The Speaker's Special Interests Gambling Bill

We The People have a few questions:

How much did we the taxpayers pay for the second Spectrum Gaming benefit analysis?

UMass Dartmough has benefit analysis paid in part by taxpayers, kids tuition and gambling interests produced every time one is needed by the proponents.....how is that allowed?

Why do you refuse to have a cost analysis?

Why do you state that you met with opponents, when that does not appear to be the case, we ask again with whom did you meet?

Why was the bill, that did not receive a public hearing, and was rammed through Mr. Dempsey's committee immediately following the Easter holiday, not given more time for legislators to read it?

How many legislators did not have time to read it?

How many legislators have not had the time to fully analyze the gambling bill that has no cost analysis while being pressured by proponents?

How are the taxpayers supposed to know what is in the bill and to dialog with their legislators on a bill of this magnitude that is being "fast-tracked" through the House?

Why are no-bid sweetheart licenses that will yield billions for the owners/investors, not required to followed competitive bid processes as outlined in Mass General Laws?

Why are the casino licenses that will yield multi-billions to the often out-of-state owners and investors being given away at a fraction of their value?

Why are you not accounting for the businesses and jobs that will be lost when people spend their money on slots instead of services in the local economy?

Are those people expendable?

When are you going to tell people that the local aid gambling fund is merely an offset for the losses to will occur when the lottery takes a hit?

When are you going to let the people know that there are not enough revenues to offset the costs?

What is the cost of the new state police department?

What is the cost of the new AG department?

What is the cost to implement the economic crime bill statutes?

Do you know that we know, that the responsibility of House Ways & Means is to review all bills and that they passed the Special Interests Gambling Bill in a nanosecond, without a Fiscal Note - on your watch?

This bill is tainted. Vote NO.

USS Mass on Braude Broadside

Had a quick chat with Jim Braude on Broadside last night. Lots of fun....interesting how the people who know how things work are against the Speaker's special interest gambling bill.

Big - Blind redux

Do you read the weekly dig? They had the best article, "The Big-Blind" detailing the process of the Patrick Administration's research and sources for the failed three casino proposal. No independent analysis, questionable researcher/studies, no citizen input and a closed process.

This might shock you but the exact same mistakes are being made on Beacon Hill with the super-secret slots bill that is being crafted behind closed doors. What information has been reviewed? Why has the Speaker refused an independent analysis? How is it that Clyde Barrows continues to be referenced in reputable media for his one-sided slots-benefit proposals that are funded by Massachusetts taxpayers and of course, the gambling industry? Clyde's patron origin "methodology (cough, cough)" is examined in the Big-Blind as well as critiqued by journalists and academics. Let me make a wild guess....Clyde (who is not an economist) will release a report real soon telling us how great slots are for the economy and future of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is truly a wonder we have survived this long without slots - the wunderkind of politicians looking for a quick fix. Slots are a hoax upon the public that has not been given the facts about the costs and long-term economic drain of slot parlors and casinos.

Due Diligence Before Legalizing Slots/Casinos

Well, I have had my fill of being attacked for having a position on an issue that I care about.

The nasty comments that some people make (usually anonymously) on the internet are not contributing to the betterment of society.

It has been stated recently that I own a convenience store and that is why I am against casinos. Wrong.
Posters have described me as a moonbat, conservative, scold, someone who overly uses statistics, educated (framed as if it were a curse), religious zealot and other comments.

Here are my words why I am opposed to legalizing class III predatory gambling, slots/casinos.

Mr . Speaker - where does our money go?

When a regressive, back-door tax that sucks money out of local economies, harms small businesses and families is the only idea that the Massachusetts Speaker of the House can muster, there is a serious deficit of creative and courageous thinking.

(excerpt from State House News)

The big-ticket stuff comes next. DeLeo has spent … well, more or less the entirety of his legislative career working on a bill that would expand gambling in Massachusetts, and the fruit could be borne next week. Casinos. Slots. Bob DeLeo becoming the public face of the casino culture in Massachusetts, the one and the same culture against which his predecessor railed, and against which DeLeo himself voted, less than two years ago. Times change, the reps who are meeting with constituents to explain why they were against casinos before they were for them will say. It’s about jobs now, they’ll say, or already have.

Craven flip-flop in the face of an about-face in leadership? Principled, economy-driven policy evolution? What’s the etiquette for convincing constituents that you’ve “grown” on an issue when, privately and sheepishly, you wouldn’t swear on a stack of one-eyed jacks that what you’ve done wasn’t taking an assignment from your chamber’s titular head and fulfilling it?

Sometimes, within the environs of the Great and General Court, it is polite to let the demons win.

(The article continues) DeLeo batted down questions this week about where the $378,000 in taxpayer dollars allocated in the People v. Sal DiMasi actually went.

Mr Speaker - Oh where, oh where does our money go? And we're supposed to trust the General Court with expanded gambling?

Perhaps the mess we are in is due to the "demons winning". This is the height of poor public and poor fiscal policy.

Bax and O'Brien ask me out

I had a little fun Friday morning with the boys over at WAQY Rock 102fm. The classic rock station is located in the neighboring community of East Longmeadow and reaches Worcester to the Berkshires.

Tell me or them what you think.

This Patrick/Murray supporter likes this policy position by Jill Stein

I'm a Patrick/Murray supporter but I gotta tell ya, this policy statement by Jill Stein is on the money. First we had the boldness of Alan Khazei in the US Senate primary, now Ms. Stein, calls the shots on the predatory gambling/casino issue. C'mon back from the dark side Deval...we don't want that industry in the Commonwealth.

Predatory gambling

What if we taught our children not to gamble instead of inviting predatory gambling into the state to exploit our people?

• It’s time to take a closer look at the plans on Beacon Hill to invite gaming corporations to come into the state and use casinos and slot machines to extract money from the people of Massachusetts.

• It is well documented that the profitability of casinos is absolutely dependent upon problem gamblers — people who lose more than they can afford. In other words, these casinos have to destroy people’s financial security in order to make a profit.

• It is documented that building local casinos will lead to more gambling by giving people easier access to gambling opportunities.

• Casinos are job-killers because they take money out of the state rather than letting it circulate within our local economy.

• Casinos will produce bankruptcies, crime, divorces, alcoholism, corrupted politicians, and shattered dreams. Paying for the social services and damages they leave behind will cost us dearly. In the final analysis, casinos will raise our taxes — because they don’t pay their own way.

• Casinos will add yet another corrupting influence to Beacon Hill. And this is the last thing we need.

Before government forges a bond with the gambling industry we should consider the alternative: Raising revenues with fair and equitable taxes and letting our entertainment dollars help build a thriving local economy.

Jill Stein will refuse to expose our children to predatory gambling and its consequences