I'm no apologist for casino gambling (never been much into it myself) but consider this. New Orleans' economy is (was) based on primarily two things--the port and tourism. Taxing the port is somewhat regulated since there are issues about levies on interstate commerce and international tariffs...I'm not sure NOLA had a lot of leeway to tax there. As for tourism, you can only raise taxes so high before you begin collecting less revenue. I don't know a lot about the NOLA or LA-state budgets so I can't say with certainty that they couldn't raise them some, but I question whether there was all that much room to move them up. Plus, the casinos were something of a draw for the tourists. Yes, people did come down to see Mardi Gras and the Jazz Fest, but the casinos helped bring them the rest of the year. And helped lure in the conventions and trade shows. You can't just "raise taxes" without first growing the tax base.kurt said:
As for Mississippi's economy, it's just like Lousiana's but without the port or the tourism.
Fiscal responsibility? Well....this is Louisiana and Mississippi were talking about. :laughing1 (No flames, natives...I'm from there, too)
Again, I'm not a big fan of casinos myself, but I can understand why state governments find them attractive.
