The governor of New York, Andrew M. Cuomo, is sending his state down the same wrongheaded path as other states that are trying to gamble their way out of economic trouble by legalizing commercial casinos.
The casinos might create jobs and generate revenue for state coffers, but those gains would come at a cost that casino supporters ignore or play down. Various studies, including research by the economist Earl L. Grinols at Baylor University, have shown that casinos produce little to no economic spinoff and in fact divert spending away from surrounding businesses like restaurants, movie theaters and live entertainment. In the worst cases, some problem gamblers spend money that is needed for groceries, rent or child support.
More broadly, casinos are nothing more than a regressive tax that extracts wealth from the very citizens who can least afford it.
Florida, Illinois, Kentucky and Maine are among the states considering similar moves to raise revenue. It is all part of a broader gambling expansion that includes efforts to legalize Internet gambling at the federal level and in several states. New Jersey wants to legalize sports betting.
Thirty years ago, Las Vegas and Atlantic City were the only legal casino destinations in the country. But over the last few decades there has been a steady increase in lottery offerings, riverboat casinos and gambling on Indian reservations. Today, 41 states have some form of casino gambling, and all but 7 have a lottery.
Governor Cuomo is correct that New York — which has a state lottery, casinos on Indian reservations and video lottery terminals at the Aqueduct Racetrack — is already in the gambling business. Many New Yorkers also travel to Atlantic City, Pennsylvania and Connecticut to gamble. But making gambling even more convenient to residents is not the answer to the state’s budget or unemployment woes. Lawmakers are sworn to protect residents, not make it easier for them to lose money.
The economist Paul A. Samuelson described gambling as the “sterile transfer of money or goods between individuals, creating no new money or goods.” Warren E. Buffett called gambling a “tax on ignorance.” Governor Cuomo’s father, Mario, himself a former governor, understood the negative impact. “There is a respectable body of economic thought that holds that casino gambling is actually economically regressive to a state and a community,” he wrote in a 1994 book, “The New York Idea.”
From his website: 21 Reasons to get governments out of gambling.
6 comments:
''Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive..''
Let's just say we're all part of
Samuelson's "dynamic cobweb."
Dynamic cobweb:
Paul Samuelson offers the classic example of the dynamic “cobweb” model, in which farmers plan the quantity that they will produce next year based on today’s prices. When prices are high, farmers produce more, so that prices fall in the next period. When prices are low one year, farmers plant fewer crops the next year, so prices rise in the next period.6 The lag between this year’s production decision and next year’s prices is particularly relevant for understanding the underwriting cycle.
Genius is again true to his name. The coverage was sharp. One additional point . . . New York and Florida are very different dynamics. In my view, they do share the need for improvements in both respective neighborhoods. I don't spend much time in Queens any more and this blog is about Miami so I offer that Mikes Bar in the Plaza Venetia is less dining that I seek in that hood. Please, let's build the new complex!
I DID NOT WRITE THIS VINCE...
Interest to see this other story about how Cuomo also wants to tear down the Javits center in Manhattan with funds coming from Genting. Hmmm, slow move to bring gaming to Manhattan as well?
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/01/23/governor-plans-to-tear-down-newly-renovated-jacob-javits-center/
Why is anyone surprised? Elected officials are all money-hungry scavengers. When one stream dries up, they find another one.
And so it goes...
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