Personally, I’m voting yes on both Prop 26 and 27 (sports betting at Native American casinos and sports betting on cell phones/tablets/etc.). I understand it as a regional issue; as opposed to nationally legalizing these types of betting, it’s probably best left up to the states (or, eventually, individual cities/counties) to decide if the tax revenue is worth the change in the types of people that they get as tourists and new residents, as well as the effect it will have on the lives of the people allowed to gamble away their life savings. I’d have no problem with California becoming more competitive with Las Vegas or Atlantic City, and I believe for the most part in individual decision-making in regards to drugs, alcohol, and gambling. I draw the line at prostitution, partly because of the risk of STDs and mostly because so many people get kicked out of their house as soon as they’re 18 or graduate high school and they’d have nowhere to go, regardless of whether the job market is good or not. They’re just not raised with an education-first mindset, and that’s not their fault, and they shouldn’t be forced to prostitute themselves as a result.
I especially support 27 (sports betting on cell phones/tablets/etc.) because a lot of the tax revenue goes to support the homeless, a group of people who really need the money, and it could be the difference between life and death for them. I’ve seen the way conservatives on Reddit and NextDoor talk about unhoused populations, and it makes me sick. I feel like if 27 isn’t passed, a lot of good will be left undone, and we may not get the chance to significantly increase funding for the unhoused for a while. Meanwhile, global warming continues, making the summers hotter and more unbearable each year, with people more likely to die in larger and larger numbers. It’s one of the few times I feel like my vote will actually count towards something big. A lot of lives are on the line.
Link to info about the issues: https://ballotpedia.org/California_2022_ballot_propositions
