Blindfolded public officials

Slot parlors by any name bring crime, increased bankruptcies, family destruction, addiction and all the negatives you don't want in your community. Slot parlors by any name bring low-wage dead-end jobs that provide no opportunity for advancement and no transferable skills.

There is no community that has proven otherwise.

Ninety percent of slot parlor profits come from 10 percent of patrons, a fact not denied by the industry. The industry requires addiction to survive.

Three years after casinos were legalized in the small town of Deadwood, S.D., felony crimes had increased by 40 percent, child abuse had increased by 42 percent and domestic violence assaults had risen 80 percent.

In Indiana, a review of the state's gaming commission records revealed that 72 children were found abandoned on casino premises over a 14-month period.

SMR Research Corp. has called gambling "the single fastest-growing driver of bankruptcy." Gambling-related bankruptcies in metro Detroit increased by as much as 40-fold within 18 months of the opening of Casino Windsor, just across the Detroit River.

Of Nevada:

Democratic lawmakers often blame the low spending for the state's ranking on what they call the bottom of all the good lists and the top of all the bad lists. Nevada has among the highest number of uninsured children and suicide rates, and

among the lowest reading scores and college degrees per capita.

The University of Northern Iowa included crime and bankruptcy statistics, among numerous other comparisons, and stated:

The data over the 12-year period show that crime is higher in the casino counties in contrast to the control counties. The visual trends show higher number of total arrests and total offenses reported in the casino counties.

The report may be found at www.1800betsoff.org/common/pdf/socioeconomic_gambling.pdf

Something-for-nothing schemes are expensive.

I recently found the quote below and found it particularly appropriate:

"Blindfolded public officials practice job creation guided by wolves posing as seeing eye dogs." [The Great American Jobs Scam, by Greg LeRoy, Page 4]

The statistics are there for wise men to heed. I would hope our leaders are wise and refuse to support expanding gambling.

The only reasonable approach is to insist on an Independent Cost Benefit Analysis before legalizing slots.

Join us in calling for one:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/costbenanalysis/