{"id":221525,"date":"2026-06-17T18:15:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T18:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/221525\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T18:15:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T18:15:14","slug":"when-revenue-becomes-the-point-weve-lost-the-plot-think-tank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/221525\/","title":{"rendered":"When Revenue Becomes the Point, We\u2019ve Lost the Plot | Think Tank"},"content":{"rendered":"

Berks County District Attorney John Adams\u2019 comments on skill machines<\/a> highlight a recurring flaw in modern policymaking: The assumption that any untaxed activity represents lost government revenue waiting to be captured.<\/p>\n

That premise is worth challenging. The role of government is not to maximize revenue, but to protect citizens\u2019 rights, ensure fairness, and allow voluntary economic activity to flourish. When the conversation starts with how much money the state is \u201cmissing out on,\u201d it risks treating citizens less like participants in a free society and more like sources of revenue.<\/p>\n

There is also a notable inconsistency in the argument. Adams expresses concern over \u201cunregulated\u201d machines yet supports their continued use when they benefit nonprofits such as VFWs, fire halls, and social clubs. If these machines are acceptable in one setting, the issue is not their existence\u2014but who is collecting the proceeds. That raises a deeper concern: Public policy should be grounded in consistent principles, not selective exceptions.<\/p>\n

Reasonable regulation to prevent fraud or abuse is entirely appropriate. But regulating, or taxing, for the sake of expanding government revenue is a different matter altogether. A system that prioritizes revenue collection over fairness and consistency risks undermining both public trust and economic vitality.<\/p>\n

A better question is not how much money the state could collect, but what level of oversight is truly necessary, and where restraint is warranted. Government serves its citizens best not by capturing every possible dollar, but by respecting the limits of its role.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\n \"When
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\"\"<\/p>\n

Berks County District Attorney John Adams\u2019 comments on skill machines highlight a recurring flaw in modern policymaking: The assumption that any untaxed activity represents lost government revenue waiting to be captured. <\/p>\n

Kellie Walenciak of Forks Township is a volunteer at St. Luke\u2019s Anderson Campus and a communications executive.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Speaker
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\"\"<\/p>\n

By Sara Emerle, Center Valley<\/p>\n

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\n \"How
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\"\"<\/p>\n

By Matt Assad, the Managing Editor of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\n \"Crosswell
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\"\"<\/p>\n

He wants to restore honor to the Justice Department, to our government.<\/p>\n

Load more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Berks County District Attorney John Adams\u2019 comments on skill machines highlight a recurring flaw in modern policymaking: The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129,82843],"class_list":["post-221525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-think-tank"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}