Political Quotes

“I cannot believe the White House is planning to provide the gambling industry in the gulf region with special tax breaks as part of their economic recovery package. This is a disgrace. In the wake of devastation left by Hurricane Katrina, taxpayer dollars should be helping these, indeed, the poor and the vulnerable. In today's Washington Post, White House officials are quoted as saying they do not plan to exclude the gambling interests from receiving tax breaks. In Mississippi, the gambling interests do not even receive special economic development tax breaks. I am outraged. And probably more telling is the shock coming from the industry itself. A Harrah's spokesman in this morning's Post is quoted as saying, ``We're actually scratching our heads. We can't ever remember an instance of being offered a tax credit, ever!'' Economists in Mississippi say it is not needed. ``The casinos don't need this. If they are eligible, that would be a complete waste of money,'' from an economist from Ole Miss in The Washington Post today. It is outrageous with budget deficits growing to historic levels, tax breaks for the gambling industry does not make sense. The Bush administration, I will tell you, if this is in their package, this will be a disgrace and the American people will turn against this administration. Give the money to the poor, the needy, the vulnerable, and not to the gambling interests that already have special insurance policies for this. ____________________”