Fool’s gold indeed

Fool’s gold indeed

I found this quote by syndicated columnist Neal Peirce recently about Las Vegas, the original Gambling Capital of the Nation: “Can it then be by sheer happenstance that Nevada leads the nation, year by year, in such crimes as murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery and burglary? That Nevada tops the 50 states in rates of personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures? That the state’s suicide rate is regularly double the national average?”

Las Vegas leads the nation in school dropouts. Nevada leads the nation in lowest attainment of college degrees.

Is that what we want to emulate (“Top DeLeo aide called casinos ‘fool’s gold,’ ” Sept. 29)?



From the PEW Center:
Nevada
-largest unemployment rate of all states-13.4%
-Largest Projected FY 2012 budget deficit of all states at 45.2%

New Jersey
-2nd largest FY 2012 budget deficit at 37.4 (Ma. is 5.7%)
-NJ unemployment rate at 9.4% compared to Ma at 7.4%

Other Casino States in big trouble
-California, 2012 Budget Deficit 29.3%, unemployment 12.1%
-Michigan , Unemployment 11.2%
-Florida-Budget Deficit 14.9%, unemployment 10.7%
-Rhode Island Deficit 11.3%, unemployment 10.6%
-Illinois-14.6 Deficit, 9.9% Unemployment
-Connecticut 18.% deficit, 9% unemployment