Let the market decide on casinos

Proponents say that the only study that really counts is the will of the people, which clearly favors casino gaming in the state and the city of New Bedford. Private investors should make the real determination by putting up investment capital, for ultimately the government role is service and regulation, and business must be left to decide the economics of a project.

 

YOUR VIEW: Let the market decide on casinos
By FREDERICK R. SATKIN
Frederick R. Satkin lives in Dartmouth.
November 25, 2008 6:00 AM
 
I read with some interest The Standard-Times' editorial on the gaming forum held last week at the Days Inn. The extent of the public forum seemed to be about jobs on the positive side and against rural Middleboro on the negative. Perhaps in its simplest form, that is true. In a larger sense, it is about the economy and who should shape it — private investors and the marketplace, or the government.
The opponents believe that there may be unintended consequences to the economy and that they should be under continuous study. The Standard-Times editorial suggests this study should be interminable. Proponents say that the only study that really counts is the will of the people, which clearly favors casino gaming in the state and the city of New Bedford. Private investors should make the real determination by putting up investment capital, for ultimately the government role is service and regulation, and business must be left to decide the economics of a project.
There may be unintended consequences. You may have an increase in gaming addiction, projected nationally at 2 percent, and who is to say that number is not already counted by gaming in nearby venues? Alcohol is legal, and we do have alcoholics, we do similarly have workaholics, shopaholics, sexaholics, druggies and a host of other social addictions, most of which have been with us since time immemorial; they comprise the social makeup of human beings.
Under the category of compulsive behaviors, government can create a cabinet for compulsive behavior, or we can assume that there is something left to choice and call it a cabinet of personal responsibility. Science has bestowed the name homo sapiens to modern man; the literal translation is wise man, and there is no special separate designation I know of for politicians.
Nobody can accurately project a cause-and-effect relationship to any business complex in advance. None was made prior to the whaling days or the manufacturing sector in its heyday in this region. What we can do is prepare some ground rules. If we sit and argue about the relative benefits as we have in Massachusetts for the last 15 years, there will not be much left of New Bedford to argue about.
A 90-minute commute to Boston's South Station and an additional undetermined time to an eventual job site will not be sufficient to keep New Bedford's economy alive. After a few hours of daily travel, how many people really want to go out shopping, partying or participate in community activities?
The object in my mind for economic development is not to "spread the wealth" but rather to spread the costs. The high costs of taxes and utilities make New Bedford too costly a place to do business. A New Bedford casino can help mitigate those costs and make New Bedford competitive again. If nothing else, it will end the cycle of declining employment while paying a decent wage.
The stars have all aligned for the optimum condition of regulatory powers. There are no excuses left. We have a powerful congressman in a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives; we have a governor who is close friends with the president of the United States; we have public approval for gaming in the city and a delegation with 15 years of experience promoting gaming as part of economic development in New Bedford.
If not now, when?

 

»