Gambling Can Save Your City

If you are watching your local city waste away, encourage it to embrace gambling. Think about this If you have cancer and you ignore it, the cancer will not go away. And if you do not seek treatment for cancer, because of your beliefs, you will die.

And many of our mid-sized American cities are dying a slow death of economic cancer. Let's look at Birmingham, Alabama as an example.

Consider these depressing facts.

As of today, Birmingham's population is 229,800 people. Since 2000, Birmingham has had a population growth of negative 5.52 percent.

The Birmingham public schools spends $4,933 per student. The average school expenditure in the U.S. is $6,058.

The unemployment rate in Birmingham is 10.10 percent. The U.S. avg. is 8.50%. Recent job growth is negative. Birmingham jobs have decreased by 8.40 percent.

Birmingham's violent crime, on a scale from 1 (low crime) to 10, is 7. The US average is 3. Its property crime, on a scale from 1 (low) to 10, is 8. The US average is 3.

Birmingham's home appreciation is minus -3.20% over the last year. The median age of Birmingham, AL, real estate is 44 years. That's old.

Perhaps Birmingham and other towns across the United States, which are in the third stages of economic cancer, should start an extensive cancer therapy. Perhaps it is time to try something radical. Introduce gambling to downtown Birmingham and other distressed cities across the nation. Start building casinos downtown.

Let's look at Birmingham again, which is representative of many dying cities across the nation.

Gambling can't hurt downtown Birmingham . The patient is already halfway to the morgue.. When the city dies, there won't be anyone living here. We will have to rent people to come to its funeral.

The crime rate can't get any worse. Home values can't drop any lower. The unemployment rate can't get any worse. Our drop out rate and school budget can't get any worse. In any words - what do we have to lose by building the casinos downtown?

Why doesn't Birmingham and similar cities do something radical. Take a peek at other areas that have prospered by gambling on gambling.and follow their example.

Consider these positive outcomes created by embracing gambling, Gaming in Atlantic City, created over forty thousand job.. Tunica Mississippi was once called "America's Ethiopia." Now gambling has cut the welfare rate by a third and unemployment is down to 4.9 percent, half of Birmingham's unemployment rate.

What happened when Wisconsin allowed gambling on Indian land? Gaming revenues were $275 million Casino employment totaled 4,500. 1,400 unemployed people were hired by the casinos . 20 percent came from the welfare rolls. The multiplier effect led to another 1,500 jobs. Employees paid $2 million in federal income taxes and almost $4 million in Social Security and pension funds.

How about the effect of gambling on Detroit? A Michigan State Study found that " In a study on the impact of the three casinos in Detroit on the local economy, the authors found that the casinos are significant contributors to tourism activity in the community. They have attracted tourists and generated new money for the local economy, generated taxes and employment, and contributed to other community tourism-related businesses. The study estimates that in 2002, casino visitors contributed more than $104 million to the local economy outside the casinos"

Hmm - that all sounds like positive news. And don't forget that every bar, restaurant, hotel and shop downtown will benefit from the influx of people to Birmingham.

Where will we place these casinos? Oh please. Just drive around downtown Birmingham or any dying city and try to find a building that isn't vacant.

In short we can stick to our beliefs and kill the patient. Or we can do something positive, build casinos in downtown areas across the nation andget the patient off life support and walking again. Gambling might even create jobs. . What a concept!

Oh yes, two more things.

Why would any local newspaper be against gambling? Come on, use your common sense. Newspapers are dying. Do you know how much revenue you could make from gambling ads? It is called "revenue enhancement".
And finally, jobs created by gambling cannot be outsourced.

http://www.americangaming.org/realdeal/reliable-sources-detail.cfv?id=32