Critique

Tim Haught

Ethical Environment of Business

9/14/06

Critique of VBE Article #3

It’s a sign of the times: “West Virginia, Open For Business.” Journalist, ethicist, and university professor Thomas Michaud has a very interesting perspective on this sign and on the condition of business in West Virginia in general. 10 minutes east or west from the aforementioned sign, in Wheeling, West Virginia, Michaud lives in a city that has sustained a 50% population decline over the past 60-70 years and a large exodus of the brightest young minds the area has to offer.

Wheeling residents may not be rich financially, but they are certainly rich in character. No matter how bleak the situation appears they maintain hope. This hope has often been fleeting, however. The recent timeline is a roller coaster of great excitement and difficult disappointments. Still, residents have eagerly latched themselves onto many projects that could potentially revitalize the area.

In his October 7, 2002 article, Michaud explores one of these prospective remedies. Michaud shares a Navajo teaching about a trickster who never loses. This trickster employs the vice of gambling to bring the people he encounters close to destruction. These people are able to eventually vanquish the trickster, but he is insistent that he will one day return.

It is simple to let the bright lights and shiny coins blind us to the problems that gambling brings. It is even easier to look at our own dilapidated buildings, reflect on what this city once was, and invite this financial juggernaut into our communities with open arms. After all, it is impossible to turn on your television without catching a glimpse of No Limit Texas Hold �Em Poker, and the revenues generated by online play are outstanding. The current West Virginia Lottery commercials show the good that lottery money is doing statewide. As Michaud states in his article, the West Virginia PROMISE Scholarships are funded through gambling revenue.

Michaud encourages us to be prudent in our analysis of these so-called benefits, and weigh the potential consequences of the double-edged sword that is state-sponsored gambling. Gambling has proven to be very addictive, and the individuals who tend to get hooked first are those who can