but
now I spend it on gambling,
hoping to get rich — so I can spend more on them,"
said Beverly Osborne, 72
The casinos also provide free meals and complimentary slot machine play to the
thousands of seniors
(Babyboomers
aka
Village People)
who have helped fuel the industry over the past decade.
WWJD??
``Gambling, legal or illegal, spreads poison through a community.
It is insidious.
It kills more business than it generates.
It encourages public corruption
and undermines the faith of citizens in their officials.
Worst of all,
it saps more strength and character.''
-Governor Collins 1959
The role of government-
The God-ordained purpose of government,
as outlined in Romans 13:1-5,
is to protect the welfare of the citizenry and to
suppress evil.
State-sanctioned gambling does the
opposite.
It victimizes
many, especially the most vulnerable.
It
also condones-and even promotes-a
vice that has historically been repressed specifically because of its inherent
debilitating and corruptive nature.
A healthy society depends on hard work,
a decent wage,
and a fair
and reasonable tax to pay its bills,
no a "pie-in-the-sky" philosophy
that appeals to the
lease
creative and productive instincts
of people.
Just as parents monitor against sexual
predators who may contact children through online chat rooms, parents
should also monitor
gambling web sites.
A community overly dependent on gambling
must also deal with
increases in gambling addicts, alcohol abuse, divorces, suicides and prostitution.
Forbes:
Orlando 49th for working moms
The popular business magazine ranks Orlando
second from the bottom
for working moms.
Out of the 50 largest U.S. cities,
the City Beautiful ranks
a dismal forty-nine.
Only
“sin city,”
Las Vegas,
is worse.
According to ForbesWomen,
things aren’t much better in other parts of the state either.
Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami
all came in the bottom ten along with Orlando.
Will
"OUR FLORIDA"
legislators
gamble away
state's future?
The newest plan to save Florida involves turning it into Nevada.
Roll those big, fuzzy dice.
Line the state with casinos, rake in the billions and live tax-free ever after. It's enough to make the conservatives in Tallahassee swallow their principles and sit down to deal.
It spares them from making responsible choices about taxes and budgets.
It would double down on everything that is wrong with Florida.
Let's see how the Nevada/Las Vegas gig is working out these days.
"Nevada's budget is so far out of balance that by one account the state could lay off every worker paid from the general fund and still be $300 million in the red.
The economic downturn has hit so hard
that prisons may be closed,
entire colleges shuttered
and thousands left without jobs.''
Florida
State Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Treasure Island,
doesn't buy the talk that
former
Gov. Jeb Bush
fended off expanded gambling in Florida:
"Under Jeb Bush we went from 5,000 to 13,000
lottery terminals, the largest expansion of gaming in the history of this
state," Jones said
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Florida woman has been sentenced to 14 months of house arrest for leaving two grandchildren alone in a parked car while she went to play the slots.
A Broward County judge also gave the 54-year-old woman three years' probation Monday.
Authorities say the woman left the children in a car parked outside a Hallandale Beach casino in August 2008. The windows were down, but the air-conditioning was off.
A witness saw the 2-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy in the car and told the casino's security.
The prosecutor tells the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the woman
had pleaded guilty
to charges including felony child abuse
and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
"I think it's a very risky thing to
take money from a vice industry," Stemberger said. "It's very hard
for elected officials to take their money and not be influenced by it."
US 'casino' mentality blamed for planet's meltdown
In Europe, where some blame a phenomenon of ``casino capitalism'' that has become deeply engrained from New York to London to Moscow, there is more of a sense of shared responsibility.
But Europeans also blame the US government for letting things get out of hand.
WWJD??
``Gambling, legal or illegal, spreads poison through a community.
It is insidious.
It kills more business than it generates.
It encourages public corruption
and undermines the faith of citizens in their officials.
Worst of all,
it saps more strength and character.''
