Column: Casinos Are No Way To Balance The Budget

I figure on gettting a lot of disagreement over today's column. After all, if there are going to be casinos anyway, why not tax them? I'm sure not opposed to gambling, but I think counting on it to pay for government is a bad idea. Here's why.

There's exactly one good reason to legalize casino gambling:

People ought to be able to gamble if they want to. It's fun. Why not?

That's a fine, libertarian position.

All the other arguments for expanding gambling in Florida are bull.

Economic development?

Yeah, sure, I suppose casinos are "economic development." If you want to turn the state into a garish dump. I mean, more than we're already doing.

Job creation? Yeah, that's the new economy I want to see. Dealers and cocktail servers, bouncers and bartenders.

No offense to dealers, servers, bouncers and bartenders. It's just that when we're talking about the economic future of Florida, I would aim higher.

Most tempting of all, there's the "free money" claim. [rest of column]

Comments

[nelson]

Federal law requires Native Americans to be allowed to hold any gambling allowed for others in a state. The Dade Broward gambling opens the door for the Seminoles. The only question is, does the state take a share. So your premise is flawed, but that is your stock in trade: set up an argument that lets you pontificate, even if the argument has no merit.

Nelson is mistaken on several fronts.

First, Federal Law only requires the state to negotiate in good faith to allow the Indians to access legal gambling. Broward voters (not "Dade Broward" as Nelson incorrectly mentioned) legalized class III slots. Therefore, the state is only required to allow class III slots. The state has placed several limititations on the Broward slots, such as hours of operation, number of slot machines allowed per venue, etc. The state could award the Indians the same class III slots, with fewer regulations, and it would satisfy the Department of the Interior, allow the state to derive revenue, while only providing for a minimal expansion of gambling.

Nelson repeats a myth that the proponents of full gambling expansion are fond of repeating, which is that Governor Crist's hands are tied and he must allow the Indians to expand gambling to table games and other class III forms of gaming, or the state won't see any revenue. This is simply not true.

[Larry]

Not so much chatter on your column today, Howard. You know, I think people just don't care anymore. They want lower taxes and lower insurance bills, and if its paid for by selling their soul to the devil, they're ready to do it. What do you think?

[Aaron]

The thing that i cant figure out, most of the people in Fl. who are opposed to casinos in Fl. Will Go to Vegs in a Heart Beat and come back and tell all your friends and co-workers how good of a time you had in vegas playing the slots and black jack. Wake up folks. Its time to start easing some of the burden out of your pocket. casinos are the way to go. Youi cant say it will bring more crime, because the State of Florida is already doing a great job at that minus the Casinos. Lets be a innovative State and break out of this 1960 mole and step it up some.

[David Mathews]

Casinos are a stupid idea. Anyone who goes to Vegas to gamble is pretty stupid, too. Las Vegas is surrounded on all sides by the most beautiful and dramatic scenery in the United States, and yet people mindlessly waste their time obsessively pressing buttons on slot machines or playing some other game motivated by mindless greed.

Americans are gambling with something much greater than money. Residents of Florida need to wake up to the new reality, which is: If you destroy the Earth you have nowhere else to go.

Consider the following very disturbing news from the Arctic:

"Sometimes you wish records didn't get broken. A group of Japanese science agencies announced today that the area of the Arctic Sea covered by ice is at its lowest level ever recorded. It reached this low point on August 15th, and it's going to get worse. Ice levels should continue to shrink all the way through mid-September. If reality matches predictions, the ice levels will reach IPCC predictions 40 years ahead of schedule.

"On August 15th, 2007 the area of Arctic sea ice was 5.31 million square km (2.1 million square miles). This beats the previous record of 5.32 million seen back in September 2005. That might sound like it's almost the same amount, but just you wait, ice is expected to continue shrinking until mid-September, getting as small as 4.5 million square km.

"Here's the scary part. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that this level of ice coverage would be met in 2050. I'll say that again, Arctic ice will reach levels predicted for 2050 by the end of this summer. I wonder what the levels will be in 2050?"

( http://www.universetoday.com/2007/08/17/arctic-ice-coverage-will-shrink-to-2050-projections-this-summer/ )
( http://tinyurl.com/2465ra )

Florida is going to lose its coastline and its beaches over the next century. Instead of gambling, Americans must begin making the substantial sacrifices which are necessary to avoid the most horrendous consequences of global warming, resource depletion and overpopulation.

***

Americans probably should also ask the Iraqis for forgiveness for the crime of destroying their nation, killing over 100,000 of their citizens, and leaving them to inherit a mess which may never be cleaned up.

That's a crime considerably more evil than 9/11, but Americans don't care about Iraqis dying, especially when we're the ones who are doing the killing.

This came in my in-box and thought I'd share:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COALITION RAISES RED FLAGS
ON INDIAN GAMING COMPACT
Florida Fair Deal Alliance Cautions Against “Rush to Judgment”

TALLAHASSEE – Citing a new federal court ruling in Texas, the Florida Fair Deal Alliance today called on Governor Charlie Crist to suspend negotiations on a compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida to expand gambling on the reservation until the State better understands all of its options and their implications. The new organization includes businesses and individuals who are interested in making sure that Florida’s taxpayers aren’t shortchanged by any gambling initiatives in the state.

“It seems that the proponents of expanded gaming on the Seminole reservation have manufactured a sense of urgency that isn’t supported by the evidence,” said Alliance spokesman Jim McClellan. “On the other hand, there are good reasons for Florida to study the issue carefully – and gain legislative approval – before moving forward.”

