And I understand that people in Maryland who want to spend their money on slots here, end up spending it elsewhere, and why should we pay other states' taxes?
And I understand it has a chance of improving our schools.
And I understand the Libertarian point of view, that people are grown ups and should be able to do what they want with their hard earned money.
All I'm saying is, does it have to be now? Does a slot referendum have to happen when the country is on the brink of recession? When our neighbors are losing their chances of achieving the American Dreams? When houses are foreclosed and jobs are lost? When our 401K's seem to be already on a table where the house always wins?
I love going to Atlantic City and lose a little bit of my money for the chance to change my life, but I'm going to take a break until things get better. And I know I'm not alone there.
Put slots in Maryland. Turn Baltimore Street into one giant casino as far as I'm concerned. But maybe just wait a couple of years?
7 comments:
The beauty of dumping slots on MD right now is that it gives us the one thing that we all need and the one thing that slots always give: Hope. Hope of hitting it big.
In my view the only real jobs it will create are jobs for the contractors who build them (probably already chosen) and the $9/hr jobs for the upkeep of the slots.
-The revenue (after the glorious taxes are taken) will mostly be drained from MD and go to Atlantic City, Vegas and the Bahamas. Sure we'll see tax dollars but don't count on our schools being any better (didn't the lotto solve that already?). And violent crime being reduced? There's 0 (zero) evedince that gambling has ever reduced crime weather it be violent or white collar.
But hope. Weather true or false it's what we need. Hope. Like investing in a bull market. Intangable and will not keep you warm at night but it's something that we have no control over and somehow helps us get though the day.
And the bit about the Libertarian view? If it were the people who wanted slots then it would be Libertarian, but I believe there are meny powerful people who are telling us we want slots. That's not free will. But what do I know. I rarely rely on facts.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e248/jamieschott/marriagesucks.jpg
Oh and this photo of the Marriage Sucks is a classic for all times. Good score!
First, I just want to make clear the crime argument: from what I've heard, cities and states are threatening/complaining that budget deficits will mean less police force. I didn't hear the argument that gambling reduces crime but I might have missed that. They're throwing everything in there. I guess if you don't like slots it means you don't like education! But of course you're right, the lottery took care of that already.
They think we're stupid, but they're right. We're drawn to all these lights.
I really don't know where I stand on that. After all, do they know? Weren't Democrats and Republicans standing on the exact opposite sides in 2006? It's like musical chairs.
Oh, and great picture. Thank God for cellphone cameras (at least my one is from a cellphone).
Wasn't Keno supposed to fix these problems? Where's Captain Keno when you need him.
Between the lottery, Keno, and No Child Left Behind, I'm surprised we don't have 100% of Maryland kids going to college.
Puh-lease. If all the stuff that was going to enhance education actually did that, our kids would be going to schools that look like palaces and going to college for nothing.
But this is the way it always goes: the usual B.S. "Won't somebody think of the children?" argument that's meant to tweak our hearts today and which gets forgotten immediately afterward. This is one educator who's voting "No" to slots.
Don't get me wrong, I'm with you on slot-cynicism. Even if MD gets a lot of money from slots, which is something I'm still not convinced about, bad education is not just a result of lack of funds. There are many other factors, like the involvement of parents, which is something that can't be bought, but actually might be reduced when parents sink deeper into slot-debt.
Now that it's passed, we just have to hope for the best.
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