Fed: Casinos enrich Harrisburg, owners; might not help Philly
"Too early to tell" if casinos are good for their host PA communities, says a Federal Reserve report
"The principal objective of legalizing casinos in Pennsylvania appears to have been that of creating new sources of state revenue," and to prop up the horse-racing industry. That's working, so far, says scholar Alan Mallach, in a report published today by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Read it here.
But "if the objective was to foster economic growth and revitalization in economically distressed areas of the state, it is still to early to tell," he adds.
What about the jobs? "While the construction of the casinos will create substantial construction employment," other development at the same riverfront sites might have created more jobs -- and casino jobs tend to be "low-wage jobs," Mallach notes.
Don't casinos just suck cash from nearby neighborhoods? While "it is unlikely that many people from outside the region will make special trips to Philadelphia in order to gamble," it's also true that Philadelphians who are already blowing their wallets on out-of-town casinos will now start "spending at home money that they previously spent in Atlantic City."