Today's Globe takes a look at Gov. Deval Patrick's boast that new casino construction in Massachusetts will create 30,000 jobs, and every way the figure is sliced it seems to be greatly exaggerated.Turns out that the governor's number is based on an estimate by Suffolk Downs, which of course stands to make bundles of cash if casino gaming is made legal in the state. Suffolk's estimate is that a casino built on its property would create 10,000 new construction jobs. Patrick took that figure as gospel truth and multiplied it by three in anticipation of a trio of casinos being built. The Globe points out that this is "almost double the number of workers on the Big Dig at the height of construction..."
The story uses several other methods to come up with a more accurate number and each is significantly less than 30,000. The whole casino issue -- from the rushed and shady vote in Middleborough to Patrick's state budget, which includes money from casinos that haven't been built and aren't even legal -- stinks to the high heavens. Something is rotten in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
4 comments:
Jimbo:
I read the globe article - pretty interesting. I will be getting some data and sources on the number of construction jobs generated by Katrina and will supply the data source for your readers to look at.
Jimbo:
Something may stink - but I am sure it is not the prospect of job and revenue growth if a casino bill passes here in Massachusetts. Granted, the anti-casino gang gets to laugh at the Governor - for now - but they can't keep laughing at the fact that their idea of "no to casinos" provides zero jobs or revenue growth for the Commonwealth, which would be far worse than the Governor's jobs estimate discrepancy!
Are there no other options to create jobs and grow revenue but casinos?
Are there no greater concerns than creating jobs and growing revenue?
Fair point. But seems that the pro-casino lobby has framed the issue (rightly so in this economy) about job creation and revenue growth. I am not so sure that the anti has really addressed how they balance brushing away these economic benefits that arguably go along with legalizing casinos.
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