As the slots vote goes, so goes Maryland
By John R. Leopold
Annapolis
As noted in John Wagner’s incisive and comprehensive coverage of the slots zoning legislation in Anne Arundel County [“Arundel council postpones vote on slots proposal,” Metro, Dec. 9], the entire state of Maryland has a stake in the vote by the County Council that would permit the Arundel Mills slots parlor to move forward.
The consequences of this vote cannot be overstated. About $355 million in annual revenue for the state to spend on education and much-needed direct support for Maryland’s horse industry is on the line. Anne Arundel County’s fiscal welfare and our ability to preserve and enhance our quality of life lies in the balance.
As stated aptly in supportive testimony from the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, the county simply cannot reject a source of future revenue when we are “facing multimillion-dollar shortfalls in the foreseeable future and a deteriorating commercial tax base.”
The writer, a Republican, is the Anne Arundel County executive.
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washingtonpost.com editors
| December 11, 2009; 5:00 AM ET
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So we have to make more money for the state in Maryland?
How about some taxes.
That works.
Or should we scam people out of their rent money in a "casino" shopping mall?
How about legal drugs next?
Or legal prostitution with a tax on it - like a Big Sandwich tax?
Or Murder for hire for a fee - all by the state?
Money is the prize.
Then let us get creative!!
We can have a fee for oxygen for the elderly.
That ought to pay the salary of our County executives. Perhaps even give her a bonus.