The House and the Senate have passed the expanded gambling bill and it will likely be signed into law by the governor later this week.
This is the good news.
The bad news is that government experts are predicting it could take 3-5 years before we have an operating casino generating tax dollars and employing thousands of people, paying real estate taxes, giving away money to groups in the localities where they are operating and on and on.
Whether you are a casino proponent or not, you’d have to agree that 3-5 years spent getting up and running is an absurdity as well as an insult and if we want to point out what is wrong with this nation today, it is best exemplified by the time it takes from beginning to end for the projects we seek.
If Massachusetts was China, three casinos would likely be built in 100 days. Thousands would be employed. Hundreds of millions would be invested overnight. In three to four months, the Chinese casinos would be complete and spitting out huge tax revenues and contributing to local economies.
Here, we waste time – precious time – with an arcane process that takes something positive in the negative economic environment and turns it negative like the economic environment itself.
It makes no sense.
Something must be done to speed the development process or we are done for.
And that is the simple, compelling truth.