On Tuesday, September 14th, the Fall River City Council graciously allowed me the opportunity to address them regarding the issue of the "proposed" Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Casino.
Watching their conduct of business provided an interesting insight into how others conduct their business and provide for public input, something Middleboro or more specifically, Marsha Brunelle would be wise to consider.
Posted on the official web site, is an explanation that there will be a public comment portion of their meeting that permits residents to comment for three (3) minutes.
Council approval is required to allow non-residents to address their meeting.
There is a log book available for the public to sign-in to address the Council. Maybe that doesn't fully apply to Middleboro, but it doesn't silence the public as Ms. Brunelle intended.
Below are the comments offered to the Fall River City Council:
Two (2) Supreme Court decisions specifically prevent land from being placed in trust for Native American Tribes for the purpose of gambling.
The oft mentioned Carcieri v Salazar for which a "Fix" is falsely suggested and ignored, is the Hawaii v Office of Hawaiian Affairs decision of which --
This decision is clearly written, unanimous and joined by a majority of states.
Prior to those 2 decisions, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe failed to qualify for LIT because, inter alia, they exceeded the 30 mile limit intended by Congress to prevent 'casino shopping,' which this is and they have no historical ties to Middleboro nor Fall River.
"Historical ties" means more that 'we went fishing there 200 years ago' and is specifically defined in law.
For $500 million, you get a SLOT BARN, not some euphemistic facility.
Sands Bethlehem cost +$600 million and is a SLOT BARN.
The promise of jobs is being wildly overstated.
Sands Bethlehem, with 3,000 slots, has 780 employees.
Rivers has 1,000.
The majority of those jobs will be low wage dead end jobs, according to numerous reports.
My recurring question is "If slots pave the streets with gold, what happened to Atlantic City and Las Vegas, the poster children for gambling?"
The Federal Reserve of Philadelphia commented that working 2 or 3 jobs was necessary to rise out of poverty.
In Atlantic City, poverty is higher than pre-casinos, unemployment unabated, school performance unimproved.
Crime has risen and property values have declined with the presence of slot barns.
The Las Vegas drop-out rate is the highest in the nation. The foreclosure rate is 5 times the national average. The suicide rate among the highest per capita.
Gambling Addicts have the lowest rate of self-referral of any addiction and the highest rate of suicides.
In an OpEd, Scott Harshbarger, former Attorney General wrote:
Watching their conduct of business provided an interesting insight into how others conduct their business and provide for public input, something Middleboro or more specifically, Marsha Brunelle would be wise to consider.
Posted on the official web site, is an explanation that there will be a public comment portion of their meeting that permits residents to comment for three (3) minutes.
Council approval is required to allow non-residents to address their meeting.
There is a log book available for the public to sign-in to address the Council. Maybe that doesn't fully apply to Middleboro, but it doesn't silence the public as Ms. Brunelle intended.
Below are the comments offered to the Fall River City Council:
Two (2) Supreme Court decisions specifically prevent land from being placed in trust for Native American Tribes for the purpose of gambling.
The oft mentioned Carcieri v Salazar for which a "Fix" is falsely suggested and ignored, is the Hawaii v Office of Hawaiian Affairs decision of which --
Justice Alito wrote, "It would raisegrave constitutional concerns" [if]Congress sought to "cloud
Hawaii's title to its
sovereign lands"after it had joined the Union. "Wehave emphasized that
Congress cannot, after statehoodreserve or convey....lands that havealready been bestowed upon a state".
This decision is clearly written, unanimous and joined by a majority of states.
Prior to those 2 decisions, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe failed to qualify for LIT because, inter alia, they exceeded the 30 mile limit intended by Congress to prevent 'casino shopping,' which this is and they have no historical ties to Middleboro nor Fall River.
"Historical ties" means more that 'we went fishing there 200 years ago' and is specifically defined in law.
For $500 million, you get a SLOT BARN, not some euphemistic facility.
Sands Bethlehem cost +$600 million and is a SLOT BARN.
The promise of jobs is being wildly overstated.
Sands Bethlehem, with 3,000 slots, has 780 employees.
Rivers has 1,000.
The majority of those jobs will be low wage dead end jobs, according to numerous reports.
My recurring question is "If slots pave the streets with gold, what happened to Atlantic City and Las Vegas, the poster children for gambling?"
The Federal Reserve of Philadelphia commented that working 2 or 3 jobs was necessary to rise out of poverty.
In Atlantic City, poverty is higher than pre-casinos, unemployment unabated, school performance unimproved.
Crime has risen and property values have declined with the presence of slot barns.
The Las Vegas drop-out rate is the highest in the nation. The foreclosure rate is 5 times the national average. The suicide rate among the highest per capita.
Gambling Addicts have the lowest rate of self-referral of any addiction and the highest rate of suicides.
In an OpEd, Scott Harshbarger, former Attorney General wrote:
...in Indiana it takes 10 riverboats, onecasino and two racinos to generate16,000 current jobs and Louisianarequires 18 casinos to employ 17,268,according to the American GamingAssociation.
The states that most closely mirrorthe current legislation suggest thatthe real results will be but a fractionof the job estimates we have beenhearing. Michigan’s three casinosnet 8,568 permanent jobs and NewMexico’s five racinos employ lessthan 2,000 people.
It has been my observation that the Gambling Industry crams through their proposal before thoughtful and intelligent officials and the public have had an opportunity to research the facts and consider the impacts. It's not all flashing lights and glitter, but rather Fools' Gold.
Spectrum Gaming prepared a report for the CT DOSR (Dept. of Special Revenue) that is posted on the United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts web site. Excerpts are posted on my blog, Middleboro Remembers.
Harrah's determined that 90% of their profits originated from 10% of their patrons, then targeted, marketed and pursued those patrons. That's Gambling Addiction without which this Industry would not survive. (Those statistics have not been disputed by the Industry and other reports indicate similar statistics, sometimes 80%/20% and so on.)
Why would we promote a fiscal policy that depends on government sponsored addiction and the exploitation of the gullible? Slots have been called the "Crack Cocaine of Gambling" and a "Tax on the Stupid" ?
A federal report determined that every $1 gambling revenue provided, the cost to taxpayers was $3.
The same federal report determined that gambling addiction increased with proximity.
Gambling revenues are declining. Slot machines are being removed. Foxwoods announced a cessation of payments to Tribal members and has defaulted on bond payments, as have others. Casinos, slot parlors and racinos have filed for bankruptcy.
What happens in Fall River will not stay in Fall River. You are my neighbors and what you do will impact me.
I would respectfully request that you avail yourselves of this opportunity to investigate the degradation Gambling has caused to other communities and to carefully consider what those crimes and drunk drivers will cost your community.
"Something for nothing" schemes didn't work in the past. There's no reason to believe they will now.
We can and should do better.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment