There's a reason people have disparaged gambling for multiple millennia. Since the beginning of recorded history, gambling has been one of the hallmarks of a dominant society being on the way out. (The other major sign of this deterioration is the use of mercenaries or, as we now call them, "contractors.")
Today, the Massachusetts Lottery, with its scratch tickets and Keno games, nets the state approximately $960,000,000 (almost a billion) annually. Now, the Golden Dome crew wants to inject the malignancy of "destination casinos" into the commonwealth.
Proponents' euphoric sales pitch has absolutely nothing to do with the truth. It does not reflect the negative costs of widespread gambling as it affects families, communities and, in the long run, society in general.
For instance, there is an extremely depressing aspect of the gambling bill as it is now written. Ready? Every 30 to 90 minutes, casino parking lots must be searched for children abandoned in motor vehicles!
People under a lot of financial stress tend to do some pretty weird things, as we all know. Consider the case of Thomas Mortimer IV of Winchester. In June, he killed his mother-in-law, wife, 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter, according to his own statement, "out of a sense of anger and frustration over his financial situation." Yet, apparently our elected representatives have come to the conclusion that the collateral damage accompanying legalized casino gambling, i.e., homicides, suicides, child abuse, alcoholism, drug abuse, prostitution, embezzlement, armed robbery and more, is acceptable.
Take the case of former Boston Celtics All-Star Antoine Walker, who recently filed for bankruptcy in the state of Florida. He is soon to be prosecuted by the state of Nevada for felony nonpayment of a gambling debt of a million dollars.
Massachusetts officials have not yet told us in what form they are going to criminalize gambling debt for citizens of Massachusetts in order to keep the revenue stream flowing for the casinos. In Nevada, the fine is a 15 percent add-on to the gambling debt that goes to the court system.
The revenue stream from the taxation of casinos is not going to be remotely close to the figure they've been telling us. Instead of $1.7 billion annually in tax revenues, a more realistic figure is probably something on the order of $300 million.
If Massachusetts residents are only gambling a billion at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, as we're told, how are we going to get $700 million more than that in taxes?
Then, there's the matter of job generation. There will be some high-end, highly skilled trade jobs created during casino construction. That's the good news. The bad news is, they're temporary. The building of these destination casinos will go by at light speed. The offshore money that will be building them will see to that.
The casino jobs themselves, according to a recent evaluation of all casinos nationwide by Forbes magazine, will be mediocre as far as compensation is concerned. For croupiers, blackjack dealers and others, the jobs average out to $15,810 per annum. This, of course, will make full-time casino workers eligible for fuel assistance, utility-shutoff protection, food stamps and Mass Health — all items underwritten by the rest of us. The bulk of the money gambled in Massachusetts will leave the country.
Now for the great news: There will be new state jobs! These are going to be high-end and high-paying, with great benefits. They'll all be in the field of "gaming enforcement" — soon to be a new bureaucracy near you!
Once again, the money we're getting from the casinos won't even cover it all. The opportunity for "Billy Bulger-type" retirements will be rampant. You'll be amazed how many state and local elected officials and bureaucrats will be transferring to the new "gaming enforcement" branch of the state government and go out with six-figure instead of five-figure pensions, after only three or four years on the job.
Gambling is a stale, parasitic enterprise. It only benefits those at the top — the financiers, the owners, and elected and appointed officials. Outside of the people running the show, gambling is going to be a disaster for the commonwealth.
Our finances are already being mismanaged by officials for their own self-interest. Government was never meant to be a business, nor its citizens a "revenue stream." But now that we've reached this vampiric state of existence, how do we get their fangs out of us?
Since government is behaving as if it has lost all moral and ethical focus, why not bring back opium dens and cocaine palaces? After all, they can say it's for the children's sake.
• • •
Joseph F. Doyle, a freelance writer who resides in Salem, is an occasional contributor to the opinion pages.
Killer of Fla. Girl Found in Landfill Gets Life
Army Orders Bradley Manning Court-martial
Cancer Charity Revives Breast-screening Grants
Heavy Snowstorm Hits Colorado On Its Way East
2nd Teacher From LA School Arrested on Sex Claim
Prosecutors Close Armstrong Inquiry, No Charges
Sights and Sounds: Football Fans Pour Into Indy
Unemployment Rate Down to 8.3%
Obama: Still Far Too Many Americans Need Jobs
GOP: Jobs Numbers Welcome, Can Do Better
Fla. Man Adopts Girlfriend in Legal Battle
More Deaths As Egypt Clashes Continue
Raw Video: Prince William in Falklands
Egpyt Protesters Blame Police for Soccer Deaths
'Lucky' 9-Year-Old Receives 6-Organ Transplant
Raw Video: Michelle Vs. Ellen in Pushup Contest
First Person: Will Peyton Manning Stay in Indy?
Egypt Shaken After Deadly Soccer Riot
New Suits, New Starts for New York's Unemployed
Hall of Famer Dorsett Speaks Out on NFL Injuries
