Obama remarks threaten Las Vegas hotels

Barack Obama was recently involved in some controversy when he came out once again against Americans who enjoy visiting that exciting gaming destination in the desert, fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. The state of Nevada usually votes Republican in presidential elections, but voters in the state broke with those trends in 2008, and Obama captured its five electoral votes in this past election. Politicians usually show some appreciation to the people who helped them get elected, but Obama apparently couldn’t care less about the economy of the Silver State, and he is doing all that he can to damage it and put more Nevadans out of work.

When Obama says things like “You don’t blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you’re trying to save for college,” and “You can’t get corporate jets…you can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer’s dime,” he is taking food out of the mouths of Las Vegas (and Miami) hotel workers. The hospitality industry is Las Vegas, and a huge percentage of Nevadans rely on it for their survival. When times are hard in depressed areas around the country, many folks move to Nevada to try to find some work, and the Las Vegas hospitality industry has been a lifesaver for tens of thousands of displaced workers over the last couple of decades.

Obama is not only ungrateful and insensitive, he is also a hypocrite. When he turns up in Hawaii, another resort destination that relies on tourism for its economic survival, how does he get there? Operating Air Force One costs about $67,000 per flight hour. So when Obama and family head to Hawaii for the holidays, they are spending enough of our tax dollars on the flights alone to give 20 or more Americans $30,000 a year jobs.

Mr. Obama, the city of Las Vegas is not the problem that is making it hard for Americans to make ends meet…you, sir, and your ilk, are the problem.