NJ Giving Over $300 Million in Tax Breaks for New Casino, while cops and teachers to be laid off

[JPZenger]

http://www.app.com/article/20100319/NEWS03/100319071/Revel-casino-s-proposed-300-million-tax-break-under-review

The above article describes how New Jersey is moving forward with over $300 million of tax breaks to build another casino in Atlantic City. Morgan Stanley is behind it. (The Inquirer also reported on a second $50 million tax break for the project, bringing it up to $350 million). The legislature is also in the process of passing a law that would prevent local voters from interfering with these same tax breaks.

By the way, most of the materials for the casino would come from China.

Meanwhile, the new Republican Governor is proposing billions of dollars of cuts to colleges, public schools and municipalities that will result in large numbers of teachers, cops and firefighters being laid off. He's also letting a previous tax increase expire.

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http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20100324_Furor_over_Revel_casino_project_s_China_link.html

Excerpt:

"The planned Revel casino in Atlantic City, whose developers are seeking $300 million in state tax breaks, would be built with a "significant" amount of materials from China and could get its final piece of financing from there as well, the project's chief executive told The Inquirer in an interview. Kevin DeSanctis, the project's CEO, said it was common for major casino projects to buy materials from China. DeSanctis also said he was negotiating with Chinese banks for the final $1 billion of financing needed to get the stalled project completed.

The mega-casino already has faced criticism from labor unions who have battled Revel over hiring and from fiscal conservatives critical of giving a tax break to a casino backed by investment giant Morgan Stanley. Steven Lonegan, the New Jersey state director of Americans for Prosperity, said confirmation of Chinese investments and purchases from overseas made the potential state tax break "more of a disgrace." "Not only are we subsidizing Morgan Stanley," Lonegan said, "we are subsidizing the Chinese government."

The $2 billion project ... is working with the China State Construction Engineering Corp., a building company owned by the Chinese government. China State has a 51 percent stake in the construction management team overseeing the completion of the project."

[DebbieCDC]

1. Priorities y'know

Fatcat gamblers, drunks and johns take priority.

[Toucano]

2. It's a JOBS bill, silly!

Hookers, maids, bartenders, dealers, bouncers, food servers all gotta' work!

Remember: Jobs bill!

:sarcasm: