Saturday, March 15, 2014

A MODEST proposal: Why doesn’t the NEW YORK STATE SENATE get behind opening WHORE HOUSES “at International Airport Departure Terminals located within a city of a million or more...” – You know – They would be located at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, just like the proposed on-line gaming parlors

Since the NYS Senate now thinks that tapping the vices of travelers is a good way to cover holes in the NYS budget, whore houses at the airports should be a BRILLIANT addition to the plan

Does the NY State Senate’s latest budget gimmick to open computer gaming casinos at New York City’s two airports tie into anything being done by State Senator Golden’s Select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship ?



Maybe, if you were paying attention, you first heard or read about the possible connection of Golden’s “Select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship” with expanded computer gambling in New York State right here on this blog back in November....

According to Newsday, “The state Senate is betting visitors to John F. Kennedy International Airport will want to take their chances on playing video slots while waiting for their flights.
The innovative budget proposal would provide the state about $40 million a year, a Senate spokesman said Saturday....” (See “State Senate favors video slots at JFK” by Michael Ghormley, 3/15/14, Newsday
[http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/state-senate-favors-video-slots-at-jfk-1.7403078; also at michael.gormley@newsday.com]).  Based on Mr. Ghormley’s report in Newsday today, the budget proposal that came out of the NYS Senate would make video slots available to JFK visitors through their iPads ( according to the Senate's Republican conference, there would be no actual machines in the airport; and in an aim to block gamblers from descending on the airport solely to play the virtual one-armed bandits, those video slots would be accessed only beyond the airport's gates in the departure terminals). A similar article that appeared in yesterday’s NY Post; and in that article it was observed that “...the state Senate quietly inserted a provision in its state budget plan to allow slot machines at Kennedy Airport....  The provision is buried in the Senate’s budget resolution, which says it wants to ‘allow VLTs [Video Lottery Terminals or slots] at International Airport Departure Terminals located within a city of a million or more’.” ( See “Slot machines could be coming to JFK” by Carl Campanile, 3/14/14, NY Post  [http://nypost.com/2014/03/14/slot-machines-could-be-coming-to-jfk/]).

For those with a taste for such things, the entire cynical thought process about airport computer gaming is laid out in a single article that appeared in the NY Daily News back in October, 2013 (See “A far safer bet: Slots at our airports  –  Get more money out of tourists without spreading casinos all over the state” by Anthony Figliola, 10/25/13,  NYDaily News [http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/safer-bet-slots-airports-article-1.1495919]). What makes that article and those proposals even more interesting is how they dovetailed with what State Senator Martin Golden was talking about at around that time (See e.g. “New York looking to lure video game developers to the state...” by  Rick Moriarty, 10/23/14 [http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/10/new_york_looking_to_lure_video_game_developers_to_the_state.html; also  rmoriarty@syracuse.com; and  rmoriarty@syracuse.com]). As I suggested around that time, Senator Golden’s focusing on the development of “computer games” was oddly looking at the “hole and not the donut” when there was an immediate windfall in “computer gambling” right there to be plucked right out of the air ( See “BACKFILL: THE "DON'T MIX UP YOUR DONUTS AND HOLES" EDITION” by Galewyn Massey, 11/18/14  comment to my earlier 11/18/13 post “Is State Senator Golden now also Herr Doktor Professor, Il Dottore di Ricerca and a throw-back to TV’s ‘Mister Wizard’ ? — OR, is this all a send-up like Bob and Ray’s ‘Mister Science’ ” [http://galewynmassey.blogspot.com/2013/11/is-state-senator-golden-herr-doktor.html]). Well, maybe State Senator Marty was looking at the donut the whole time and the chit-chat about computer games development was nothing more than a nifty head-fake.

The real problem is that any state that cantilevers its budgets on vice-based financing schemes like airport computer gaming is adopting the economics and fiscal practices of the caudillos who ran various “Banana Republics” back in the good old days  —   does anybody  remember the earlier scenes in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” with the hawking of the lotteries ?  Any debate about the wisdom of embarking upon such fiscal gimmickery needs to look into the downside. There have been a number of reasons given to pass various types of gambling in New York over the years: initially to save the horse racing industry (OTB), then it was the jobs and economic development for Indian Tribes and then for failing race tracks. The same debate has been repeated in state after state  across the country  —  “Any revenue the state might gain from casinos and slot machines will be negated by the crime, addiction and social costs associated with expanded gambling...”  And eventually,  the state will become addicted to the revenue and then seek to approve more and more gambling venues.  Once we are into foreign airport travelers’ gambling at Kennedy and La Guardia, how can we keep it from inter- and  intra-state travelers at those airports or from all such travelers moving through Westchester County, MacArthur, and Stewart, etc., etc., etc.....

