The Outstater

December 6, 2025

THE LEADERSHIP of my community is excited about a new economic boost that the mayor says is “too good to pass up.” Is it a tax break for local businesses? How about zoning reform, or more starter homes for young families? No? Reducing outdated permit requirements and regulations?

None of that. They are excited about a state-sanctioned casino. I am trying to picture the meeting with a prospective investor when he learns that our city’s most prized initiative is . . . well, a gambling house rigged against its citizen-customers in which the winnings pass through the hands of a government mafia before disappearing into the crony-capitalist ether.

But we are told this means millions for our community. We are told that by the two chief  proponents — a mayor who thinks government grocery stores are a good idea and a car dealer who has developed rent-seeking to a fine art.

But don’t worry. The shiny suits will appoint a board to distribute by formula certain of the funds, those for do-good agencies, “humanitarian” non-profits to help improve mental health and combat homelessness, addiction and “other challenges” of a gambling-friendly polity. 

This is happening at a time when mid-sized, traditional communities such as ours are becoming the coveted investment and development opportunities in the nation. And if there is a single word to describe these prospering towns and cities, it would be “virtuous” with a lower-case v, meaning communities where people meet deadlines, self-invest, work hard and aspire to jobs that support traditional families.

There are ways to signal this priceless moral resilience. Welcoming a casino is not one of them. — tcl

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