Cartoon Response

A letter to the editor ran in Friday's Diamondback about my cartoon a few days ago. It went thustly:

Skepticism on slots

Congratulations on your Sept. 9 editorial cartoon! You should reprint it every day from now to November. The cartoon says it all: Why stop with gambling, when there are many other socially undesirable practices that could be set up under state sponsorship and made to generate revenue? Of course, nearly half the slots revenue will go to the private firms that operate the racetrack and the business. And, of course, even legal gambling generates all kinds of unsavory (and sometimes illegal) sideline activities. The bulk of the funds will come from the pockets of poor people who are hoping for a lucky windfall, and therefore gambling is an even more regressive way to generate revenue than a sales tax. But nevermind: There may be some pennies left over for "education" (whatever that actually turns out to be). I am disgusted and ashamed the Board of Regents have been browbeaten into supporting the slots initiative, and I hope the student body will repudiate this support.
Lee E. Preston
Professor
business school

Here's a link to the original.


It's not often you get positive response to a cartoon. It's nice though. I'm looking forward to inciting negative criticism this year as well. We'll see what the future holds.