1 Owing to the widespread expansion of casinos, the cost of pathological and problem gambling has soared to nearly half the annual cost of drug abuse in the United States, a UI expert says in a new book.
2 The social costs of gambling, such as increased crime, lost work time, bankruptcies and financial hardships faced by the families of gambling addicts, have reached epidemic proportions, costing the economy as much as $54 billion annually, Earl L. Grinols, an Illinois economist, has written in "Gambling in America: Costs and Benefits," published this month by Cambridge University Press.
3 This compares with the estimated annual $110 billion cost of drug abuse, according to the U.S. General Accounting Office.
4 Casino gambling causes up to $289 in social costs for every $46 of economic benefit, according to Grinols: "In 2003 dollars, the cost to society of an additional pathological gambler is $10,330 based on studies performed in the mid-1990s, whereas the cost to society of an additional problem gambler is $2,945", he wrote. Accounting for the cost of raising tax dollars to cover some of these costs raises the totals to $11,304 and $3,222, respectively.
5 A former senior economic adviser to President Ronald Reagan, Grinols wrote the book because there is "a great unfulfilled need for an economist to study the costs and benefits of casinos in society and to identify which side of the ledger [is] predominant."
6 He pointed out that nearly all research on gambling consists of industry-sponsored studies ballyhooing new jobs and increased taxes.
7 His book includes economic analyses that put price tags on the inflows and outflows of gambling money.
8 On the positive side of the ledger, a casino may increase local employment and raise state and local tax revenues. In Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J. , where casinos primarily serve tourists, gambling creates regional jobs and an inflow of revenues.
9 However, in the Midwest and South, where casinos primarily attract a local clientele, gambling causes a net loss to the community. Not only do out-of-state casino operators remove gambling dollars from the local economy, but local employers and taxpayers must foot the bill of increased crime, personal bankruptcy, domestic violence, lost workdays, child abuse and other social costs from problem gamblers.
Which of the following is NOT true of Earl L. Grinols？
A．He is an American economist.
B．He works in a university.
C．He is a senior economic presidential adviser.
D．He has just published a new book.
