State budget, protections for kids in limbo while Berger, Moore & co. twist arms, browbeat for casino votes
It doesn’t matter that important state government work is being held up. It doesn’t matter that state-funded medical facilities are pushing the transgender agenda unfettered. The thugs who call the shots on Jones Street have tasted the gambling-industry cash, and they want MORE MORE MORE.
*Cha-Ching ! Viva Las Anson, baby!*
There are a lot of arguments to be made about casinos and gambling. There’s the moral side. Libertarians poo-poo that. But our state has already seen the damage first-hand during the flirtation with video poker a few decades back.
There are also some economic considerations addressed rather nicely in this report by the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank:
[…] Issue 1: Casino proponents commonly point to a lower local unemployment rate after a casino is introduced as evidence that casinos improve local employment. Because the local unemployment rate dropped after the casino was introduced, it must be that the casino helped lower the local unemployment rate. Maybe. The change in the unemployment rate in the local area should be compared with the change in the statewide unemployment rate during the same period. If the changes are about the same, then it is possible that all of the employment growth in the casino area is the result of the natural movement of the business cycle (economic changes in other sectors of the economy) and not the introduction of the casino. If the drop in unemployment is larger in the local area than statewide after the casino is introduced, then one could argue that the casino has indeed reduced local unemployment.
The point here is that local changes in unemployment should be compared with statewide unemployment changes. Other factors, such as population changes and local business conditions, should also be considered when comparing local unemployment rates before and after a casino opens. Just looking at differences in local unemployment rates over time without an understanding of population dynamics and the statewide business cycle can paint a false picture as to the employment benefits of casinos
Issue 2: The basic idea regarding increased employment is that a casino’s operation requires labor, and this labor will come from the local area. This, in turn, will reduce unemployment in the area. The question to ask is not just whether casinos decrease unemployment, but for whom they decrease unemployment. Most casino jobs require some kind of skill, be it accounting, dealing cards, security or other expertise. If a casino is planning to move to a rural area having a relatively less skilled work force, the casino probably will draw skilled labor from outside of the area. If this labor remains outside of the local area and workers commute to the casinos, then unemployment in the local area will remain unchanged. If some of this skilled labor decides to move near the casino, then the unemployment rate (which is the number unemployed divided by the labor force) in the local area will fall because the labor force has increased. It is this decreased unemployment rate that is often used as evidence that casinos have indeed improved local employment. However, it is important to realize that unemployment for the original, relatively less skilled population has remained essentially unchanged—only the higher skilled, new arrivals have found employment with the casino. It is the employment of these new arrivals that has decreased the unemployment rate.
The main lesson regarding casinos and their impact on the local unemployment rate for the original population is that local officials and the citizenry need to know whether the work force for the new casino will come from their area. The promise of increased employment for the original population that is often used as an argument for the construction of casinos may not be realized. In a relatively urban area, there is probably enough variety in the work force to ensure that skilled labor will be provided locally. In rural areas, however, most of the labor will be from outside of the local area, thus leaving the unemployment rate for the original population unchanged.[…]
I believe the plans for North Carolina call for putting casinos in already economically-depressed RURAL areas. Now, let’s look at the issue of revenue:
Issue 1: Most states tax adjusted casino revenue and use the taxes to fund state and local programs. In Missouri, the tax rate is 18 percent, and there is an additional 2 percent tax to aid local city governments. Indiana has a 20 percent tax rate. Illinois and Mississippi have a graduated tax schedule.
Casino proponents and state and local governments promote casino tax revenue as a benefit. This revenue is a benefit for the recipients of taxed casino revenue. However, it is important to realize that this revenue is not “new money” to society. Taxes result in a transfer of income from one group to another group—in this case, casino owners to state and local governments (and eventually to program recipients). So, for example, while the state of Missouri collected nearly $190 million in casino taxes during 2001, this $190 million is a cost to casino operators. Zero new money was created as a result of the casino tax.
