It makes no difference which state.  Local businesses are destroyed. Taxpayers pick up the costs. No economic development. Projections are overstated, just as they are in Massachusetts. Political hacks ignore the reality.

A Coalition of Opponents, United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts requested an INDEPENDENT COST ANALYSIS. Governor Slot Barns agreed and developed amnesia after re-election.

Look at what the 'regulatory' structure has already cost Massachusetts taxpayers. A Lose/Lose Folly!

Let's just REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL!

State got casinos wrong

February 19, 2013

The Express

 

FRED WILDER

Centre Hall

Beginning in the mid 1970s, after New Jersey legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City, Pennsylvania started debating that idea.

Over the years, the Commonwealth expanded gambling opportunities, promising more revenue for the treasury, until we get to where we are now.

 

Today I look at how the Commonwealth has legalized casino gambling and realize that in just about every respect, except for generating profits for the owners of the casinos, Pennsylvania got it wrong.

 

Nowhere near the amount of money predicted by advocates has flowed into local government or state government treasuries.

 

Very little spin-off revenue goes to businesses near casinos since most are self-contained operations that keep the gamblers inside the building.

 

None of the social or economic issues related to gambling have been addressed in this state's foray into casino gambling. The primary reason that there is very little PUBLIC benefit being realized by casino gambling is the fact that private enterprise has no reason to attempt to deal with social problems their business might cause, that is the taxpayers responsibility.

 

If state government is going to allow businesses that cause social and economic problems for the communities they are located in, they must assure that the cost of those problems is borne by the business that causes them, not the citizens of the community who must live with those problems.

 

There are only two ways I know of to achieve that assurance, the first is comprehensive regulation, supervision, inspection and audit with a designated portion of the profits going to specified accounts in local and state governments, or for local or state government to actually own and operate those business (liquor, gambling, resource extraction, waste disposal, water treatment, etc).

 

The problem with the former is politicians are easily bribed (they call it campaign contributions) into making legal that which was once a crime, and the problem with the latter is that politicians can always be bribed (and our pols are bought cheap) into privatizing anything that is public that is a potential revenue producer.

 

Either way, the communities and the citizens are at risk because we all know that regardless of political party, politicians are, to put it mildly, inconsistent at best.

 

 

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