"Imposing more limits on casinos in Michigan will reduce consumer choices, further inject government into the marketplace and eventually harm the public interest - including the potential for a casino in downtown Lansing.

Yet U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, says on his Web site (www.mikerogers.house.gov) that his "first order of business" this year is a two-year moratorium on new Indian casinos nationwide. Rogers argues the moratorium - and new federal restrictions on how tribes can open casinos - are needed in the wake of "scandals being reported in the news media today."

Presumably, this refers to the scandal around lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who took millions of dollars from tribal interests to influence government decisions. Quite troubling.

However, Abramoff's work was designed to limit casino competition. He got his tribal funds in battles over closing or blocking tribal casinos. The problem isn't with more casinos, but rather with the political interventions from Capitol Hill - interventions pushed by existing casinos worried about competition."

Get the Story:
Casinos: Rogers' moratorium bid pushes regulatory needle the wrong way (The Lansing State Journal 1/12)