling Performance Among States
SALEM, OREGON --
Of all the states that take in casino revenue, Oregon has the largest decline over the previous year. Gambling income by the state has dropped over 15 percent, according to a study by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government.
While most states are off, Oregon's income from video lottery machines in bars and restaurants has been savaged by a smoking ban implemented in January. If gaming by people who happen to be in those establishments is off by that much, imagine how poorly the bar and restaurant owners are doing under the forced exclusion of smokers.
Of course, the state doesn't rely on them to operate, so no outcry about the restaurant plight is raised. A little economic suffering for the purported general good may be ok in the minds of lawmakers where private entrepreneurs are concerned, but when its precious state money needed for the bureaucracy, panic time comes.
The answer, apparently, to Oregon legislators is to take more of the retailers' share of the gambling pie. Lawmakers are looking at leaving the owners of those bars and restaurants with a smaller percentage of gaming revenue, just as their gross income is being pushed down by the smoking law.
So, Oregon small businessmen find themselves in a desperate situation due to government interference in their private operating affairs, and their elected representatives respond by raising a tax on them. How much messier will the gambling situation in Oregon get before lawmakers realize legislation is the problem, not the answer?
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