Allen thankful for sympathy
I wish to thank everyone who gave their condolences to me and my mother after the loss of my dad who passed away after a seven-year battle with prostate, bone and kidney cancer. I have made a lot of sacrifices with my campaign for Ulster County Legislature, and I look forward to serving the residents of District 2 in Barclay Heights, the Village of Saugerties and Malden come January. Thank you for your support.
Chris Allen
Saugerties
Casinos will hurt economy
I am voting “no” to the proposition that would allow additional casinos to be established in New York State and I hope to convince you to vote “no” as well.
Living in the mid-Hudson Valley for over 20 years I am aware of how many villages, towns and cities in this area struggle to find employment for their citizens and a way to prosper. It has been demonstrated that casinos do not provide employment for many townspeople over time, only worsen the gap between rich and poor and increase the need for services such as police and rehabilitation. If you go to the web site stoppredatorygambling.org you can find new information on the issues surrounding casinos from the Rockefeller Institute Report and other social science studies that have been done.
How can towns grow economically and have a sustainable economy? There is no one magic answer, but there are many hopeful attempts at reversing the downward spiral. Food production flourishes in this area, not just the growing of food but preparing it in unique ways from what is grown in the orchards and gardens and made from milk of pasture animals. Small manufacturing ventures can find affordable land locally and transportation for their finished products. Artists have long been attracted to the natural beauty of the area and the less expensive costs of land to establish studios and homes. Recreation opportunities for people from New York City who want nearby hiking, biking and skiing opportunities are available.
But casinos that produce no goods, addict people who have marginal incomes to begin with and attract criminal elements to the locale cannot help grow a sustainable economy. I urge you to join me in voting “no” to the proposition number 1 on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Doris Goldberg
Woodstock
Casino bait & switch
I do not know if other New Yorkers remember what Albany did when many years ago it campaigned for the lottery. They sold it to us voters then with the same pitch that I’m hearing now about the financial benefits that will accrue to education from allowing seven casinos in New York.
But how many New Yorkers know that those promises were like a legal “bait and switch” operation, i.e. once they started collecting lottery money the state reduced its contribution to public education. Instead of using lottery money in its entirety, supplementing its contribution to public education with the lottery revenue it was collecting; it chose not to use it as a bonus pool of money or to add to education’s total allocation from Albany. The percentage of education aid from the lottery has not changed even though revenue has risen. And now we are being asked to vote for the change to our state constitution to allow for seven casinos for the same reason…increased funding for schools.
Regarding lotteries, in reality, most of the money raised by lotteries is used simply to sustain the games themselves, including marketing, prizes and vendor commissions. And as lotteries compete for a small number of core players and try to persuade occasional customers to play more, nearly every state has increased, or is considering increasing, the size of its prizes — further shrinking the percentage of each dollar going to education and other programs.
Casinos look like an easy way to raise revenues for Albany without visibly raising taxes. “Lottery for Education” and now “Casinos for Education” is a genuine master stroke of marketing (as is the wording that us voters will see in the election booth for ballot proposition #1). The wording of this constitutional amendment is a walking advertisement….another marketing technique.
Vote no to Proposition One.
Susan Puretz
Saugerties
Casinos are not economic engines
It is a fallacy and a hoax promoted by the gambling industry and government that casinos and other forms of gambling are economic “engines.” Unlike diverse retail businesses, manufacturing facilities, research and development firms, casinos produce no tangible product which enriches the community at large. They are profitable chiefly for the owners, and more so when they keep as many people onsite by reducing and discouraging competition from the surrounding community.
Casinos create no “added value” to the local economy, they simply suck money from those local businesses and keep it for themselves (the house always wins). The casino’s self-centered operation has the effect of reducing the number of dollars available to stimulate and support local businesses. Besides the initial construction jobs for the casino facility, which might be provided by the local labor pool (a short-term endeavor at best), casinos basically provide only low-paying service jobs. Many employees can be lured away from the local businesses, as casinos create stiff competition for local hotels, B&B’s, restaurants, entertainment venues and even retail sales businesses by providing those services at their own venues. What you end up with is a “Casino town” … As an example of what can happen, go look at the community around Foxwoods and talk to the folks there as I have.
Don’t be fooled by the hype of the Casino industry or the slanted, self-serving and unsubstantiated wording of the referendum you will be asked to vote on this November … vote no on Proposition One!
Marcus Arthur
Saugerties
Economic benefits like Atlantic City?
I would like to add my voice to those who are opposed to legalized gambling casinos in New York State, especially in the Hudson Valley. My mother was born and raised in Atlantic City—pre-gambling—and my one visit to that city after the casinos came was by public transportation that included a coupon to get a roll of coins at a casino upon entry to Atlantic City.
What I observed at the casino were people of apparently limited means throwing away their money at slot machines. I obviously don’t get it, don’t get the thrill, and don’t participate. I took my coins and had lunch.
My mother’s Atlantic City is now a boardwalk of casinos, blocks of glitz, that in no way spins off economic benefits to the locals. Poor housing and joblessness is what I saw one block away. The idea that there is positive economic spinoff from gambling casinos is a myth. Just look at Atlantic City’s population—the lack of jobs with a livable wage and the visible and visceral poverty.
The amendment on the ballot this November supporting casino gambling should be voted down.
Judith Spektor
New York
Join the family! 
