Ricardo J Gonzalez for a Better America

Would you take profits from McDonald's to subsidize White Castle? What about from the Bellagio to subsidize the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas? Apparently the Illinois legislature would, and has done something very similar: it is requiring that Illinois most profitable Casinos give parts of their profits to subsidize the state's horse racing industry. Illinois' Supreme Court agrees, stating that "casino gambling has hurt horse racing revenue in the past two decades". The question I would want to ask is "So what?".


There are few things more un-American than punishing people for their success over the competition. What the government is doing here is essentially guaranteeing the privilege of certain companies, of their choosing of course, to profitability at the expense of the competition. The bill, which was signed in May of 2006, was described by Gov. Blagojevich:

“These bills will help protect the jobs of thousands of hardworking people who depend on the horse racing industry for their livelihood. They will also create a more level playing field that will allow the horse racing industry to remain competitive in Illinois,” said Governor Blagojevich.

I don't understand how punishing those who are successful levels the playing field, it simply tilts it in favor of the failures.

She swallowed a spider to catch the fly...

But here's the kicker: the reason the racetracks are unable to compete with casinos in Illinois, like they are in almost every other state with both forms of gambling, is because Illinois wont allow them to have slot machines. The Illinois Horse Racing Strategic Council offered this as an alternative to the burden placed on casinos, but it was rejected. If the real concern was to allow the horse racing industry to thrive as an economic booster for the state, then why choke them with one hand while feeding them with the other?

This is yet another example of the government abusing their power to solve problems they created to begin with. In not allowing Illinois racetracks to have slot machines, the government ensured that they would not be able to compete with other gambling establishments in the state. To solve the problem they created through this restriction, they're now punishing casinos (but only the most successful ones).


There was an old lady who swallowed a horse. She's dead, of course.

When hearing stories like this, I can't help but think of the old nursery rhyme: She swallowed the Spider to catch the fly, I don't know why she swallowed the fly.