Dan Bosley, a Democratic state representative from North Adams, believes that allowing casino gambling in Massachusetts does not make good economic sense, and he argues against it on a political blog called Blue Mass. Group.Bosley notes that instead of talking about the $1.1 billion dollars that a recent study says that Massachusetts residents spend at the two Connecticut casinos, we should focus on the $100 million of the total that is theoretically lost to state tax coffers. Allowing gambling in the Bay State would cost more than that while taking a chunk of money away from the state lottery, a successful enterprise that contributes 25% of its intake -- nearly $1 billion -- to cities and towns to fund schools, firefighters, police officers, libraries, snow removal and other local services. If casinos are so helpful to a state's economic situation, Bosley writes, then why do Connecticut and New Jersey (as well as Rhode Island, which has slots) have higher taxes than the Commonwealth?
Bosley concludes that allowing casinos in Massachusetts is "a sucker's bet."
No comments:
Post a Comment