Future Of Casinos

Back in the day when casinos were coming to the Mississippi Coast I wrote a piece about the Law of Diminishing Returns to argue against an unlimited amount of casinos….it seems that they were building casinos to have something to do……..

Law of Diminishing Returns simply put is if there is a finite amount of casino revenue, say $10 million, then the more casinos there are the more diluted the revenue will be…..now with the slowdown of the economy the casinos have suffered the same fate……when the bill passed the state legislature the deal was that the tax revenue would be used to sure up the sagging education system……well we stilkl have one of the worse systems around and the funds found there way into the “general fund”…….

But could the casino become a burden on the state?  Under normal conditions they should not……but there is nothing usual about the Mississippi gaming system……what could be a possible result of a casino failure?

Well, let’s look at Delaware, shall we………

Lawmakers appear ready to support Gov. Jack Markell’s plan to use $8 million from higher-than-expected state tax collections to bail out the state’s casino industry. But it’s not clear if the state aid will forestall layoffs threatened by casinos that have seen revenues plummet from intense regional competition.Sen. Robert Venables, who chairs the General Assembly’s join Bond Bill committee, said Tuesday $8 million is “better than nothing” for the industry, which has pleaded with lawmakers and the governor in recent weeks for help to reduce its tax burden.

If the proposal makes it into the final draft of the Bond Bill, tied in with hundreds of millions in school and infrastructure spending, it’s likely to pass the General Assembly without debate.

Now how is that?  An industry that makes obscene profits could get a government bailout…….could this be the future of the failing casinos of the Gulf Coast?

New Ideas Of State Reps

I got this email recently from the Progressive States Network and thought I would pass it along to the readers….some of the ideas are pretty good and innovative and some are just dumb….

Job Creation Opportunities During a Recession

Kauffman Foundation – The Economic Future Just Happened
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation – 2008 State New Economy Index
Kauffman Foundation – Better, Faster, Cheaper: The New Bootstrap Job Creator”

State Venture Capital Funds

National Governors Association – State Strategies to Promote Angel Investment for Economic Growth
NASVF – U.S. State-Supported Venture Capital Funds

Encourage Technology Transfer and Commercialization

Pennsylvania Economy League – A Continuing Record of Achievement: The Economic Impact of Ben Franklin Technology Partners 2002-2006
U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration – Construction Grants Program Impact Assessment Report
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation – 2008 State New Economy Index
Batelle and the Association of University Research Parks – Characteristics and Trends in North American Research Parks

Strengthen Industry Partnerships & Clusters

Keystone Research Center – Pennsylvania’s Industry Partnership Strategy
Steel Valley Authority (SVA) – Early Warning and Layoff Aversio
Seattle Foundation and SkillUp Washington –  Creating Stronger Workforce Partnerships In Manufacturing
National Fund for Workforce Solutions – The Principles of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions and Their Implications for Public Policy
National Governors Association – Cluster-Based Strategies for Growing State Economies

State government needs all the help it can get….but unfortunately politics is NOT always the best for the state…just the individuals that play the game……

SB 2288–Speculator’s Dream

There are times when the state legislature does something that is a blatant disregard of the people it represents and SB2288 is such bill….which states:

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF A COUNTY AND/OR THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES OF A MUNICIPALITY TO GRANT A PARTIAL AD VALOREM TAX EXEMPTION FOR AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY THAT IS BEING CONVERTED TO A RESIDENTIAL USE IN AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE DIFFERENCE IN THE ASSESSED VALUE OF THE PROPERTY FOR AGRICULTURAL USE AND THE ASSESSED VALUE OF THE PROPERTY FOR RESIDENTIAL USE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE EXEMPTION SHALL END WHEN THE PROPERTY IS OCCUPIED BY A HOMEOWNER; TO PROVIDE THE MANNER IN WHICH A REQUEST FOR SUCH EXEMPTION MUST BE MADE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

This appears to be a boon for the purpose of land speculation….

A case could be made that land speculation is the cause of almost every major recession/depression that has occurred whether nationwide or statewide…..The 19th century economist Henry George describes it:

That land speculation is the true cause of industrial depression is, in the United States, clearly evident. In each period of industrial activity land values have steadily risen, culminating in speculation which carried them up in great jumps. This has been invariably followed by a partial cessation of production, and its correlative, a cessation of effective demand (dull trade), generally accompanied by a commercial crash; and then has succeeded a period of comparative stagnation, during which the equilibrium has been again slowly established, and the same round been run again. This relation is observable throughout the civilized world. Periods of industrial activity always culminate in a speculative advance of land values, followed by symptoms of checked production, generally shown at first by cessation of demand from the newer countries, where the advance in land values has been greatest.

This bill is just another attempt to help the land speculators while depriving the state of much needed tax revenue…in these days any reduction in revenue can only lead to a cut in needed services….

Once again, the state legislation is dealing the people of the state a bad hand, just as they do every session…the people need to stop sleeping through the day and wake up politically…they are paying these people to do nothing but screw them at every session….

