July 15-21, 2004

slant

Crapping Out

Odds are that Ed Rendell's slot machines will hurt Philadelphia.

by Alexandria Moyer

Ed Rendell was pro-gambling when he was mayor, but it wasn't until he became governor that he used the issue as a budgetary trump card. According to Rendell, gambling will remedy every funding woe facing the state with tidal waves of cash. Every schoolchild will get a first-rate education. Well, one good enough to pass a standardized test, that is. Every senior citizen will get all prescriptions filled without going into hock and see a significant reduction in real estate tax. That's a good thing, because they'll need the extra money to pump into the slots.

For a long while, nothing was growing in Philadelphia. But then, Rendell showed up, and, like some sweaty urban farmer, he cultivated the land. Green sprouted in the form of big-ticket hotels and million-dollar homes in Center City, Society Hill and along Delaware Avenue. Neighborhoods such as Old City and Mt. Airy rose from the compost pile and became desirable places to live. Broad Street was landscaped with brick crosswalks, new lampposts and an unscaffolded City Hall. The Republicans staged their dog-and-pony show here in 2000, and Philadelphia got some long-overdue national attention. Rendell even tried the Mummers on Market Street, and anyone who tampers with the Mummers — especially a non-Mummer — has guts.

Through it all, Philadelphia wasn't looking to be reinvented, just to become a better version of itself. Mayor Rendell seemed to understand that difference, and Philadelphians appreciated it. So, when he said he wanted to be governor, we had a lot to do with his getting to Harrisburg. We're loyal that way, God bless us. Maybe we can forgive one little oversight — like the Mummers — but when Rendell starts rotating in crops of slot palaces and racinos, we probably won't be so free with our absolution. The governor assures us that his gambling plan won't be illicit, but being illicit is what makes gambling so much fun in the first place. Even compulsive gamblers cop to an inherent seediness of gambling that can't be legislated or regulated into submission. This is not about the moral implications of gambling, not yet anyway. Open any window you want and throw your money out if you think that's fun. I actually do think it's fun, once in a while, but not in Philadelphia. While Rendell's mayoral goal was to beat back urban blight, gambling ensures a bumper crop of it while bringing extreme aesthetic implications for a cityscape.

Think about the dichotomy: the commanding presence of the Kimmel Center or the quiet dignity of the Academy of Music — and there's a casino next door. Kids pouring off a bus into the impressive Constitution Center or crowding around the Liberty Bell — and there's a casino next door. Tourists coming to see how a country starts to form an identity at Independence Hall — and there's a casino next door. The million-dollar condos in Society Hill, the kitschy high-rent lofts in Old City, the luxury high-rises in Center City — and there's a casino next door.

Those self-proclaimed problem-solvers in Harrisburg and City Hall say, "Oh no, we won't allow gambling in those neighborhoods.' Well, what neighborhoods then? North Philly? West Philly? Should poor neighborhoods that don't have any political clout be grateful for any economic crumb that gets dropped on them? Once greed takes root — and you can count on that happening — gambling will spread like stubborn thistle that's too thorny to yank out.

Our governor can spin this anyway he wants, but in the final payout, exceptions will be made, rules will be broken and laws will be changed. Whatever it takes to keep the payola in bloom is what we'll be told is good for us — but it's really only about what's good for them. Politicians and their wealthy benefactors plow over anyone — children, elderly, sick, poor — and anything to keep their power and money. Legalized gambling in Pennsylvania will not stay marginalized. All the piggies will make sure their troughs are overflowing, just like they always do. Rendell keeps trying to force us all to put on the tinted eyeglasses and see his Emerald City. Don't do it. Instead, look around and survey the jewel that is Philadelphia today and ask Rendell and his Lollypop Guild to find a better way to finance the state's needs.

Alexandria Moyer is a freelance writer who was born and raised in Philadelphia and lives in Allentown. If you would like to respond to this Slant or have one of your own (800 words), contact Brian Hickey, City Paper managing editor, 123 Chestnut St., third floor, Phila., PA 19106 or e-mail hickey@citypaper.net.