Are odds against casino gambling starting to shift?
Gov. Nathan Deal has upped the ante -- literally -- on the growing political and economic push for legal gambling in Georgia beyond the existing state lottery.
As reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Deal's stance on the issue thus far has suggested that while he personally does not favor expanded gambling in the state, he would not actively oppose it.
Now he does except, perhaps, under certain mathematically explicit conditions.
"I will make my position very clear to the members of the General Assembly," Deal told the newspaper. "And I would hope they would recognize that we have so many good things going for us in the state of Georgia. This is not something I view as positive. I do not think it improves the quality of life for our citizens. And in my opinion it has very little redeeming value."
So how might pari-mutuel and/or casino gambling possibly offer redeeming value or life-quality improvement for Georgians, in the governor's view?
He might reconsider, Deal suggested, if instead of the 12 percent tax rate gambling lobbyists have proposed, the industry puts somewhere between one-fourth and one-third of its gross revenues into education, as does the lottery.
"I don't think," he added, "we're going to see any of them take us up on the offer."
The industry's political pressure in Georgia in recent years has been intense, and getting more so. The AJC reports that at least a dozen gambling lobbyists are at work at the Capitol, and MGM Resorts International has proposed a downtown Atlanta casino investment of $1 billion that would create 3,500 jobs. (The soon-to-be-vacated site of the Braves' Turner Field has been hinted at as one possible location.)
The prospect of gambling revenue is putting dollar signs in the eyes of politicians on both sides of the Chattahoochee, as they look at an easy (for them, if not for most gamblers) way of bringing in hundreds of millions without the dreaded T-word.
As was the case with the lottery, the ultimate decision on gambling would need to be made by the voters. If there's a grassroots clamor for casinos and racetracks in Georgia, then so be it. But we hope Deal will hold firm on how much of the pot must go to the house.
Cooking the books
There are lots of reasons why health care costs are out of control. Here's one:
An audit by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services identified 18 regions in the U.S. with a suspiciously high rate of questionable Medicare billings for ambulance services. Three of those regions are in Georgia: Atlanta, Gainesville and Macon, where almost a third of Medicare-paid ambulance transports were deemed to be dubious or outright fraudulent, to the tune of almost $17 million.
Our tax dollars at work. Just not for us.
This story was originally published October 12, 2015 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Are odds against casino gambling starting to shift?."