Well, tomorrow's the big day...the day we've been waiting for for two years. I personally cannot wait for the elections to be over and done with and for my mailbox to not be inundated with propaganda. One of the downsides of not being affiliated with one party or the other is that I am sent endless amounts of campaign postcards and fliers. Yes, people, when you contribute to one party or one campaign or another, YOU are responsible for the ridiculous amounts of wasted natural resources that I find in my mailbox everyday. If anyone cares, for the record, I have received roughly triple the amount of mailings from the Obama campaign that I have from the McCain campaign. Often, I received multiple postcards and mailings from Senator Obama's campaign on the same day. I thought the Democratic party was supposed to be the more earth-friendly of the two major parties.
Well, of course, there are also several issues on the ballot this year. Here in Ohio, we have to vote on another casino issue, a payday lending issue, and of course there are massive amounts of school levies on our ballots. I've made no secret of my long-held contempt for school levies (see March's entry "I voted today!"). I should perhaps say that I'm not against certain school levies. I am against school levies that involve mills/millage/property values/property taxes. I suppose I would be in favor of a school district income tax, because I feel that an income tax is more fair than assessing taxes on properties. The county where Mom and Dad live just went through a big scandal when the auditor's office inappropriately assessed property values and I find that to be a perfect example of why property taxes are a hideous way of funding schools. Add to that the discrepancy that occurs between school districts in high value areas versus school districts in lower value areas, and the fact that the state supreme court has ruled Ohio's school funding system unconstitutional (they ruled on this TEN YEARS AGO), and you have several reasons why I hate school levies and refuse to support them.
The school district where I work is not voting on a levy this time around, but the district in which I live is. I already voted (early voting on Saturday) and I voted against it.
I also voted no on the casino issue. Some people may be surprised by this, knowing my affinity for sitting at the poker table for extended amounts of time, but I'm sick of groups coming into Ohio and trying to set up casino gambling. Do I think Ohio should have casinos? Yes and no. Yes, I would love if I could legally sit at a poker table in Ohio and take people's money. Yes, thousands of people cross the border to gamble in the West Virginia, Detroit, and Indiana riverboat casinos. Yes, opening casinos would mean jobs for thousands of Ohioans. Yes, profits from the gambling industry could be used to fund other state projects. Yes, a casino resort could liven up the economy for an area. No, I don't think casinos are a reliable way of earning money for state projects. No, minimum wage jobs are not going to replace the thousands of high-paying union factory jobs the state has lost. No, low income people should not be spending their limited resources in a casino. Yes, people become addicted to gambling and spend more money than they should (or even more money than they have). Yes, it's possible that a casino could lead to increased crime. Yes, casinos are tainted (but only minimally so if you're playing poker).
The main reason I've repeatedly voted no on casinos issues is that it's never been on the ballot as a simple, "Should the citizens of Ohio be allowed to build casinos?" It's always been set up for specific groups, i.e. Indian tribes (please, we live in Ohio, someone please show me where I could find a pure-blood Shawnee), racetracks already in existence in the state, or other casino-owners trying to establish a foothold in Ohio. I don't like the specificity and the restrictions of the ballot initiatives. If the state is going to allow gambling, fine, but let's not only allow for certain groups or in certain areas. When I read the ballot on Saturday, it was quite plain as to the specific location that this ONE casino could be built. No, casinos should be all or nothing. Not this mamby-pamby, only one casino is this one location.
Speaking of gambling, have I mentioned the stupid keno games that Governor Strickland pushed to be put into place? Keno is for old women sitting at the buffet in Vegas. Keno is not for bars in Ohio. Keno is not going to solve the school funding issue in Ohio. Keno is a ridiculous (and practically instantaneous) way for people to waste their money. I hate keno.
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3 comments:
Out here in Siberia (aka the Eastern Shore), we voted on slot-machines. And like you, I mostly have no problem with gambling. If people are going to waste their time and money on slots, then whatever. Seriously, they should realize that the casino has the advantage with slots.
My major problem with the slot-machine issue on the ballot was, like your problem with Ohio casinos, there was a limit on where the slot-machines would be located. My county wouldn't have any, but the county next door (by the ocean) would, along with four other random counties. Huh? Why not make it state-wide? So, I voted no.
Out of curiosity, was the casino issue Native American related?
No, it was a deal giving one particular company permission to build one casino in one specific location. Which was the main reason I voted against it. If you're going to legalize gambling, make it a general legalization and let the market determine what gets built where.
I'm wondering when you're going to post your "Thoughts after the Election."
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