Columnist plays fast and loose with the facts Re: “Money collection misdirection,” July 13,”From CFO to croupier,” July 11,& “Slots near the White House,” July 5
The late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts.” Clearly, Examiner columnist Jonetta Rose Barras does not believe this applies to her. She plays fast and loose with the facts whenever it suits her.
In her July 13 column she wrote that I “conspired with then-D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray and at-large Councilman Michael Brown to bring Internet gambling to the District.” The truth is, my staff and I spoke with Brown, not Gray, and only about the revenue estimates.
In the seven months following the presentation of the fiscal impact statement, important decisions were made to include more than one type of Internet gaming and to implement them in fiscal 2011 instead of FY12, which are the reasons for the increase in revenue estimates. Working with the council’s general counsel, legal interpretations of the federal law — which applies to interstate online gaming — were clarified. As the attorney general stated, the District’s i-gaming would be an intrastate activity.
There is also no evidence that the chief financial officer’s office failed to collect any amounts due under the Tax Clarity Act, let alone $100 million. Nor does the CFO collect parking fines. That is done by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
As far as tax abatements, the CFO provides a fiscal impact statement for every proposed abatement, which states exactly how much the city will gain or lose in revenue and states when funds are not available for the action. The CFO does not tell the 13 members of the council how to vote, nor does the District’s Home Rule Act permit me to lobby Congress on policy concerns, which are the province of the mayor and the council.
Contrary to Barras, the CFO did not decide to change lottery contractors. The existing contract was ending and the law requires a bidding process for the new contract. The winner was W21, a joint venture between W2Tech and Intralot. Because the council did not confirm W21 as the winning bidder, the CFO solicited a second round of bids. The winner was Intralot. Lorraine Green was associated with one of the losing bidders and has never been associated with the current contractors.
These problems with only three of Barras’ recent columns could have been avoided by a simple telephone call. One hopes that, in the future, she will check the facts first to eliminate such wild speculation.
Natwar M. Gandhi
Chief financial officer,
District of Columbia
Entrepreneurs help poor more than government bureaucrats
Re: “Poverty study highlights key issue in debt ceiling clash,” Editorial, July 19
While most of this editorial was on the mark, it is incorrect to state that the typical poor family is so well off because of voluntary generosity from Americans.
Rather, entrepreneurs motivated by profits and competition are responsible for making goods once considered upper-class luxuries so cheap and widely available for all. Business and industry is the source of the goods and services that make us believe our country is prosperous. It isn’t relief agencies, but worldwide appliance manufacturers, who provide us with everyday comforts and prosperity that many take for granted.
On the other hand, Americans should be given credit for their generosity through their churches and charities, which are doing much more to help the poor than inefficient, bureaucratic government programs have or ever will.
Jason Russell
Commerce, Mich.
