Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

Kentucky’s pension system is broken. So how should it be fixed? According to 13 Republican House members, casinos are the answer.  They’re saying that all of the revenue would go to the state pension fund. Somehow we’re made to believe that the pension crisis justifies this controversial bill. Never mind that casinos promise pie in the sky but deliver crumbs to the state’s fooled into believing they’re good. The idea that gambling is a valid revenue stream to government just doesn’t make sense. If people don’t gamble themselves to wealth then why should the government believe it can do so? When people find themselves in financial straits who would seriously advise them to roll the dice at a casino to solve their fiscal problems? Nobody would. And neither are casinos a serious answer to our financial mess.