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March
2003
Odds and Ends
The new governor
of Maryland, Robert Ehrlich, was elected, in part, on a campaign
promise to install thousands of slot machines at the state’s
racetracks as a method of raising revenue. It turns out that two
leading legislative opponents of the proposal know first-hand what
the dangers are all about, having grown up with fathers addicted
to gambling. So, the governor was asked by a reporter if he ever
knew anyone with a serious gambling problem.
“I know people who have gotten into trouble
with alcohol, and chocolate and gambling,” he said. “There’s
a small percentage of society who cannot handle freedom.”
The lieutenant governor, Michael Steele, snipped, “It’s
a behavioral issue. Just like smoking. You wanna stop — you
stop.”
If this is what they believe, then Ehrlich and
Steele are in trouble themselves, victims of an addiction to arrogance
and ignorance. Fifteen years ago, the Surgeon General reported that
“nicotine is a drug that causes addiction.” An estimated
35 million Americans have tried and failed to quit smoking at least
once. So it never really is as simple as “you wanna stop —
you stop.”
It is actually dangerous to believe that people
simply need to be told how to behave and they’ll comply —
and that if they don’t they deserve to be sick. Regrettably,
humans are not that receptive to direction. Most Americans, for
example, are aware of the dangers of being sedentary and overweight,
yet growing numbers are both. Many will not take a daily pill to
keep their blood pressure under control.
Information about a potentially risky behavior,
while necessary, is not usually sufficient to motivate people to
change a life-long habit or even to induce them to maintain a short-term
regimen. Even when armed with good information, people’s behavior
is strongly influenced by where they live and work, how they were
raised and educated and the choices available to them. Putting new
casinos at existing race tracks in poor neighborhoods is not likely
to help people prevent or overcome addictions.
Whatever the
merits of slot machines in Maryland, the governor ought to realize
that the downside is a lot more destructive than popping bon bons
because for many people, gambling is an addiction, but without the
drugs. For some policy makers, the addiction is easy money, but
without the responsibility.
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