THE EDITOR, Sir:
CASINO GAMBLING is not a sustainable or potent option for our country at this time. In fact it is another source through which our problems will be further compounded; it will also be a stimulant for the factors which have placed us in this economic position.
Casinos will dramatically widen the gap between the rich and the poor, and add more volume to the phrase 'the two Jamaicas'. Gambling is an exploiter of the poor and their circumstances; and a valve through which the rich can waste their abundant wealth through a reckless addictive desire instead of being encouraged to use it for productive purposes.
This also extends to our tourism dollar; as the money spent by tourists is channelled towards casinos rather than the communities and the wider country. We need to get our priorities straight and market our country accordingly.
The economic benefits of casinos are clear and widely expressed with great conviction; however, these benefits will come at a great social cost. Casinos are a gamble of an option which the government cannot afford at this point in time.
We continue to, through our priorities and policies, sell our souls, like cheap prostitutes, looking for a quick fix to our national economic situation; instead of stimulating values and attitudes which will empower us to endure and take a hold of our destinies characterised by long-term sustainable forms of economic development and growth.
I am, etc.,
MARK B.F. PIKE
xtraboy2001@hotmail.com
Head Boy, DeCarteret College
62 Ward Avenue, Mandeville, Manchester
