In Fall River, casinos are not the answer

STEWART: In Fall River, casinos are not the answer    
A Fall River casino won't cure our sick regional economy, but it might make things worse.


By The Rev. Matthew StewartColumnist
Posted Feb. 14, 2014
         

Like many other progressive religious traditions, Episcopalians across Massachusetts have, in recent years, voted to oppose casino gambling.

You might wonder why. We’re not a particularly moralistic bunch. We believe in a God who wants us to have fun and to enjoy life. Not to set all kinds of needless rules and expectations. If you polled us, most would probably say “yes” to the legalization of marijuana, so why would we say “no” to casinos?

Members of my own church who know I oppose casino expansion will freely tell me that they’re going to Foxwoods, knowing I won’t judge them and really won’t even care unless I think there might be a gambling addiction involved. Why? Well put simply, it’s one thing to use one’s disposable income responsibly in an existing casino, and it’s quite a different thing to want to build a new casino in an urban area. Or, as the Episcopal Bishop of Western Massachusetts Doug Fister puts it, “Jesus came to bring good news to the poor. Casinos are bad news for the poor. I follow Jesus.”

There is a lot of gambling in the Bible. Seventy-seven times, we see people in the Bible “casting lots,” something similar to our modern-day drawing of straws when trying to make a decision. The ancients believed that casting lots would enable them to know the mind of God and also to create an unbiased way to make decisions, through chance, to give everyone a fair shot. Games of chance were used to create equity and fairness in situations where decisions might be made favoring the powerful and influential. Casting lots was undertaken to hopefully connect with the mind of God, but also to maintain a just, human dignity for everyone involved in a decision-making process. But Bishop Fister points out that there is one such instance in the Bible where casting lots perverted this good intent:

“When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.’ This was to fulfil what the scripture says, ‘They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.’” (John 19:23-24, NRSV)

In this horrible moment, this practice of using games of chance to create humanizing, equitable justice became a terrible dehumanization of the man who Christians would later come to see as God, Jesus of Nazareth. A practice that was originally used to benefit all, in this situation, benefitted the soldiers at the expense of the poor, powerless, crucified prisoner.


So, fast-forward to today. What would bringing a casino to Fall River do to our city? Would it be an economic boost that would benefit all? Or would it be an economic boost to those in power at the expense of others? On face value, it looks like the former. More jobs and more revenue for the city to provide additional services to us all. That’s how I used to think. But, looking at what casinos have done to other cities, I’ve changed my mind.

For starters, few jobs in casinos pay much beyond minimum wage. And so, while something is certainly better than nothing, they are not the jobs that build a vibrant middle class that can jump-start a struggling economy. People who take casino jobs will still be waiting in lines for food stamps, WIC and fuel assistance.

Secondly, when you look at other cities that have allowed casinos in, like Atlantic City or Niagara Falls, local business has suffered. Donald Trump says, “People will spend a tremendous amount of money in casinos, money that they would normally spend on buying a refrigerator or a new car. Local businesses will suffer because they lose customer dollars to the casinos.” Steve Wynn himself told Connecticut business owners, “Get it straight, there is no reason on earth for any of you to expect for more than one second that just because there are people here at my casino, they are going to run into your store or restaurant or bar.”

At best, a place like Al Mac’s, New Boston Bakery or McGovern’s breaks even if a casino comes to town or, quite possibly, they go out of business.

Thirdly, there is the increase in crime and accompanying tragedy. Areas that bring in casinos experience increases in the following: Robbery, auto theft, aggravated assault, rape, prostitution, drunken-driving, addictions, embezzlement, family breakdown, domestic violence, bankruptcy and suicide. In addition to the sheer horror of all this, the financial costs to the community to provide additional law enforcement and rehabilitative services are massive. The family breakdown issue probably strikes me the hardest. With an alcoholic on a binge, at least they eventually pass out and maybe there are a few dollars left in the wallet to feed the family. With a gambling addict on a binge, every last dime disappears.

I could go on — talking about how casinos don’t lead to a decrease in taxes, don’t lead to the kind of community that other businesses want to come to, don’t lead to a community that will keep revenue moving around to stimulate the economy, but let’s stop here.

We as a society are past the place where we simply dislike casinos on moral or esthetic grounds. I don’t think you’re an awful, lousy person if you enjoy the slots or blackjack. But we nevertheless owe it to the poor and also to the generations that will follow us in Greater Fall River to take time to consider whether casinos can really bring economic growth, or if they are a quick fix that ultimately hurts the economy and, with that, the vulnerable and needy. I can find no examples out there that show casinos being more boon than burden in the long run. You are not a hypocrite if you say to yourself, “Yes, I like to hit Foxwoods from time to time but still, for the future of our community and for the poor, I oppose them coming here.”


Following that awful moment of dehumanizing crucifixion, Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth was raised from the dead, opening to the world previously unfathomable possibilities for amazing new life. We don’t need to settle for the unwise misstep of casinos out of desperation. With faith and hope, even in Fall River, we can hold out for resurrection.

The Rev. Matthew Stewart is pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit, 160 Rock St., Fall River.

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