He labors at a downtown casino and has been fighting for the rights of his fellow workers for many years. Every step forward has meant two steps back. He has seen families fall apart because no matter what they do, they have a hard time surviving in sucker bet cities like Reno and Sparks. Hopelessness leads to alcoholism, cigarettes and other drug abuses. Crime by juveniles and adults becomes a predictable result.
Prisons are the fastest growing industry in the state.
Plans for a major expansion of the Washoe county jail are afoot. Though barred by federal and state rules, prisoners are replacing workers. The northeast Wisconsin employer closed two of its three plants, cut its workforce up to 40 percent and hired inmates to do the same work. All this seems to be okay as long as the victims are perceived to be black or brown. If you believe the party line of the powerful, the only answer lies in cowboy rugged individualism, harder work, more personal responsibility for your own life.