OUR OPINION: Who Benefits From A Second Casino?

You do and we do and all Philadelphians do!

No matter how slow or how busy the play, we will all share in a reduction of property taxes which are sure to rise dramatically by this time next year.

That’s why State Rep. Rosita Youngblood fought hard to retrieve the ball from others and throw it back into play, insuring Philadelphians did not lose the opportunity to have developers present Harrisburg with plans for a second casino. Others had tried to undo what the General Assembly decided, when it approved two casinos for this city.

We just don’t understand the mentality of the editorial staff that now speaks for both the Inquirer and Daily News. In every way and on every other day, they are downplaying the tax help available from a second casino – no matter how busy that casino becomes – and building up a group of antis, so-called residents and businesspersons opposed to Bart Blatstein’s plan to bring new life to the newspapers’ historic old headquarters.

Should the Blatstein plan become a reality, more winners will come out of the old Inkie building than the ever-streaming trend of losers who have tried to shape the thinking of Philadelphians for generations.

Looking at their product these days, we can see why potential investors shy away from investing in an obvious losing proposition. Today’s two dailies don’t reflect the days when the old Inkie, the Bulletin, the Record and the Public Ledger were this city’s jewels. An extra casino in this city will prove to be an attraction to tourists; will give Philadelphians an opportunity to visit one or the other; will motivate patrons with a change of pace; will create more needed employment; and will spur further development along the lower North Philadelphia corridor.

To top it off, this brake on property-tax increases will really be sweet.

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