Columnist: PA gambling a bust

Daniel R. Reynolds, writing in The Philadelphia Inquirer, says that after five years in operation, Pennsylvania's much-ballyhooed gambling venture has turned out to be a bust.

"Expanding gaming in Pennsylvania is simply an additional de facto tax - on top of the state lottery implemented many years ago," Reynolds writes.

Gov. Ed Rendell's promises of substantial property tax relief have never materialized, Reynolds says.

From Reynold's column:

There is work to be done on the issue of taxation in Pennsylvania, but it is not the work that Rendell, Fumo, and their brethren in Harrisburg have done - and that, in the end, can benefit only casino operators. Lawmakers must lead for the good of the entire public, not just a segment of it, and abolish the property tax as a means of funding public education in Pennsylvania.

The residential property tax is a regressive tax - that is, it taxes poor people at higher rates than it does rich people. Because of their lower property values, poor communities are forced to implement higher property taxes to raise enough money to fund their schools. And communities with high property values can afford to keep their property taxes lower.

Read the full column at the newspaper's Web site.