SHOW THEM THE MONEY!

From yesterday’s edition of The Cincinnati Enquirer:

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Ted Strickland reversed his longstanding opposition to gambling Friday, saying Ohio should add electronic slot machines at the state’s seven horse tracks, including River Downs in Anderson Township and Lebanon Raceway in Warren County.  "This is the best course of action to meet our balanced budget obligations,’’ he said at a Statehouse news conference.  "If the economy was robust, I probably would not have made this decision.”

Let us not feel a need to opine about the perceived oppressive perils of organized gambling.  (Although if I see one more very large, older man or woman, wheeled up to the slots, even on oxygen, inserting their last best hope into the machine’s narrow, eternal black hole, the temptation to utilize sarcasm will certainly increase.)

Yet the question remains:  does money trump principle? 

Strickland has long been opposed to gambling, but the economy is tough.  Government funds are limited, and budget cuts are painful.  Face it, friends, each of us works diligently to avoid that which is painful, and no elected official - Democrat or Republican from any state or federal body - likes to eliminate funding for a voting bloc currently favorably disposed toward the decision-making bureaucrat.  That could be personally painful come November.

Yet wisdom is arguably in question if money is the motivating factor.  Let me go a step further... when else has money been the motivator for our government?  When has the motivation for enacting legislation been money - but, knowing a discerning public would note the hypocrisy, when have our elected officials articulated noble principles that they instead hid behind?

Was there any such motive behind the bank bailout?  The auto maker bailout?  Any of the previous sanctions applied to Iraq?  Or do I dare ask, are they contemplating any such motive in regard to a healthcare overhaul?  Remember that current debated proposals establish the federal government as an insurance provider, and requiring insurance may be mandatory. 

Is the real reason our federal government is contemplating taxing soft drinks and those popular energy drinks not because they are bad for us, but rather, because it is an excellent source to obtain income?

At least Governor Strickland was honest with the citizens of Ohio, acknowledging his underlying motives.  The greater concern is when the true motives are not acknowledged.

Think that never happens?

Interesting.

AR