What saddens me most is the defeatism and desperation casinos represent for the city

Editor:

In response to "Meet Your New Neighbor," Philadelphia Citypaper, Jan. 7, 2009:

Beyond the usual (but very significant) woes of addiction, crime, noise, pollution, corruption, congestion etc. associated with casinos, what most saddens me about the possibility of bringing casinos to Philly is the defeatism and desperation that it represents. It's hard to imagine (at least for me) a more profoundly uncreative and unproductive solution to budget deficits, diminishing tourism, or lack of jobs. Why can't we at least try to invest in constructive, profitable industries and businesses — more grocery stores, for example, or public transit projects — rather than black holes of vice? Does anyone in the city, excepting those with a financial interest in them, actually WANT these casinos? Do our politicians (Nutter especially) not recall what happened to Atlantic City, as a city, when the casinos came? Is that what we want for Philly?

Sin taxing – e.g. increasing taxes on cigarettes — is never a sustainable, productive solution. And plunking down casinos in Philly (America's "Next Great City" — anyone remember that?) will not accomplish anything except depressing the city's psyche and casting a dark shadow over the city's real cultural offerings. Maybe in years to come I'll be proved wrong, but I don't see New York, Chicago or Boston resorting to this "solution" — why should Philly have to?

Marc E. Keller
Society Hill, Phila.