Will casino compromise Maine’s image?

I have read numerous articles and editorials on the prospective casino in Maine. We’ve heard about the benefits to Maine, the jobs that will be created, the money that will flow through the state, but let’s be realistic.

If the state of Maine were to realize a $100 million revenue-sharing a year from the casino, an amount equal to 15 to 20 percent of the gross revenues from the casino, how much of this would be spent on increased infrastructure, increased number of people receiving public assistance, increased crime, and other related costs? This is a question that must be understood before the people of Maine can make a rational decision and chart an effective future for the state.

Let us not forget that in order for Maine to receive $100 million, between $500 million and $700 million must be gambled, much of this money from Maine citizens and families. For this you do not receive a durable good, nothing is manufactured, it does not improve your quality of life, it is not a family activity, and is associated with gambling addiction and crime.

According to the U.S. Census data the seven states generating the largest casino revenue are also in the top 15 states for violent crime rate as also reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. Nevada, with the largest revenue of gambling in the country, has a violent crime rate five times higher than Maine. Maine is currently number 49th out of 51, including the District of Columbia, with only Vermont and North Dakota having a better record.

While there is still a lot of impartial research that needs to be done on the subject of gambling, casinos and their impact, we can look historically at other areas where the government has stepped in and taken money to offset the real or perceived detriment to the society.

Our government, both federal and state, taxes tobacco products and loves the revenues generated by the sales of these items, but on the other hand is impoverished in caring for the loss of health of hundreds of thousands of Americans every year who have to live through emphysema, lung cancer or worse yet don’t live through it at all.

The Centers for Disease Control in its “Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Economic Costs” report noted the following statistics: Cigarette smoking continues to be a leading cause of death in the Unites States, and imposes substantial measurable costs to society. From 1995 to 1999, smoking killed more than 440,000 people in the United States each year; and that for each pack of cigarettes sold in the United States the costs to our nation are estimated at $7.18 in medical care costs and lost productivity.

Total annual public and private health care expenditures caused by tobacco use: $89 billion. In the CDC’s “State Highlights from the 2002 Tobacco Control” report, Maine’s direct health care costs attributed to smoking are $470 million a year and another $406 million a year in indirect costs including lost productivity. At the same time, according to the Office of Tax Policy Research in their 2002 World Tax Database, Maine collects $75 million in tobacco tax revenues. In other words, as a state, we are paying almost 12 times as much out of our tax and economic base as we make back in tax revenues for the use of tobacco. This doesn’t even begin to measure the intangibles like personal health, impact on families who have to care for the sick or suffer the loss of loved ones.

The Alcohol Research Group from Berkeley, Calif., reported in its 1995 “National Survey on Attitudes and Interests” report that of the 18 years and older population in the United States more than 7 million were alcohol abusers, another 11 million were alcoholics, for a total 18 million Americans or about 6.7 percent of the population in this country is in trouble with alcohol.

The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reported in their report “The Economic Costs of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the United States” that the direct and indirect cost of alcohol abuse were $166 billion a year in 1995. That would put Maine’s burden based on our 0.46 percent of the national population, at $763 million. Maine’s revenue from alcohol sales in 2000 was $34 million as reported by the Office of Tax Policy Research in their 2002 World Tax Database.

Once again, the state, through both its taxes and economy, is supporting an industry at 22 times the rate that taxes are coming in to support the burden. By all realistic definitions this would be called an industrial subsidy; we, the people of the United States and Maine, are allowing our leaders to become dependent on revenues when the use of these products far exceeds the amount of money available to counter the negative effects on the people and economy.

So before we look at the benefits of a potential $100 million in revenues from having a potential casino in Maine, you have to understand that so much will be affected by a choice made now. The National Coalition Against Legalization of Gambling cites numerous articles, research reports and statistics that are contrary to those made by the pro-gambling industry. Some of the most clear and disturbing are that local economies in casino and race-track cities and counties dropped significantly with a large number of restaurant and small business closings; that the majority of these casinos were not bringing in outside (the state) money, but that 70 to 85 percent of the patrons were from within 50 miles of the casinos and race tracks. That means that most of the spenders at the proposed casino would be Maine citizens, spending Maine money.

Is it a coincidence that Nevada has one of the highest crime and violent crime rate in the country and is also the historic seat of organized and legalized gambling in the United States? Is it a coincidence that states such as Nevada and Mississippi, leaders in the legalized gambling arena, also are leaders in the number of bankruptcies in the United States? Without research it would be impossible to connect these two, but without that research do we in Maine want to risk going down the same road only to find out too late that they are?

And what will happen to Maine’s image? We are a state that depends heavily on providing a vacation image to families throughout New England and beyond. Do we want to compromise that image for an image like Las Vegas or Atlantic City?

And what about the ethics of gambling? It was once considered a sin, and at the very least a waste of one’s money. Where does the state of Maine stand on this issue? Where does the religious community in Maine stand on this issue? Think about where you stand on the issue, and whether you can afford spending more of our economy, fragile as it is, on the hidden expenses of yet another vice.

Thomas Bickford of Orono is executive director of the Agent Institute, a computer-related research and outreach organization at the University of Maine.