We just covered the Florida Constitutional Amendments. For Palm Beach County voters there are two additional ballot questions:
Question 1 authorizes slot machines “within licensed pari-mutuel facilities.” What it doesn’t say is that there is only one such facility – the Palm Beach Kennel Club. So this is a special deal for one business in the county.
This is almost a tough one for me. I’m personally opposed to gambling and think it’s not good for society. And I really don’t like that this looks like a special deal for one insider.
However, I don’t think government should regulate gambling at all. This reduces government interference in the economy. Even though it’s only a slight reduction and it smacks of cronyism, I’m voting yes. Barely.
Question 2 lets the County Commission create special property tax breaks “to new businesses and expansions of existing businesses that are expected to create new full-time jobs” in the county. That looks even more like cronyism, and any tax break going to the favored mean the rest of us pay more.
I’m voting no.
