Cross posted from CFO blog
Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby testified at a State House hearing convened to gather information on problems associated with casino gambling.
Think about that statement. It is saying that 6% of our citizens will or at least could develop a problem. Remember, she’s not saying that 94% won’t gamble – just that they won’t have a problem with it. These numbers do not included people from Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, or Maine that go to the casino. Apparently, we do not care about or concern ourselves with theses people.
Ms. Bigby, we anti-casino people may be a little thick, but we do realize that resorts offer entertainment. The problem isn’t with the water park – it’s with the casino. There are many ways to “reduce isolation” that don’t bring a negative social cost. Please!
And here’s the kicker:
This is exactly the problem! We have an ill-conceived plan that is touting benefits without an accurate estimation of the costs.
Just think about it. Imagine a drug company that is proposing a medicine that would be available to all Americans and have adverse side effects for 6% of Americans. Now imagine that the company said – “We haven’t done any real testing, don’t know how effective it is, or exactly what the negative side effects are. However, we will put a tiny portion of the proceeds aside to address the fallout.
That is what Patrick and the Casino investors are asking of us. And it’s not OK