Issue 2: State governments use casino tax revenue for various programs, but public education seems to be the favored destination for casino tax revenue in many states. In fact, states often promote how much money from casino revenue is earmarked to public education. This suggests to the public that spending on education has increased since the taxing of casino revenue began. Not necessarily.
The problem is that all earmarked revenue is interchangeable. Consider the following example: Your son is in college and spends $40 a week on pizza. You send him a check for $20 and insist that he spends the money on pizza. This suggests that his total spending on pizza will now be $60 a week. But there is nothing from preventing your son from taking $20 out of his original $40 and using it for something else, and then simply adding your $20 back to get the final $40.
The same works for state, local and federal governments regardless of the tax and destination of revenue. If $100 million a year from casino taxes is earmarked to education, one would expect total education spending to increase by $100 million. However, state legislators can simply reduce the total amount of funds budgeted for education by $100 million and use these funds elsewhere, and then use the $100 million from casino revenue to bring total education expenditures back to their pre-casino levels. No increase in education spending has occurred.[…]
Okay. Now let’s look at the potential impact on local retail spending:
[…]The issue of whether casinos help or hurt local retail sales, and thus retail sales tax collections, has received the most attention in the academic literature. Essentially, the degree to which casinos attract visitors from outside the local area relative to local customers determines the casino’s impact on local retail sales. If the bulk of a casino’s clientele is local, then one would expect retail sales (and thus retail sales tax revenue) in the local area to be negatively impacted. This is the substitution effect, i.e., consumers substitute casino gambling for other consumption activities such as dining out or going to the movies. However, if casinos act as part of a “tourist vacation,” where non-local visitors spend several days gambling, touring museums and dining out, then local retail sales would probably increase.
Another factor to consider is that many casinos have restaurants, shops and hotel rooms for casino customers. All items purchased in these outlets are taxable under state and local sales tax laws. A possible loss in retail sales in the local community may be partly offset by an increase in retail sales activity in the casinos.
Rural areas that have one or two casinos are more likely to experience a decrease in local retail sales than urban areas that attract a greater number of tourists. Areas such as St. Louis and Kansas City would probably experience less, if any, of a decrease in retail sales compared to rural casino areas such as Booneville or Caruthersville, Mo. Of course, only empirical testing can provide a definite answer regarding retail sales losses and gains due to casinos. An interesting point is that many rural communities do promote their casinos along with other area attractions to draw out-of-area visitors.[…]
Beyond these issues, one needs to consider the organized labor presence that comes with casinos. Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and Reno — three of the nation’s most significant gambling spots — have significant labor union presences.
UNITE boasts 100,000 members from the nation’s gambling industry.
Workers United, SEIU boasts 150,000 members from the gambling and hospitality industries in the US and Canada.
The AFL-CIO boasts 140,000 members already in NC.
The UAW boasts 10,000 members in the gaming industry nationwide. The Culinary Workers Union boasts 60,000 members in Vegas and Reno ALONE.
The North Carolina deal includes a possible casino for the Lumbee Indians. Here’s a piece about unions slithering into Indian casinos.
Our state’s dalliances with Hollywood has helped add some union presence in Wilmington. The shipping business has helped add some there as well.
Unions LOVE them some Democrats. They supply a lot of manpower, money and other logistics toward aiding Democrat political efforts. Casino and gaming expansion in North Carolina opens the door a little wider for these folks.
Fold on HB2, torn down historical memorials, woke public schools, Green New Deal, Medicaid expansion, phony election integrity stance and now this.
The Raleigh Casino Resort Spa mafia Republicans get no support from me.
Our GOP leadership does not seem to have learned its lesson from 2018 about alienating a significant part of the GOP base with an election coming up. They don’t seem to comprehend the old political saying that “you don’t piss on your base” because that is exactly what this casino ploy is likely to do. In statewide races, the Republican majority is thin and fragile. We don’t need part of our base so disgusted they stay home in 2024, like they did after the same leadership repealed the bathroom privacy law, HB2 in 2018.
