EDITOR'S LETTER: Job Daze
by Paul Doocey
September 26, 2012
“I’m
gonna raise a fuss, I’m gonna raise a holler. About workin’ all summer just to
try and earn a dollar…”
—Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran
Well, at least a young Mr. Cochran had a summer job to
complain about, which is more than can be said for many teenagers and young
adults these days.
For most American
youth, a summer job is a rite of passage, a way to be introduced into the
workplace. And for the most part, these jobs were readily available, at least
during my formative years in a Boston suburb during the early 1980s—temporary,
low-paying jobs at factories, hospitals, retail establishments, town
services—this list was truly endless.
Flash forward a few decades to the 2010s and these jobs
have largely disappeared, to the point where my nieces, growing up in the same
hometown I did, are unlikely to ever secure summer employment, at least as high
schoolers. It’s no secret where these jobs have gone; technology and
outsourcing have eliminated many, the others are being held by people glad to
work whatever jobs they can in today’s cratered economy.
But in Massachusetts at least there is a lifeline for
those seeking employment of any sort—the casino industry. Indeed, if there is
one thing casinos are good at, it is generating jobs of all shapes and sizes.
The 2011 State
of the States report issued by the American Gaming Association shows
that close to 350,000 people were directly employed by the gaming industry in
2010. In jurisdictions that allow major casino resort development—the type that
was approved by the Massachusetts Legislature last year—the gaming industry
tends to be one of the leading employers in the state. Supporters of this
casino-enabling legislation often listed job creation as one of the main reason
they pushed for gaming.
All of which makes the current lack of forward momentum
for the Massachusetts gaming industry all the more perplexing. Legislation
calls for four casino resorts spread across the state, but there remains a lack
of interest in many communities for gaming development, despite the jobs and
tax dollars such projects would provide. It looks like the gaming industry may
have to settle for development in cities such as Boston and Springfield which are
more accepting of casinos as part of the urban renewal process, which may not
necessarily be a bad thing.
But the fact that casino development still can’t find
purchase at promising sites in more affluent areas has to rankle gaming
executives. It smacks of close-minded NIMBY (not in my backyard) thinking that
the gaming industry should have outgrown by now. After all, for every negative
claim about the impact of a casino resort on a community (crime, congestion,
etc.), the industry can counter with numerous examples of commercial and tribal
resorts that are upstanding business citizens that have met and exceeded tax
revenue and job creation expectations.
Who is to blame for
this disconnect? As much as I would like to lay all the responsibility on
outside forces, I think the gaming industry has to shoulder some of the burden
here. The public relations budgets at most properties are somewhat less than
the amount of cash devoted to marketing, and as such, the reporting of good
deeds gets drowned out by promotions emphasizing fun, excitement, gambling—the
types of things likely to turn-off more conservative, home-owning community
members.
Until some sort of
balance is achieved here, those local citizens most in need of the tax dollars
and jobs from casino development will likely be on the outside looking in, and
still trying to earn a dollar.
Paul Doocey
is editor of Casino Journal magazine. He can be reached at dooceyp@bnpmedia.com.
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