So since the Republicans in the NY State Senate have decided to take this solid step in the direction of vice and licentiousness  –  in for a penny, in for a pound  –  let’s have them open some brothels along with their airport video gaming parlors  –  where such “airport whore houses” will only “victimize” overseas travelers, many of whom are probably going on their trips just to get laid anyway.









8 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's been downhill for this blog since you ate the shrimps at Golden's party. Are you feeling okay J?

Galewyn Massey said...

My stomach remains unsettled....

Anonymous said...

Let me get thi straight. Slot machines at Airports means the Port Authority will be running a casino.
Havent we learned anything from Bridgegate?

Galewyn Massey said...

The PA has put out the orange cones and is doing some sort of a traffic study that's been delaying the attempts at getting airport computer gaming.

This looks like an attempt to go around the PA, that's why only NYS/NYC airports have been mentioned in the NYS Senate proposal.

Galewyn Massey said...

UPDATE & BACKFILL: THE “DOESN’T MARTY GOLDEN SOUND LIKE HE’S WITH IT — BUT HE REALLY ISN’T” EDITION

I suppose Golden’s news item below about credit and debit card security is coming from the hat he wears as the Chairman of the NYS Senate “Select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship”.... More likely, what he’s saying is coming THROUGH that or one of his other hats, which is what he often uses as his megaphone when it comes to “communicating” with or to his constituents.

Here’s most of what State Senator Marty had to say about it: “... Following Visa and Mastercard announcement Friday to work to increase security, Senator Golden calls on a all companies to install EMV in all credit and debit cards. *** Brooklyn, NY – State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C-I, Brooklyn) today is calling on all lending companies to require EMV on all credit and debit cards throughout the United States. EMV, also known as ‘chip’ would install a unique microchip on all new credit and debit cards, making identity theft significantly more difficult, as EMV gives each card an individual marker. *** In recent days, there has been an uptick in credit card and bank fraud in southern Brooklyn, affecting many residents in the Senator’s district. These thefts have lasting effects, leaving many with little to no money for weeks on end and months of fighting fraudulent charges, depending on the lender. *** “The technology is readily available to protect credit and debit card users from being so easily targeted and scammed,” said Senator Golden. “Europe has been implementing this technology for years, and it has been an effective means to help prevent monetary and identity theft. I want to thank Visa and Mastercard for being leaders in helping in the fight, and call on all lenders in the United States and in New York to implement these proven methods to help stop fraud as expeditiously as possible. The cost of doing nothing is far greater than the cost of implementing these security measures.” (See “STATE SENATOR GOLDEN CALLS FOR STRENGTHEN SECURITY FOR CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS” by State Senator Martin Golden and/or his staff, 3/11/14 [http://www.nysenate.gov/press-release/state-senator-golden-calls-strengthen-security-credit-and-debit-cards]).

Sounds good right ? WRONG ! ! ! !

Quite apart from the bad grammar and the vague meanings and usage of some of the technical terms that are mentioned in the release, the Chairman of the “Select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship” is far behind the power curve when it comes to discussing something as “technical” as EMV. First, he doesn’t tell you much of what EMV is about and/or how it is better that the current “black strip,” which is the analogous part of the current security standard on most U.S. credit and debit cards. Second, the current proposals about upgrading credit and debit card security standards now being discussed in Europe go far beyond the simple EMV technology discussed by our local State Senator in the release above.

EMV-plus is already what is employed by many EU-based credit and debit card companies; and they want to significantly upgrade the “-plus” component, even as I am commenting about this on this blog. Also, U.S. credit and debit card companies are already discussing and, in some cases implementing, the EMV system with a very weak “-plus” component, a signature (easily copied/ forged — for example, EMV plus thumb-print would be one type of EMV-plus that would be much more secure than the EMV plus signature most U.S. companies plan to adopt).

So, bottom line, Marty Golden is only calling on our credit and debit card companies to do something that is the same or even less than what they were planning to do anyway. I suppose, that’s about par for the course for our Chairman of the “Select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship.”

Anonymous said...

Does anybody in the U.S. credit card industry care what a New York State Senate backbencher has to say about any of this?

A question on the main post above: what does Golden have to say about the proposed gambling at the New York metropolitan airports?

Anonymous said...

I recall someone speaking about Marty Golden and his merry-go-round of events at the Bay Ridge Manor. Just came across this interesting article - Eaton refuses to bow down to Marty and he has a temper tantrum. Marty, grow up.

http://www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2013/50/ww-republican-spat-2013-11-15-bk_2013_50.html

Anonymous said...

>>> Now that you mention it, when you look at it (him), "Full buff... Marty Golden" sort of has two meanings for all the world to see <<<