Casinos Have Nothing to do with Economic growth

If I open a business that employs people, I’m "creating jobs," but does that prove that I’m helping the economy? Of course not. Economics 101 teaches that the question is not "Do people work here?" but rather "Does this activity contribute to economic growth?" And current economic research clearly suggests that casinos do not help the economy.'' Casinos create employment, but its employees create nothing of value which is what economic growth is all about. The reason isn’t hard to understand. What expands the economy is producing things of value, and casinos produce nothing of value. If I open a doughnut stand, I’m producing doughnuts. If I build a tire factory, I’m producing tires. The only thing a casino produces is people losing their money. The economic impact is similar to throwing your money on the street so that someone else can pick it up — it’s redistributing wealth without creating more of it. But it gets worse, because what casinos do isn’t neutral, either ethically or economically. Casinos prey upon people’s weaknesses to separate them from their money. Slot machines and other casino games are forms of fraud, similar to loan-sharking, false advertising and price-gouging. Economists have much to say about the economic impact of businesses that cheat and exploit people, and it’s the opposite of what the casino lobby says. If I start a loan-sharking business in your town, it’s true that I’m "creating jobs." I’m also creating jobs if I open a brothel or turn an abandoned building into a crack house. But would any of this help the economy? Of course not. Such activities typically drag a community down, economically and in other ways. Bad ethics usually lead to bad economic outcomes. In the ultimate analysis, a country where its few rich minority get richer, and the poor majority are getting poorer is a not country that is enjoying economic growth or prosperity, but the growth of economic perversity and stupidity... Poch Suzara Twitter# Facebook# Google#