Minority Businesses Decry Northam Gaming Restriction
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23 responses to “Minority Businesses Decry Northam Gaming Restriction”
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Good Grief. What we give the Native Americans, we take from the Asians!
Holy Moly!
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We?
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Yep.. the same Govt you had a role in electing, no?
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“The small business owners are asking the state to use the nearly $150-million in state taxes the skill games are generating to fund scholarships to enable every Virginian living under the poverty line to attend college for free, according to a press release issued by Virginia Small Businesses for Skill Games.”
That is awesome. If the democrats say no, they come across as a bunch of elite racists. On the other hand, they can’t say yes because they have been bought by the casino interests and laws they passed at their masters’ bidding are going to make the tax money in question disappear.
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I think the skill game revenue is used in that manner in Georgia. However, I don’t think poverty plays a roll in it.
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Clearly, the casino lobby gave more money to Virginia democrats than did the “Skill Games” lobby.
By the way, what is a “Skill Game”?
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The ones where you are given the perception that you have input in the outcome.
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These activities are also seen as competition for the Virginia Lottery, which being a state agency does all its lobbying with money provided by taxpayers and its suckers (too harsh? Sure…its players.)
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aka, the Stupidity Tax
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What about the individuals who out of sheer morbid curiosity drop 3 bucks on a single ticket when the pots $1 billion dollars? ahha
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so much for the idea that people know better what to do with their own money than the government………. 😉
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Whats the difference between pulling the voting lever and pulling the one-armed bandit?
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the difference? The ones that pull the one-armed bandit get old and can’t afford a place to live or medical care and other taxpayers have to.
How many retired people could afford Medical care if it were not for taxpayer-subsidized Medicare?
Wanna take a vote to get rid of it?
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“What’s the difference between pulling the voting lever and pulling the one-armed bandit?”
Every once in a while, you can win something from the one-armed bandit…
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“Racism” is the ultimate political sledgehammer to wield against Wypipo…. and these politicans deserve it.
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there is no “racism” on the games of skill.. that’s pure partisan blather from the culture war folks.
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Come on, Jim. This is not racist. I would bet that the majority of those businesses that have games of skill and would be affected by this legislation and the Governor’s action are not owned by minorities. This is a continuation of the fight that began last year over “gray” machines. The administration and General Assembly agreed last fall to allow them to operate one more year. There was a bill (HB 1880) in the past session to provide another one-year extension, but it did not even get a vote in committee. The games of skill folks lost.
Make no mistake: This is a fight among big corporations on both sides, each with a team of lobbyists.
I understand and sympathize (to a degree) with the small business owners. The gray machines are a nice source of revenue for them and they do not want to lose it. The group making all the noise now is just playing the race card in a bid to get sympathy. But all owners of truck stops, convenience stores, restaurants, etc, be they Black, white, Hispanic, or Asian, stand to lose.
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I hope I made it clear in the post that Northam’s action is “racist” only if one uses Northam’s criteria for establishing racism, which is disparate impact.
Let me add that you made an error in logic. It may be true that “the majority of businesses that have games of skill … are not owned by minorities.” But that’s not the point. Of those businesses that minorities do own, one can argue, a disproportionate share is impacted.
You see, one of the tricks of social justice activists is to shift the frame of reference until you find one that fits your narrative.
As for your observation that “the group making all the noise now is just playing the race card in a bid to get sympathy”…. I totally agree.
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re: ” Of those businesses that minorities do own, one can argue, a disproportionate share is impacted.”
using that logic, almost any government action or regulation could be claimed to do the same. no?
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Where is the disparate impact? All will be affected; all will lose their gray machines. How is that disparate impact?
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It could be a function of the percentage of the businesses’ profits which are derived from the machines. I’m not saying that is the case, just that it is one way in which there could be a disparate impact.
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“But all owners of truck stops, convenience stores, restaurants, etc, be they Black, white, Hispanic, or Asian, stand to lose.”
But won’t women and minorities be hardest hit? They usually are. 😉
…and in defense of Jim B., he did not say he, personally, thinks it is racist. As he said, he used Ralph Northam’s definitions and thought processes to reach that conclusion.
And it is minority business owners who are asking the governor to amend the legislation, so they must think it’s going to affect them.
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Meanwhile, sports betting apps became legal in Virginia and FanDuel launched its Virginia-based app last January 22. So, big casinos, the state government, online horse racing operations and big corporations like FanDuel can take bets in Virginia but not Mom & Pop operations? All of the state government apologists on this blog can say what they want but … as always, it comes down to who can tithe to the General Assembly and who can’t.
As far as racism – why wouldn’t it apply here? How many small shops are owned by people of color compared to FanDuel (owned by British company Flutter Entertainment)?
https://www.nbc12.com/2021/01/23/online-sports-betting-begins-virginia/
And why, for goodness sake, should it be legal to bet on sports or blackjack or horses but not these gray games?
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