16 January 2013 | 12:02 pm in Letters to the Editor
Casinos take from poor, give to rich
The main revenue of a casino is derived from the losses of thousands of people. Often the gamblers are elderly and of limited income. Warren Buffett, one of the most brilliant economic minds in the USA, says a casino extracts a tax from the poor and ignorant.
A casino cannot claim to be a legitimate industry; there are no goods or services produced. A casino simply extracts funds that are already in the economy and redirects those funds to a tiny group of investors. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
It is disingenuous to have a “non-profit” hold the casino license; only 2 percent to 3 percent of the casino revenue is used for community art, charity and other community benefits. Most of the funds fatten the wallets of a small group of private investors. Millions extracted from the local economy to create a few dead-end jobs does not add up to any bottom-line economic benefit.
The proposed Cedar Rapids casino cannot be described as economic development. You cannot try to sell this loser’s game to Linn County as economic development.
Vote no on March 5.
Michael L.
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