-Governor Collins 1959
Florida's gambling fever:
Contrasting attitudes fuel expansion debate
Today
(Nov. 2009),
Florida legislators are struggling
with the same question that political leaders have encountered for decades:
how far to go to expand gambling......
Why the Democrats
can’t get traction in
Central and North Florida
Sen. Steven Geller,
D-Cooper
City
,
Geller said he may push for even higher stakes in the future.
"We will profit from a stronger economy,"
said former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, D-Miami,
hired as a pro-slots consultant in the black community.
Armed with more than $5 million contributed
by the Calder and Flagler tracks
for an advertising and education blitz,
they argue slots would create thousands of new jobs and pump millions into local governments,
businesses and state education coffers.
'Now it's our turn'
Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller, D-Cooper City,
a gambling
expert,
called the idea a "lobbyist-vendor relief act"
but said it still
may be worth considering.
But at least one local
group is already worried about potential fallout from allowing higher bets. The
"This type of expansion will allow those with gambling problems to gamble
longer and to create more debt, resulting in major problems in their
lives," said Pat Fowler, the group's executive director.
$$$ fund the excursions
with their
Social Security checks$$$
and return home worrying
about
not being able to cover basic living expenses!!!!!
Older Problem Gamblers Face Increased Suicide Risk
SUNDAY, Sept. 28, 2008(HealthDay News) -- Older problem gamblers who ask to be barred from casinos are three to four times more likely than younger gambling addicts to do so
because they're afraid they'll commit suicide if they don't stop betting,
according to a new study.
"In particular, older women began gambling at about 49
but did not experience serious gambling problems until around the age of 60,"
the researchers wrote.
"In contrast, men began gambling more than a decade earlier, at 37, and also self-excluded around age 60."
Gamblers of all ages cited gaining control,
needing help,
and hitting rock bottom
as their primary reasons for seeking self-exclusion.
But 14 percent of older gamblers said
they sought help because they wanted to prevent themselves from committing suicide.
That's a far higher rate than in any other age group, the study found.
Fatal crash highlights lure of casinos for seniors
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The casinos run by American Indian tribes in Northern California work to attract lonely seniors on fixed incomes by offering cheap transportation on charter buses like the one that crashed over the weekend, killing eight people and injuring dozens.
February 01, 2008
Slots
fail to hit jackpot for state schools
In a loss for
Florida schools, economic forecasts showed a major deficit in projected money
from Broward County slot machines.
Republicans risk eroding
their moral appeal to conservatives by appearing too cozy with the gaming
industry.
"I think it's a very risky thing to
take money from a vice industry," Stemberger said. "It's very hard
for elected officials to take their money and not be influenced by it."
Now in private business, Bush is gearing up for round two. Last week, he issued his first statement on the ballot question, urging fellow Miamians to vote against the measure "so that we may continue to protect our community and our families." He is joined in his opposition by former governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, and coalitions of family-values, Christian, anti-gambling and animal-protection groups.
28 Dade political leaders on pro-slots list
Posted on Tue, Jan. 15, 2008
BY AMY DRISCOLL
adriscoll@MiamiHerald.com
The political committee promoting Miami-Dade County's slot machine referendum released a list Monday of prominent backers.
The list includes Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, County Commissioner Sally Heyman and state Rep. David Rivera, a Miami Republican who has been chief deputy to House Speaker Marco Rubio, an outspoken foe of gambling.
The list of 28 officials, released as opposition forces start to organize two weeks before the election, also includes retired U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, who was hired as a consultant to build support for the pro-slots campaign in the black community, called Yes for a Greater Miami-Dade.
Miami-Dade voters will decide on Jan. 29 whether to allow Las Vegas-style slot machines at the county's three parimutuel operations: Calder Race Course, Miami Jai-Alai and Flagler Dog Track.
Broward County's dog and horse tracks already have slots approved by that county's voters.
Other Miami-Dade supporters: state Sen. Alex Villalobos, Miami Commissioner Tomás Regalado, North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns and County Commissioner Dennis Moss.
