Woostah Telegram reports that casino-shilling economist Clyde Barrow of UMass-Dartmouth is sparring with evangelical anti-gambling economist Earl Grinols of Baylor University, saying the latter's religious commitments prevent him from looking at the matter impartially:
The debate over casinos has erupted on many levels since the governor proposed opening the state to gambling resorts, including a verbal duel between two economists The Research Bureau has cited extensively in a report condemning the notion of siting a casino in Worcester.
The report, which concludes that the social and economic costs of a casino in the city would far outweigh any benefits, relies in large part on the findings of Earl L. Grinols, a Baylor University distinguished professor of economics, well-known gambling critic and evangelical economist.
But University of Massachusetts professor Clyde W. Barrow, who has issued reports largely adopted by the governor in recommending three casinos in the state to create new jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, said last week Grinols’ economic arguments against casinos are tainted by his evangelical Christian values.
Well, luckily Prof. Barrow suffers from no such ethical impediments … although he has had his own impartiality questioned, having taken casino operators' money in the past, and certainly his research methods have been, uh, novel. (Barrow claims that his center is not funded at all with any gambling money, FWIW.)
Now, this is all very amusing for us. But really, the question goes straight to Gov. Patrick: When you tell us the costs and benefits of your casino plan, Where are you getting your numbers from? Are they straight from Barrow? Is there an academic consensus on the effects of casino gambling on local economies — not to mention the effects on families, on mental health, on crime and violence? I'm not aware that there's any consensus that they're a pro-growth slam-dunk, but I'm willing to be convinced on that front. (Even so, I still would probably not support the casino plan, but I'd concede the point.)
If the numbers don’t work, then casino gambling is a bad idea.
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If the numbers work, then casino gambling is still a bad idea.
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Understand that, and you don’t have to clutter your brain with any of this other stuff. Just ponder the idea that the National Association on Mental Illness and the National Association of Social Workers are against this. Think about what that says.
Why dont they try to ban it nationaly then?
Is it because MAss tends to be so pliable on such matters?
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“National Association on Mental Illness and the National Association of Social Workers are against this.”
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What is the point of jumping up and down about which side of some imaginary boundry that they are cutting the ribbon on? Gambling happens, it just does and wether this passes or not it will not change any part of that fact.
If anything, this is the first time I heard the MAss guv mention funding for any addiction treatment dispite all the people that have been lured into the wonder of it all.
As to NIMBY … shit, come on down, I have a nice spot all picked out for ’em, and Im sure they’d like the special discount I have in mind đŸ™‚
It says that the NASW or NAMI think they have the marvelous ability to advocate for an engineered economy where certain types of businesses, say casinos, shouldn’t exist.
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Wonder what NASW or NAMI has to say about coal mining or military service or, for that matter, any other business that produces significant negative externalities.
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For that matter, we’d best consult the National Teachers Assc; the AFL-CIO; the NAACP; the PTA….
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BTW, should I limit my query to “progressive” organizations, or should we risk cluttering our brains and consider the opinions of conservative or libertarian societies.
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… they actually have to be truly conservative and/or truly libertarian… other than that, sure, bring em on down!
I’d like to raise a couple of issues regarding our seasoned policymakers and their relationship with Deval Patrick. As a concerned democrat, I’m looking to our new Governor for guidance and direction in leading our state. First, people on this site are overly critical of Deval Patrick’s casino proposal and not critical enough of Rep. Dan Bosley, a North Adams representative and stubborn casino opponent. The Governor used unbiased empirical research in his casino proposal and gaming records from around the country to support his decision.
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Bosley’s opposition to gaming in Massachusetts is not a new phenomenon and he has spoken several times to Boston area newspapers about the negative economic and social impacts of gaming. However, Rep. Bosley isn’t just known for his “expertise” on gaming, he’s also the point man for utility deregulation in Massachusetts. Bosley crafted and proposed what he called “an excellent bill” (Boston Globe 11-11-97) and boasted it was “the best bill in the country” to deregulate electricity generation and distribution (BG 3-17-98). He claimed the bill would immediately result in 10-15% lower utility bills even though MPIRG warned that it was full of loopholes and did not guarantee either competition or rate reductions for residential and business consumers.
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It’s no surprise Bosley pushed this bill, his election campaigns are generously funded by utility companies and utility groups (http://www.mass.gov/…). Of course, MPIRG was right. The British company, National Grid, bought up many small companies in Massachusetts and New England and virtually created an unregulated monopoly, resulting in skyrocketing utility rates.
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Unfortunately, Rep. Bosley’s blunders don’t stop there. Governor Patrick proposed repealing property tax exemptions for utility companies in his Municipal Partnership Act. Interestingly enough, 90% of Bosley’s campaign contributors come from outside his district and the largest contributors are utility executives and utility companies. Click on the link above to see for yourself.
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Another Bosley blunder has been the creation of Economic Stimulus I and II. Thanks Bosley, Massachusetts now ranks 48th in the nation in net job creation since the end of the last recession (November 2001). Our state has 40,000 fewer jobs than at the end of the last recession. What kind of economic stimulus is that? Let’s call it what it is, corporate welfare; investment tax credits, commonly known as tax loopholes and government subsidies for already profitable companies.
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Representative Bosley is ignoring evidence and arguments contrary to his ideological preconceptions of casinos. He’s ignored the voice of the people before and he’s doing it again. The Governor’s plan shows that the majority of Massachusetts residents want casinos, but more importantly need the jobs. Rep. Bosley is certainly not an economist or a gaming expert. One thing is for certain, Massachusetts cannot afford any more of Bosley’s “expertise”.
Any conflict of interest disclosures you would like to share?
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Your tangental essay to discredit Rep. Bosley reeks of paid political (dirt) research.
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Please go back to your first paragraph and provide the details of the Governor’s empirical research that produced a horrifically flawed bill that doesn’t stand up to casual scrunity or closer scruntiny, [http://www.wrrb.org/…]Woostah Research Bureau
and Mass Taxpayer’s Foundation[http://www.masstaxpa…].
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May I repeat (ad nauseum) that not a single impact study has been commissioned yet a 2.5% one size-fits-all (3,4,5, 6 potential host casino regions?) mitigation formula was crafted?
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BAD Bill.