Oh hell, redistribution again !

I wrote sometime ago about my belief that the Iraq War is being used as a means of redistributing wealth from the poor to the rich. I am now convinced that wealth redistribution is more ubiquitous than I initially imagined.

It was a radio article on NPR that triggered this thought. The article talked about the town of Bethlehem, PA. This town was the headquarters of the now-defunct Bethlehem Steel. At one point, 50% of the town's population worked for the company.

Now, the town is rife with crime and unemployment and is also deep in debt (300+ Million dollars in the red). And the town management came up with a solution - Casinos. I simply cannot reconcile America's pre-eminent position in the world with an economy that has to turn to gambling to turn-around "disaster areas" (New Orleans, Detroit and Bethlehem being some of them).

And then it struck me, casinos will generate some employment, but to a large extent, they are yet another means to get the poor's money and make the rich richer. Guess who is the proponent of casinos in Bethlehem ? The consortium that runs the Sands Casino in Atlantic City.

And who spends the most money in casinos chasing after an elusive dream ? The poor.