Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's vow this week to quash any attempts at expanded gambling in the state - including a new electronic horse-race betting scheme at the tracks - is welcome news to Ohioans concerned about the corrosive creep of glitzy "gaming opportunities."
In particular, he called for a stop to cash payouts from gambling machines, whether they're deemed to be games of skill or chance. Strickland and Attorney General Marc Dann cited some solid reasons for the proposed bans:
Voters have rejected proposals to expand gambling, and the state shouldn't allow operators to "circumvent the will of the voters."
No argument on those points. But still, I'd hold the applause after reading the other rationale Strickland floated, almost as an aside: The new machines are starting to eat into state lottery profits. Bingo! So to speak. It doesn't take too much of a cynic to see the real, not-so-noble motivation here - protecting state government from those who would muscle in and threaten its monopoly on the misery market. Ohio is protecting its turf through the statutory equivalent of breaking a few kneecaps - and rescuing us from the likes of "Tic-Tac-Fruit."
If Strickland were really that serious about following the voters' will and promoting Ohioans' well-being, he'd push to end the lottery altogether. After all, it never delivered as promised (listen to the school-funding debate lately?), and it amounts to a regressive tax that takes a disproportionate toll on lower-income Ohioans.
The state persists in the sorry business of making suckers out of what are very often its poorest citizens. Now that's immoral. Is it too much to ask that government come by its revenue honestly and honorably?
In particular, he called for a stop to cash payouts from gambling machines, whether they're deemed to be games of skill or chance. Strickland and Attorney General Marc Dann cited some solid reasons for the proposed bans:
Voters have rejected proposals to expand gambling, and the state shouldn't allow operators to "circumvent the will of the voters."
No argument on those points. But still, I'd hold the applause after reading the other rationale Strickland floated, almost as an aside: The new machines are starting to eat into state lottery profits. Bingo! So to speak. It doesn't take too much of a cynic to see the real, not-so-noble motivation here - protecting state government from those who would muscle in and threaten its monopoly on the misery market. Ohio is protecting its turf through the statutory equivalent of breaking a few kneecaps - and rescuing us from the likes of "Tic-Tac-Fruit."
If Strickland were really that serious about following the voters' will and promoting Ohioans' well-being, he'd push to end the lottery altogether. After all, it never delivered as promised (listen to the school-funding debate lately?), and it amounts to a regressive tax that takes a disproportionate toll on lower-income Ohioans.
The state persists in the sorry business of making suckers out of what are very often its poorest citizens. Now that's immoral. Is it too much to ask that government come by its revenue honestly and honorably?
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