After months and months of heated debate over transportation funding, and just a few days before the Virginia Assembly is scheduled to hold a special session to consider different funding proposals, one lawmaker seems to have solved the whole snafu on his own. What’s this third way that raises desperately needed revenue without raising those loathsome taxes and fees, you ask? Why it’s more gambling, of course.

Delegate Phil Hamilton (R) of traffic-clogged Newport News has introduced a bill that would bring a form of parimutuel “instant betting” to the Commonwealth, with 49 percent of revenue dedicated to roads and rails. The game involves electronic machines loaded with video of horse races. Gamblers bet on the races knowing only the horses, jockeys, and trainers, but not where or when the race took place.

Forgive us for being obtuse, but is gambling really much different from taxes and fees? Do people feel better about parting with their hard earned dollars if they feel like the have a chance, however small, to hold onto it? And if so, do they not mind that the federal government taxes gambling winnings at the highest rates allowed?