The transfer of wealth from workers and the middle class to the rich over the last 20 years has put an end to even the limited security many workers could expect to achieve after a lifetime in the workforce. Recent statistics point to an enormous growth of personal indebtedness as people strive to maintain their living standards by relying on credit in a variety of forms. Average household debt now equals 100 percent of disposable income, a ratio that has risen 25 percent in the past four years alone. In poorer areas the position is far worse, with families owing much more than their income. At the same time, people are inundated by advertising for a myriad of forms of gambling, all holding out the possibility of making a quick fortune.
Billboards everywhere offer wealth and excitement at the clubs, hotels and casinos.
The AHHA attempted to depict the high level of gaming machines in lower socio-economic areas as the result of free choice. There are less fine dining restaurants and art galleries in those areas because the people who live there, on the whole, don't like them. This is not surprising. The majority of people who use gaming machines would probably disagree with the subsidies to ballet and opera. The arrogance of these lines is almost breathtaking.