…or — perhaps we should call this Watching the Delaware Legislature Put Their Ninny Hats On. Ginger Gibson at the News Journal documents the atrocities.
This is a completely mind-boggling recommendation by this Commission and flies in the face of the recommendations (and data gathered) by their own commissioned study:
Several lawmakers insisted that any financial harm to the existing racetracks was unacceptable, even if job losses there were compensated for with new jobs at new venues.
“I think there are some things wrong with the study,” said Rep. Clifford “Biff” Lee, R-Laurel, who is a member of the gambling commission.
Five of the six lawmakers who served on the gambling commission voted Tuesday morning to add a contradictory footnote before submitting the study to the Legislature on its first day; Lee, Senate Majority Leader Patricia Blevins, D-Elsmere, Sens. Nancy Cook, D-Kenton, Colin Bonini, R-Dover South, and Rep. Helene Keeley, D-Wilmington West.
Read that again — any financial harm to the existing racetracks was unacceptable.
This is just what Delaware needs — another protect at all costs industry. Wonder where they were when Borders and Barnes and Noble were building like crazy and pushing out independent booksellers? Or do you think that we can get these guys to weigh in on the side of local businesses when the newest Walmart comes up to be built? Probably not, because this Commission has decided that casinos are a Too Big to Fail industry for Delaware.
And even then this doesn’t quite work since adding more casinos definitely adds jobs and adds to the overall financial health of the state’s gambling industry. Any lost jobs by Dover or Harrington are basically a function of how well they can compete and I really do not see why these casinos need the protection of the state if they aren’t ready to be aggressively competitive.
Which brings me to my next point — what is up with the R’s on this committee voting against a Free Market for the gambling industry? Colin Bonini is supposed to be one of these free-market conservatives and here he is voting for protectionism. Wonder when the CRI takes him to task for betraying the cause. Yeah, that was a joke. But still there is a difference between specific business protectionism which is often short sighted and in the long run expensive for taxpayers and creating an atmosphere where an industry is welcome and able to compete. And this protectionism is going to be expensive for Delaware taxpayers. Because the next step — once the MD and PA casinos come on line — is for Dover, Harrington, Delaware Park to start lobbying this Commission and the larger Legislature for special considerations. That will take the form of givebacks on revenue sharing or some special funding to help them get more competitive. And this legislature will be back whining about jobs — jobs they plainly don’t give a damn about right now — to try to get them more money. More money that this vote by this Commission has already told you they will make sure they’ll get — because protected industries get a special place in line for taxpayer funds.
This Commission thinks that you’ll never remember their clear and abundant stupidity today. Voting to protect the currently weak from having to compete with new in-state casinos doesn’t speak well for these currently weak casinos’ capacity to compete with the upcoming out of state ones. So for all of you legislators looking to protect this industry, we are all pretty clear that the State doesn’t have the money to write the check you are writing today. I really do not want to see the State get in the business of propping up businesses that we already know are not going to survive the opening of new venues in Maryland and PA just because everyone involved in this simply could not think about long-term consequences.