Got to love the spin coming from Mass. Governor Deval Patrick’s administration in favor of his plans to legalize casino gambling (via Squaring the Boston Globe):
From today’s Boston Globe casino story:
“Gambling and other forms of entertainment associated with resort casinos can also provide social benefits associated with increased social stimulation and reduction of isolation,” particularly among the elderly, [Health and Human Services Secretary Judy Ann Bigby] said.
Anyone who has watched seniors hypnotically feed quarter and nickel slots can testify to the truth content here.
In software marketing they say, “It’s not a bug; it’s a feature!” We can apply this to other initiatives. For example, think of all the benefits of the brutal genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region: Many fewer mouths to feed, after all.
It’s ironic that the Health and Human Services secretary sees the benefits of senior citizens gambling away their fixed incomes and financial safety nets as a net plus.
Is there any doubt that if Patrick were a Republican proposing legalized gambling, the Democrats would be citing the overwhelming social problems brought on by legalized gambling? They would trot out those very same senior citizens as victims of soulless corporations and Republican greed and the Boston Globe would run articles bemoaning the effects on the downtrodden of society, the poor and minorities and elderly.
Unfortunately, all too often politics is just another word for hypocrisy.
I’m only 20 and I’ve seen gambling destroy people’s lives as they lose their homes…why can’t others see this is a bad idea? We are putting profits before people.