Would you support slot machines in your state if it meant serious revenue? From MPR News Slot machines, tax exemptions among state revenue suggestions:
DFL Representative Phyllis Kahn has introduced a different gambling related bill. She wants to allow slot machines at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.
"I have always said that gambling is a regressive tax on stupidity," Kahn said. "Well, this makes it a progressive tax on stupidity because people who have boarding passes are at a higher income level cut than people without boarding passes."
A 2004 fiscal analysis of Kahn's bill suggests the state would capture about $16 million a year from her proposal.
I wonder how gamblers, visitors, and Minnesota residents feel about that. It wouldn't be the only suggestion:
Republican Senator Dick Day said he'll propose a bill that would allow slot machines at the Canterbury Park Race track.
Combined with both parties conducting a seek&find for spending cuts...well, I really want to know what you think. Is a mixture of gambling and cuts the answer? How would that impact Minnesota's future?
***
This is an open discussion. You don't have to be from Minnesota to answer, and you're welcome to link to your related Gather articles or other online resources. Your comments may be quoted on the air or on http://minnesota.publicradio.org/your_voice/
________________
Julia Schrenkler
Interactive Producer
Minnesota Public Radio
American Public Media
Objects in Mirror
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 21
Yes I would support slot machines, as it will occupy the stupid ones time. And the state will collect the money from them.
Ohio has been addressing this issue lately; and the voters have consistently said "No;" myself included.
Gambling usually pulls money from the pockets of those who can least afford losing it; and usually leads to increases in regional crime.
Best of Luck, Minnesotans.
Putting a health impact "fee" on cigarettes isn't making cigarettes more available, nor is it creating new opportunities to smoke. Putting slot machines in venues where they didn't previously exist is creating new opportunities for gambling, as though it's an activity we, as a state and a constituency, wish to promote.
It's one thing to say that the government can't solve everyone's problems. It's quite another to say the the government should profit from the exploitation of those problems.
2. Gambling is a vice that ruins people's lives, so as long as half the people that will use it don't live here, then it's someone else's problem.
LET'S HAVE A BIG SIGN THAT SAYS! Satisfy your gambling fix so a Minnesota Democrat can satisfy their spending habit!
Why can't we just spend less? Why did we add all these new programs when times were good?
I get a variety of responses! I love it!
Plus with the way things are do you want to take more away from the ones who lost everything already!! How much more do they want to bleed the middle class and lower out of more money??? They have casinos , the hard core go there, maybe they need to make more laws where they can get more money out of the big casinos instead!!
Slot machines in airports sounds like a money-maker.
In fact, we could even make one of the slot payouts a few hits of crystal meth! That would be so awesome! That way we can hook gamblers to something else entirely... get the ol' cross-addiction thing working for the state's coffers... if those deviants are going to have weaknesses like that, who better than the State of Minnesota to exploit them! God Bless America!