Also on the list: state Rep. Julio Robaina -- who has the same name but is unrelated to Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina. The Hialeah mayor is a staunch and outspoken opponent of the slot machine proposal
Gambling
and Tax Cuts Suddenly Intertwined
posted
by Jason Garcia on Apr 30, 2007 2:04:21 PM
The thinking up here
has changed so fast, it’s unnerving.
Amazing how a lean budget year and some fat campaign contributions by gambling interests
can alter the moral
compass.
Only two years ago,
Marco Rubio aligned with Bush to defeat a slots referendum in Miami-Dade.
But now, as House
Speaker, Rubio has
tacitly sanctioned an audacious plan to spread Class II slots throughout the state without even going to the trouble of local
votes.
Rubio said he doesn’t
support it, but that he wouldn’t stand in the way.
Gambling
politics erupted in the Florida Legislature, immediately intertwining with the
property tax debate that has consumed the Capitol this spring.
The
legislation is sponsored by Rep. David
Rivera, R-Miami, a top lieutenant to House
Speaker Marco Rubio.
More
gambling is on the way, too.
Florida
State Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Treasure Island, doesn't buy the talk that former
Gov. Jeb Bush fended off expanded gambling in Florida:
"Under Jeb Bush we went from 5,000 to 13,000
lottery terminals, the largest expansion of gaming in the history of this
state," Jones said
Tusk
is concerned about how the proposal was made public. Crist first mentioned that he was considering
privatizing the lottery, as well as toll roads, as a way of dealing with the
state's budget problems.
"As
I've mentioned before, the way you handle the rollout and messaging of the
lottery concept is incredibly critical, so whatever happens next is
really important," Tusk wrote in an e-mail to Crist's deputy chief of
staff, Lori Rowe.
Gambling
likely to prove a bad bet
for DeBary
DeBary city officials
should look past the hype surrounding this project,
and realize that
it's a bad gamble.
Gambling rarely pays its way in a community.
To the contrary:
most studies show that social costs associated with wagering
-- including increased bankruptcy, family violence and depression --
leave state and local agencies in the red,
even after increased tax revenues are calculated into the equation.
Gambling hits the over-65 population particularly hard;
a study released in September shows that the suicide risk among elderly
habitual gamblers is three to four times higher than that of younger people with gambling problems.
And police are already worried
about the crime a new gambling venue might spawn. Southwest Volusia County doesn't have the social-services or law-enforcement infrastructure to deal with those kinds of problems.
Problem gambling is already on the rise in Florida,
fueled by dubious "storefront casinos" that
offer games similar to addictive slot machines.
The Iowa-based backers
of the proposed quarter-horse track in DeBary promise
to bring jobs and boost the local economy.
And while promoters might claim
that the new "Town Center" will attract mostly visitors
-- many of whom might come in on a planned commuter rail spur --
the reality is
most gambling venues
draw most heavily
on the residents
who live
within
easy driving distance.
The developers of the new track say
they chose DeBary because of its demographics
-- most likely because the city's population is older and more affluent than the state or local average.
In other words,
DeBary
is more attractive to the
horse-track developers because
its
residents have more to lose!!!!
SLOTS TO THE RESCUE
Unless state revenues make a sudden rebound, lawmakers are expecting a tight
budget year in Tallahassee.
But it turns out one revenue source is growing. And it could offer a little
fiscal help for public schools, community colleges and universities.
It's slot machine money.
Gambling foes have odd way of
showing it
BY BETH REINHARD
breinhard@MiamiHerald.com
''I oppose the expansion of gambling,'' Republican
Gov. Charlie Crist said
repeatedly during his campaign.
Granted, he said it with a wink and a nod, as casino boss Donald Trump hosted
fundraisers for his campaign, and the gambling
industry and the Indian tribes poured
in millions of dollars. But he said it.
