Posted on 02/07/2003 1:38:32 PM PST by Koblenz
HARTFORD -- A Connecticut state lawmaker has a new plan to raise money for the state. He wants to install toll booths at the state's casinos.
Livvy Floren, a Democrat from Greenwich, believes the plan would raise $200 million for the state. Customers leaving Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Casino would be charged $10.
Many people in the area say the plan asks for too much.
Cliff Goyette\Ledyard: "The tribe already gives them more money than anyone does. So why give them any more?"
Greg Moran\Preston: "It's definitely an extreme. I definitely think the tolls should come back. But $10, that's quite a bit."
Mohegan tribal chairman Mark Brown says the proposal has little backing in southeastern Connecticut. Some state lawmakers believe tolls would only lead to traffic problems in the area.
I think that practically, having a toll booth on people LEAVING a casino is probably not the best idea. Regardless of what you think about this tax, most people that gamble at indian casinos probably aren't the best financial planners around. I would venture to say that more than a few people might not leave a casino until they were fresh out of funds. Making it rather difficult to pay the toll.
Aside from the practical considerations, there's the issue of another tax, and the issue of taxing just one business, albeit one that gets special treatment anyway, as only members of that tribe can have a casino.
CT has so many taxes, and the Democrat legislature is adding all these new taxes so they can rehire all the folks who were fired from the state government by the governor (about 2800 folks). They said that while a factory lays people off when the times are bad, the state still must do all its business. Revenue never was mentioned. Anyway, the state democrats are totally beholden to the unions, and they're nuts. Unfortunately, the RINO Governor doesn't have much of a backbone, but he does have a bit of something...
I would love to see people stay away from the casinos and the state actually lose money.
A car-pool or bus load would have little downside cost per person though.
People are going there to throw their money away, so why not make the toll $25.
SS. I wonder how much that would be?
God save us from politicians.........must be the dumbest class of people on the face of the earth.
I-95 no longer has toll booths, nor does the Merritt Parkway. First, I-95 has about 1 exit per mile the entire length, so you can't have tickets at the entrances and payments on the exits. So every 15 miles or so, you'd have to pay a toll. Well, about 15 years or so, a trucker fell asleep at the wheel and didn't hit his brakes when he went through the toll booths, killing about six people. That was the final event that caused the state to remove the booths.
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