The Governor has not yet reached agreement with the Tribe on the final terms of the compact, but early reports indicate it could enable the Seminoles to offer a full-range of “Class III” gambling – slot machines that pit players against the “house” rather than other players; baccarat; blackjack and possibly roulette.

Proponents of new Indian gaming insist that the agreement is inevitable, but a decision by a federal appeals court in Texas suggests that may not be the case. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in May held that the State of Texas – not the US Department of the Interior – should have the final say on what forms of gambling are allowed on Indian reservations.

“Gambling is a sensitive moral and political issue,” said Senator Steven Geller, D, Boca Raton, former president of the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) and chair of the group's State/Federal Relations Committee. “The federal government has never forced a state to accept expanded gaming on Indian reservations.

“If negotiations continue with the Seminole Tribe over Class III slot machines, to which they are entitled, any additional types of gambling should be authorized to the entities that offer the best deal to Florida taxpayers -- whether it's the state's pari-mutuel industry or the Seminole tribe. Our role must be to do whatever is best for the State of Florida, including maximizing revenue from any additional types of gambling.”

Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio is seeking an opinion from Attorney General Bill McCollum to find out if Governor Crist is in fact required to enter into an agreement, and if so, whether the Seminoles must be allowed to offer forms of gambling that are not authorized anywhere else in the state.

McClellan said that another important reason to move slowly is to ensure the best deal possible for Florida taxpayers.

“The state is facing severe budget shortfalls and there is certainly pressure to settle for anything that would bring in more tax dollars,” McClellan added. “But the haste to raise revenue in the short term should not cause us to waste what may be a much better opportunity over the long term.”


An Associated Press Article regarding the federal court decision follows:
Appeals court sides with state in fight over Indian gambling

Associated Press
Tuesday, August 21, 2007

AUSTIN — A federal appeals court dealt a blow to expanding gambling at an Indian casino in Texas, ruling that federal rules undermine the state's power to restrict gaming.

Texas officials have been fighting for several years with the U.S. Interior Department over the Kickapoo tribe's plan to offer Las Vegas-style gambling at its casino at Eagle Pass on the border with Mexico.

Earlier this year, the department gave the tribe preliminary approval to expand its offerings from poker and bingo to a range of games including blackjack, keno, roulette and off-track pari-mutuel betting on horses or dogs.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, both Republicans, had criticized the agency's decision, noting that the state's legal challenge to federal authority was pending before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The appeals court on Monday sided with the state, ruling the agency's permitting process violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which gives states significant power to restrict Indian gaming.

[Larry]

Well, Howard, I see you were right again. No indictment for Mr. Smith and the gang at the courthouse. Typical.

[Howard Troxler]

Howard here. Thanks for the comments, y'all, including's Nelson's. How can I deny the accusation of "pontificating" when my job is, uh, to write columns in the newspaper? As for the merits, well, there was further good discussion of what the law does and does not require. As you can see, there is plenty to fight about.

Larry, I think you're right; most folks probably shrug and say if they're gonna do it anyway, might as well tax them, maybe we'll be better off.

Today I believe Gov. Crist even went a step further and talked about how casinos could support education.

Re: Pinellas grand jury -- I saw the state attorney quoted as saying it was not a criminal investigation from the beginning. It will be very interesting to see what the presentment says.

It also will be interesting to see if anyone takes the legal avenue of trying to keep it from being made public!

ref: david mathews
so what is the problem, if it gets as bad as they say all the casinos will be under water anyway

[Charles Huska]

Let the Gaming (industry term) begin. I am tired of going to Las Vegas to lose my money. I would rather lose my money in Florida and save on Transportion and Hotel expenses.

Gaming is like liquor and cigarettes -- enjoyable in moderation. You just don't drink, smoke or risk more than you can handle. I'm an adult and I should be able to do what I want as long as it is within the limits of the law.

My main concern is what casinos would do to property taxes and land value in the area of the casinos (like we don't have enough problems in that area already). If memory serves, Atlantic City went through many years of upheaval after gambling was legalized. People losing thier homes and businesses due to rising property values, rising taxes, and if the insurance industry can figure out how to make an extra buck, you know they will!

[David Mathews]

> "so what is the problem, if it gets as bad as they say all the casinos will be under water anyway "

I don't know ... but I would guess that the major problem is that by destroying so much of this world and depleting its resources and burdening it with too great a population of obese addicts ...

Humankind is going to suffer in ways which might render the Revelation's prophecies appear like a Sunday picnic.

I don't imagine that a planet with 9,000,000,000 could very well handle the loss of the world's coastline to the ocean. Not only that, radical changes to the climate will undoubtedly damage the planet's capacity to feed such a large population of humans.

What do you suppose happens when a planet which hosts nine billion humans under these circumstances?

I cannot say for certain but I am going to guess: It ain't pretty.

I wonder if Florida's leadership has learned the lesson of Hurricane Dean? Imagine for a moment what a Category 5 hurricane would do to the Tampa / St. Petersburg area should one ever decide to visit us.

Has anyone noticed how often Category 5 hurricanes are forming in recent years?

Look at the Top Ten list for Atlantic Basin Hurricanes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Dean

50% of the list is composed of storms which formed since 2004. Perhaps that should tell us something?

Eventually one of these storms will show up at the mouth of Tampa Bay and it will change this region forever. Perhaps the Politicians should stop all development along the coast?

That's too much to ask a politician, though. Greed is more profitable than saving human lives.