DAYTONA BEACH--
International Speedway Corp. formally submitted a proposal to
However, ISC executives said they had no
plans to add a casino to a redevelopment project near Daytona International
John Stemberger, a former GOP political director
now leading the charge to place a gay-marriage ban on next year's ballot, said
Gambling, reserves fund Crist's budget
Tallahassee Bureau Chief
Crist described the spending plan as a "bridge to Florida's future," as he tries to avoid wholesale budget cuts while the state weathers economic problems.
The plan calls for about a $1 billion increase in spending on public schools, while also boosting money for programs such as KidCare, which provides subsidized health insurance to children in low- and moderate-income families.
But legislative leaders immediately questioned the proposal, with Republicans saying they think the state will need to cut spending to balance the budget.
"Make no mistake, this is going to be a very challenging budget year," said Senate Fiscal Policy Chairwoman Lisa Carlton, R-Osprey. "We will accomplish the task with fiscal discipline as we prioritize spending, cut costs and strategically invest in an economic-stimulus package for our state."
Crist's proposal is the first formal step as lawmakers prepare to negotiate a budget this spring for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
Lawmakers are plagued with shrinking tax revenues, at least in part, because of the slowdown in the state's housing market. Economists said in November the state faces a $1 billion tax shortfall this fiscal year and also will collect about $1.4 billion less in taxes than expected in 2008-09.
Crist's spending plan would try to shield most programs from deep cuts and calls for increased spending in some areas. As an example, he wants to provide health care to more people, including spending $60.6 million to allow an additional 46,000 children into the KidCare program.
Deanna Schaeffer, president and CEO of Healthy Communities in Daytona Beach, which helps with local KidCare enrollment, said she wants to see the program grow.
"There isn't a day that goes by where we don't receive several requests for applications or assistance from families," Schaeffer said.
But many of the questions Thursday centered on how Crist wants to pay for his proposals.
Rep. Joe Pickens, a Palatka Republican who is chairman of the House Schools & Learning Council, said he is not sure how the state can afford Crist's proposal to boost public-school funding by $1 billion.
"From what I understand about our financial forecast -- both current and going forward -- it would be an incredibly difficult task," said Pickens, whose district includes northwestern Volusia County.
Crist proposes using about $1.1 billion from reserves to help balance the budget. That includes taking about $400 million from the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund, which was created after a settlement with the tobacco industry in the 1990s to provide an ongoing source of money for health and human-services programs.
Also, Crist would rely on a large influx of additional money from gambling. That includes bringing in nearly $250 million more from the Florida Lottery through moves such as adding lottery terminals, increasing advertising and having twice-a-day drawings in some games.
But while Crist tried to avoid major budget cuts, he would chop funding for programs such as the Florida Resident Access Grants, which go to students who attend private colleges.
Under Crist's proposal, new students at most private colleges would not be eligible for the $3,000 grants next year, though the money would still be available to incoming students at Bethune-Cookman University and two other historically black schools.
The idea has already prompted opposition from private-college officials and students such Drew Glasnovich, who is president of Stetson's University's Student Government Association.
Glasnovich, a junior from Titusville, said he would not have stayed in Florida without the grant program. He considered attending Knox College, a school similar to Stetson in Galesburg, Ill., but the $3,000-a-year Florida grant made the difference.
"That's $12,000," he said. "To take on another $12,000 in debt, I would not have done it."
DNC to Target McCain's Casino Lobbyists in New Ad and Video ??!!!??!!!see below
The Democratic National Committee today released a new web video highlighting John McCain's history of stacking the deck in favor of his favorite gambling industry lobbyists. The video comes on the heels of a new report outlining McCain's pattern of using his position as the chairman of a key Senate committee to tip the scales in favor of casino lobbyists with connections to his family and campaigns -- even if it meant reversing long held positions.
WWJD??
``Gambling, legal or illegal, spreads poison through a community.
It is insidious.
It kills more business than it generates.
It encourages public corruption
and undermines the faith of citizens in their officials.
Worst of all,
it saps more strength and character.''
-Governor Collins 1959