Gambling is no panacea
Gambling, oops, gaming, is going to save the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We don’t have to pay any taxes at all, according to some of the figures presented by representatives of the gaming industry and the Rendell administration. We have barely started out down this road to destruction and already Gov. Ed Rendell has made millions and several of his cronies have nice six-figure jobs with excellent benefits (other than our legislators, judges, and some other top-level executives, the best there is).
Already, we can afford $300 million for a new hockey arena and we haven’t even opened a casino. Gambling is great, gambling is your friend, it will help ease your stress. Sounds like a drug dealer, doesn’t it? It will be really wonderful unless you become addicted and lose your home, family and health.
Still, though in spite of all the wonderful benefits we will derive from it, Pennsylvania won’t be destined to become a mecca like Las Vegas or a great tourist destination, according to gaming officials. We want to keep it family oriented here.
So if we don’t benefit enough from gaming we can always consider legalizing prostitution and drugs. They are already rampant in this area, so just tax and regulate them the same as any other industry. As an added benefit, we will save millions on police and prisons, not to mention the poor, overworked judicial system.
We can also keep our NASCAR fans home so that they can spend their money here. It takes a professional driver to negotiate the humps, twists, and turns of our roadways, not to mention the professionally designed ramps, i.e., the exchange of Sycamore where Route 857 merges onto Routes 43 and 119 while some are getting on, some are getting off, and we have lanes closed or changed for construction – and don’t forget the hairpin turns, i.e., the ramps at Hopwood.
Route 43 can be one of the best drag racing roads in the world with its tollbooths spaced every 1/2 mile or so apart. We just need to set up some bleachers along the way, then Pennysylvania will have it all … well, except a winning baseball and hockey team.
As we near the time to vote, remember this quote: “People may or may not say what they mean, but they always say something designed to get what they need or want.”
John Catlett
Smithfield