Communities Of Color

I will bet that you are about to read me the riot act over the title, right?

I am referring to a bill before the state legislature, HB 148—which states:

AN ACT TO CREATE THE “MISSISSIPPI COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR TEEN PREGNANCY PREVENTION ACT OF 2010”; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO DEVELOP CERTAIN PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES PROMOTING PREGNANCY PREVENTION AND PROVIDING INFORMATION ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF UNPROTECTED, UNINFORMED AND UNDERAGE SEXUAL ACTIVITY; TO AMEND SECTION 41-79-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

Don’t you just love these guys and gals?

It seems that the state is worried about teen pregnancies in the “Communities of Color”….not this is a total racist thing…they seem to be implying that only teens of color are getting pregnant….why do we not go visit a trailer park and count for ourselves…..

You know a lot of this BS could be solved by actually teaching sex ed in the classroom….but that collapses every session and every session they try it again…it has turned into this perverted little game…..

But to put the term, “communities of color” is just plain and outright moronic….if this is truly non-racial then I suggest a better title for this Act…..

Whose Idea Is It?

We all have heard the stories of how the state is suffering from this recession….that the revenues of the state are reaching record lows….sad to say we are not alone…..all states are suffering from the same problems in their budgets….but I will focus on Mississippi…..

I keep bring up that fact that the state’s revenue comes from the imposition of taxes….without taxes there is NO services that the state is required to offer the people…..and yet every time the legislature meets there is some that want, including the governor, to cut taxes, almost ALL taxes…..do they NOT see what that does for their budgets…..or is it they do not care and need the cuts to pad their political resumes for their next campaign?  IMO, it is the latter!

Property taxes?  And sales taxes?  You do realize that this is the most important tax?  Why?  The collection of property taxes is one of the chief sources of revenue for state and local government and then the collection of state sales tax……and now the new legislative session has a couple of bills before it:

First there is SB 2288 which states:

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF A COUNTY AND/OR THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES OF A MUNICIPALITY TO GRANT A PARTIAL AD VALOREM TAX EXEMPTION FOR AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY THAT IS BEING CONVERTED TO A RESIDENTIAL USE

And then there is HB 4 which states:

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 27-65-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REDUCE THE SALES TAX RATE ON RETAIL SALES OF MOTORCYCLES FROM SEVEN PERCENT TO FIVE PERCENT;

Just those two bills would decrease the amount of revenue that is coming in…,…state legislators will have to deal with the budget shortfalls by cutting the services and programs that it funds….you have that right?……first, programs for the poor and disadvantage will suffer, i.e.  Medicaid and then once that sector is officially killed they will move to such other programs as educational and so forth……all that is just fine for some but they have NOT looked at it realistic……once all the other programs have been cut to the bone and there is still a shortfall then cuts will be made to programs that effect the white people the most….like fire and police….and then the voice of the people will be heard at least if the politicians want to be re-elected……

But will the people finally realize that to keep cutting taxes is NOT the way to fund programs that benefit ALL Mississippians?

To answer my own question….maybe finally the people of Mississippi will be open to the idea of land value taxation (LVT)…….this could go a long way to solving ALL of Mississippi’s financial problems….it is worth a look…so why waste time BS-ing the people and find the cure…it is there just grow a set of cajones and try it…..it could not be as bad as the crap you put us through yearly…..Just a thought…..

Mississippi’s Legislative Session–2010

The guys and gals have returned to work in Jackson and that means the good, the bad and the ugly are far as bills go….I will be watching and ranting on the ones that hit me the most and then at the end of the session I will do my annual posts…..The Good….The Bad…..The Ugly….my analysis of bills and their effects on Mississippi….

As usual the Legislature will spend much time commending people and such…….it has started and now the rest of the session will be an exercise in futility….all it will do is pad some politicians resume for use in his/her re-election campaign……looks good…sounds good….but is NEVER intended on passage…..

look for bills on sex ed….radar for sheriff…..schools…..obesity……Medicaid….the usual suspects….

When Will Mississippians Ever Learn?–Part 2

As the second part of my look at Mississippi’s representation in Washington—this post will be about my Rep in the House….Gene Taylor…….

In the past Rep. Taylor’s record has been pretty good as far as the middle class goes…..

2003-B, 2004–C, 2005–C, 2006–C, 2007–C, 2008–A and for 2009 he has gotten a 68% approval rating….let us look at where is NO votes have been inb the past year……

He has vote NO on these bills–

Wall Street Accountability & Consumer Protection

Affordable Health Care Act

Jobs For Main Street Act

Clean Energy & Security Act

Helping Families Save Their Homes Act

American Recovery & Reinvestment Act

There are the biggies for 2009……read the list again and read it carefully……(pause here for reflection)…..are you a Mississippian that has no job or is losing your house or cannot afford health care….if so, tell me just where is Taylor actually doing your bidding Washington?

Once again Mississippians have been lead by the Bible down a road of ruin….they have a LONG history of voting for the worst person to represent them….will they ever change?  Not a chance!