Letters: Would a Nittany Mall casino be worth it?; No defense for today’s Republicans

Would a Nittany Mall casino be worth it?

In 2017, Gov. Wolf expanded gambling in the state of Pennsylvania, citing the need for increased revenue. Since then, Pennsylvania gambling revenues have skyrocketed to record levels, and on Jan. 5 the CDT’s front page story was titled “Wolf heads into last budget season with flush state coffers.”

Nevertheless, the land-based casino market in Pennsylvania is already saturated and the opening of four additional land-based casinos during the past two years contributed only a tiny portion of the increased overall gambling revenues. The new land-based casinos primarily cannibalized business from their competitors and they significantly reduced the average revenue that is generated by Pennsylvania’s casinos on a per-casino basis.

Interestingly, during this same time period, a rise in gambling addiction also began to emerge.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) is considering whether to approve or deny the license for another new casino at the Nittany Mall. As the PGCB is weighing its decision, they should consider whether the small amount of additional tax revenue that a new land-based casino in State College might generate is worth the increase in gambling addiction, that it would come at a time when even Gov. Wolf is saying that the state already has more than enough money on hand.

To provide feedback to the PGCB before they vote on the license for the Nittany Mall casino, please send your e-mail to boardclerk@pa.gov and include “Nittany Mall Casino” in the title of your message.

No defense for today’s GOP

The Republican Party has ceased to exist as a serious political party. It has no policy or plans to combat the climate change crisis that may kill much of the human population. It lies about COVID, resulting in the needless deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent, but ignorant, Americans. It supports an insurrection in our capital which barely missed hanging Mike Pence and subverts our democracy. It favors supporting the wealthy at a time when the wealthy pay almost nothing in taxes and own most of the Republican Congress. Simply bought and paid for. If you are a Republican, you are responsible for this. The U.S. is now a second-rate country in every aspect of life — health, infrastructure, poverty, carbon emissions, life expectancy, care for children, rich-poor gap, infant mortality rate, educational attainment, and so forth. Based on Republican policies, we have done more to harm the ozone layer than any other country with only 4% of the world’s population. Republicans say “Make America Great Again” but have virtually no plans or policies that might do so. Rather, they hope to rule with a minority of ignorant voters through gerrymandering and suppressing votes. Are you a Republican? Please write to defend your support of this rogue party. Defend your support of a career criminal who has run this country into the ground.

PA’s education funding structure is just plain wrong

Pennsylvania’s education funding structure is inadequate and inequitable. Students who need the most get the least, simply because of their ZIP code.

Currently Pennsylvania only contributes 38% of the dollars that are spent on education in the state (which ranks us 44th in the nation). As a result, school districts are over-reliant on local property taxes, which shortchanges students in low-wealth districts.

The current funding structure also drives inequities. In 2016, Pennsylvania passed a bipartisan fair funding formula — created to ensure that every school district receives funding based on student and community needs. Unfortunately, the fair funding formula has not been fully implemented. While 51% of all students receive less than what the fair funding formula says they should, 78% of Black students and 82% of Latinx students receive less.

State lawmakers are currently attempting to defend the current system of education funding in a landmark court case. What has been laid bare by this lawsuit is that they don’t even see a problem with the status quo. They are content to let some students have access to quality education experiences while others do without.

This is plain wrong — and unconstitutional. Every student deserves a good, adequately funded public education.