From the time I used to be a young person, I’ve spent my total life working in a Queens-based two-generation household enterprise which grew right into a market chief within the retail digital amusement, music, tobacco, and ATM business. In giant measure, New York State’s insurance policies are in charge for a way this cottage business along with quite a few small companies like mine are drying up, disappearing. Going again to 1975 there have been some 300 enterprises in our business with a presence within the larger New York tri-state area. Right this moment there are fifty. A number of hundred individuals proceed to earn their livelihoods right here.
A lot of the tools our companies positioned on New York’s streets was manufactured in America. Right this moment, most of it’s imported from China, South Korea, or Taiwan!
Our jukebox music and amusements was once positioned in diners, espresso retailers, and pizzerias. Attributable to authorities insurance policies, the economics of this enterprise not make sense for these areas. The bulwark of our enterprise has all the time has been in bars, golf equipment, and leisure facilities. Our presence in these areas supplies a significant monetary enhance to those enterprise house owners—lots of whom are struggling themselves to remain open. New York’s authorities officers are strangling our companies by imposing unreasonable, troublesome legal guidelines and rules. In the meantime, the federal government unfairly subsidizes and encourages our rivals.
For instance, whereas it has been decided that tobacco is a well being hazard, for many years this a part of our business with cigarette machines employed tons of of individuals with respectable jobs. Authorities earned important tax revenues right here. When New York’s authorities crippled this authorized enterprise—the unlawful tobacco gross sales which proceed to flourish have value New York as a lot as $1 billion a 12 months in tax income.
Examine this with the New York authorities’s encouragement of hashish. Much like cigarettes and cigars, there are main considerations over the well being and security of utilizing hashish. But, New York has supplied taxpayer funding to a mess of hashish operations, even to individuals with prison data. And New York usually seems the opposite means, being very lenient on hashish areas that are unlawful. It’s questionable how a lot tax income New York has really been introduced in by way of this technique it has created.
Our business should compete with The New York State Lottery, which is playing leisure. New York’s Lottery has a robust, aggressive presence in most all of our areas. Our amusements and music are at a extreme aggressive drawback as a result of we can’t provide any prizes of worth.
Throughout the previous twenty years, New York has enthusiastically embraced each on line casino playing, and now on-line playing and sports activities betting. All of this has turn into a aggressive monster the place many enterprise house owners in my business are unable to manage.
With horse racing and Off-Monitor Betting, New York taxpayers have poured billions of {dollars} into subsidizing this leisure. Usually these mediums are flawed and controversial. The chances are stacked towards amusement and music house owners struggling to compete.
It might be disastrous if New York worn out our business, its staff and financial improvement—within the identify of favoring different industries! It’s time for New York State authorities officers to supply aid so our business survives: Equal monetary help, tax advantages, and enterprise lodging which it has bestowed on our rivals.
