[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01-2pNCZiNk[/youtube]
Great letter to the editor about the Iowa Casino;
In his My Voice column in the Sept. 21 Argus Leader about the casino being built in Larchwood, Iowa, James Abourezk claimed:
• Seventy-two percent of visitors to the casino will come from South Dakota. What percent of Iowans come to Sioux Falls to shop and for how many years?
• South Dakotans will spend more than $55 million each year. With the current unemployment rate and no new jobs in Sioux Falls or South Dakota, how can millions of dollars be spent in Iowa?
• South Dakota will lose $18 million in video lottery revenue a year. Not every video lottery player in South Dakota will go to Larchwood instead. The estimate is unfounded.
• The casino will hire 679 employees from South Dakota, driving up wages for South Dakota businesses. If the mayor of Sioux Falls and the governor of South Dakota got on the stick and secured more employers in South Dakota, there wouldn’t be a problem. The creation of more than 600 jobs in Iowa only will help our residents get off unemployment and be productive citizens again.
• Iowa has a Buy Iowa First Policy. Why shouldn’t Iowa contractors have preference? The casino is in their state.
• Under the federal Indian gaming law, Native American tribes can open casinos off their reservations. Tribal casinos do not pay South Dakota sales tax. Does this exemption apply when the casino is off the reservation? Why should a Sioux Falls casino have to be tribally owned?
• The puritan ethics of Sioux Falls restricts the number of video lottery establishments in the city. What would move the City Council to approve a full-fledged casino.
• We should not get a bee in our bonnet over this casino. Its developers had to get permits and voter approval, and they have private investors in this venture.
• Don’t make an enemy of our neighboring state. See how the total picture unfolds. Do not create a war with Iowa.