Editor, Ceres Courier,

The state of Nevada in 1931 was the first to ignore what gambling does to destroy individuals and families and legalized it to lift the state out of the Depression.

That sorry-eyed excuse for a public policy was followed by a cascading wave of legalized gambling across the country that has since placed tens of millions of families far down into the depths of economic and emotional depression.

America next decided that legalized sports gambling should be our next great bet and we are implementing that policy across the country today.

Now comes news that up to eight percent of 12- to 17-year-olds have a serious gambling problem. So, what has the state of Virginia done? It is putting a Band-aid on the problem by requiring public schools to introduce curriculum to teach about the risks.

Teenagers can hardly wait to do the stupid things that their parents do, so maybe this approach is too little too late.

Democracy doesn’t do well when casinos and the internet eat the lunch of working people across the country. But gambling is truly a great policy to further the wealth gap between the ultra-wealthy and the debt-ridden middle and poor classes of America.

America’s next step will be to legalize gambling on LGBTQ and undocumented immigrant gladiators vying to kill each other for our entertainment pleasure during halftime at football stadiums across the country.

Kimball Shinkoskey

LETTERS POLICY: Letters will be considered for publication but must be signed and include an address and phone number. Letters should be 250 words or less and be void of libel. Send to The Ceres Courier, 138 S. Center Street, Turlock CA 95380 or emailed to jeffb@cerescourier.com.