Nader criticizes Perry on Texas school finance:Says gambling shouldn't fun

[Judi Lynn]

April 25, 2004, 12:06AM

Nader criticizes Perry on Texas school finance
Says gambling shouldn't fund education
Associated Press
AUSTIN -- Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader criticized Republican Gov. Rick Perry over his plan to pay for schools partially by allowing video lottery terminals at racetracks and Indian casinos.

"We should not be funding education by encouraging gambling, which produces addiction, breaks up families, strikes hard at lower-income people and represents the decay of any society in history," Nader said Friday.
(snip)

Nader said his favorite tax proposal is to tax stock transactions. He said he supports some sin taxes, such as a tobacco tax, if the tax does not try to expand the sin.

"But when you have a tax on gambling by expanding gambling, that is mischievous to the nth degree," said Nader, who noted that Perry's chief of staff, Mike Toomey, is a former lobbyist for a racetrack in Houston.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2527195
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[Teaser]

1. Gambling is a tax on people who don't understand math...

stipulating that, however...

Ralph, go away.

[Skittles]

4. EXCUSE ME: I understand math very well

and I occasionally play the lottery.

[Teaser]

8. You understand math...

then hopefully you realize I was referring to <people> and not to people

[Skittles]

11. LOL

gotcha :)

And certainly I would not play the lottery if I was to miss those bucks.

[fujiyama]

2. I would rather

have Nader commenting and bitching about gambling in Texas than campaigning in Florida or Wisconsin.

[jobycom]

3. Gee, once again, Nader sides with the religious right.

This issue might split the Republicans in 2006. Another prominent Republican is manuevering to run against Perry. The destructive spending policies of W as governor are catching up with them, and the only solution is to raise taxes. Republicans are trying to determine which taxes they can raise so they won't look like tax hikes, but the hypocrisy of that party and the failure of their ideals is being demonstrated right now in Texas. Who knows if the voters will notice.

[Peregrine]

5. My problem with gambling funding education

In MD where the lottery is used for schools, and Ehrlich's gambling plan was supposed to fund schools, the gambling money isn't used to supplement state education funds, it replaces it. So if the state allocated $800M for schools and they get $400M from gambling, the schools have $800M not 1.2B. So gambling for education is a lie, all it does is free up state funds for the Governor to spend elsewhere.

[The Zanti Regent]

6. blah blah blah blah blah blah

Shut up Ralph

Now that you're in bed with the Religious right, prove what a worthy Xtian you are and go to my nephew's bedside in Walter Reed and apologize for sending him to Iraq

Ralph, your phoniness makes me :puke:

[Jeezwhiz]

7. Nader is right on this issue

Living in New Jersey, I can tell you, legalized gambling did nothing for the schools here. Property taxes are out of site because corrupt politicians promised that gambling would cure school funding ills. All it did was make freepers like Trump and Wynn rich. Lotteries and gambling are nothing more than self-imposed taxes that target the poor and end up causing the problem Nader mentioned. Perry is Bush hack. I wish Ralph would use his energy and get on the Democratic bandwagon.

[newyawker99]

9. Hi meezwhiz!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Fleshdancer]

10. ahh yes, The "tits for tots" program

Perry also wants to tax strip clubs to fund education. :eyes: