Last Tuesday, New York voters made a mistake by passing a referendum allowing seven private casinos to be added throughout the state.
Fifty-seven percent of voters supported this ill-conceived and ill-fated measure designed to stimulate upstate and local economies.
Bringing casinos to New York has been on Governor Andrew Cuomo's slate for some time now. He and his fellow proponents assert that as states like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and others have more options for gambling, New York is losing out on revenue. Now that the measure has been approved, as many as seven casinos have been authorized by the legislature.
Gambling proponents have long argued that casino development translates into greater economic development - that bringing gambling operations into a community is a way to bring thousands of jobs that are generated from hotels, restaurants, shops, etc., which come as an exponential effect.
They also claim that the state benefits, too. Being able to bring in state revenue through taxation of these casinos helps pay for important projects that can benefit its citizens and facilitate prosperity.
But the actual research indicates otherwise. The effect of gambling on communities is such that it propels economic decline.
A study conducted by professor Robert Goodman of Hampshire College, "Legalized Gambling as a Strategy for Economic Development," shows how when gambling operations are inserted into local communities, the effects are more harmful than helpful to an economy.
In South Dakota, when they legalized video gambling, the state saw a decrease in consumer activity at clothing stores, auto dealers, recreational services and business services; in New Orleans, casinos directed $62 million away from local business, going to the casino instead; in Atlantic City, there has been consistent economic disintegration as its economy centers around gambling.
Goodman notes how homelessness increased after the introduction of casinos, and how clothing stories and restaurants saw a decrease in activity. There was also a substantial increase in crime.
The great irony of the arguments that proponents of casino measures make is that gambling kills jobs more than it does create them. A study conducted by professor John Kindt at the University of Illinois says, "The field research indicates that nationwide you stand to lose 1.5 jobs for every job the casinos create. In Chicago the field research indicated that 2 to 2.75 jobs would be lost if a land-based casino were built."
He also added that, "for every dollar legalized gambling interests indicate is contributed in taxes, it really costs the taxpayer $3.00 to address the increased socio-economic costs to society."
Even beyond the argument that casinos breed salacious activity - prostitution, crime, etc. - they take an economic toll on local communities.
We find it difficult to fathom proponents' belief that government facilitating an environment for its citizens to engage in self-destructive behavior is good for its economy and its community.
Casinos become a tax on the poor, and they take money away from families who could better utilize the money they spend there elsewhere.
Beyond the moral questions posed by inserting a casino into Buffalo, what makes this decision truly jarring is how damaging it would be economically. Casinos don't bring in nearly the amount of revenue that they take away from families and local businesses.
Any jobs a casino creates garner temporary stimulus before descending into collapse. For Buffalo, a city that is in the process of rebuilding, this is a horrid decision based on faulty logic.
The voters of New York should have known better.
email: editorial@ubspectrum.com