Personally, I am a full spectrum conservative, and thus inclined to often hold my nose on candidates who check many of the boxes on issues but not all of the issues. But we have many Christian conservatives in our party who are motivated primarily by a narrower set of issues, and gambling is one of them. If the GOP screws up on those issues like gambling and sexual deviation. many of these voters either stay home or skip certain races. We simply cannot afford having these voters stay home if we want to win the statewide races, or keep a veto proof majority in the General Assembly. The HB2 repeal blunder cost us those things in 2018, and ramming this casino ploy through the legislature threatens to do it again in 2024. Why is our leadership so tone deaf?
In 2016, Republicans held the line for our base and protected HB2 and we were rewarded by picking up a seat or two, inspite of heavy Democrat spending on the HB2 issue. But when our leadership caved in and pushed through the repeal of HB2, enough of our Christian conservative base abandoned us that we took a shellacking as a result. Why are our party leaders not reading the riot act to the legislative leadership over endangering our 2024 Republican ticket with their casino ploy? Stopping this casino insanity is one of the most important things the NCGOP could do to help achieve Republican victory in 2024.
2024 is far too important to be alienating a key segment of our voters this way.
In response to an in-person comment I had on this post, I would like to clarify something. When I wrote about holding my nose, what I am saying is that if a politician was strong on cutting spending, fighting illegal immigration, supporting our gun rights, cleaning up the woke mess in our schools, and opposing the climate crazies, I would almost certainly on a personal level give them a pass on the casinos. While I oppose casinos, that issue to me is not as important as the others.
That said, there are many normally Republican voters of the Christian conservatve persuasion who would be so turned off by the casino ploy, that it is questionable if they would vote for any candidate they deem responsible for giving NC a bunch of casinos. The GOP is already on thin ice with them on the sports betting. The casinos are doubling down on stupid.
There are politicians who go so far off the reservation, that the only reasonable response is to skip over that candidate on the ballot. We should never vote for a Democrat, but a Republican who acts like a Democrat can be nearly the same thing. An example is the year turncoat Richard Morgan snagged the GOP nomination for Superintendant of Public Instruction. As a member of the state GOP ExCom, I had been one of those who voted to find Morgan guilty of party disloyalty in his corrupt deal with liberal Democrat Jim Black to control the NC House and kick him out of the GOP for the manimum time allowed under the PoO. There was simply no way I could hold my nose to vote for turncoat Morgan for any office, so I just left the race for that office blank on my ballot.
The NC GOP “leadership” in the House and Senate don’t give a d@#n about their base, growing the party, or doing what’s morally right. They just want their piece of the “action.” Newsflash, Misters Berger and Moore–the love of money is the root of all evil!
Berger, Perry, Moore, Bell, and their cohorts are trying to be “the best politicians that MONEY CAN BUY.” That has been their M.O. for some time, and it is an embarassment to Republican voters. Berger, Perry, Moore, and Bell are such special interest prostitutes that they ought to mount red lights above their office doors.
You Damn right, Steve Rader!!
As to your why question about tone deafness, the answer i$.
If I was asked, is the risk worth the gamble, I would say no
Where are our gubenatorial candidate’s on the casino issue? So far Mark Walker seems to be the only one going after this corrupt casino plan. Where is Mark Robinson? Why is he MIA? Has he sucked up too much to Phil Berger? Robinson was also MIA on the Obamacare Medicaid expansion and the NC Green New Deal. Many of us saw McCrory as a MIA governor, and we do not want another one.
I am comfortable that Dale Folwell must oppose the casinos, but why is he not speaking up on it? Carter Wrenn is running Andy Wells campaign. Surely he must see the opportunity this offers to go after a key part of Robinson’s base. Why are these guys sitting on their hands? If this abomination passes, these guys are going to have a lot of ‘splainin’ to do to conservative voters about their silence.