Mark Souder: “I personally find this a very difficult issue. On one hand, I think it should be abundantly clear that gambling is…”

“I personally find this a very difficult issue. On one hand, I think it should be abundantly clear that gambling is corroding the fundamental moral fabric of our Nation, as hard work is being disconnected from financial success. We see more and more Americans thinking that somewhere it is in the lottery or by manipulation through the stock market or manipulating the bank statements of different companies; that there is an easy way out. The more we see the advertising for the lotteries, the ads for the casinos, it is undermining the moral fabric. We are also seeing families deprived of the income that they need. As adult members of their family blow their savings, thinking they are going to see some pot of gold at the bottom of the rainbow, it is hitting their potential to actually care for the health care or the education needs of their children because of the gambling epidemic we have in our country. That said, this is still a complicated issue, because I believe that some seem to argue that the only people who should not be allowed to have gaming are the tribal nations of America; that it is okay for all the politicians to run lotteries; it is okay for them to have the casinos, and not the Indian nations.”