I did not think that I had helped to vote in "a wolf in sheep’s clothing." Now I see that
Governor Strickland has, voraciously, proposed ravenous budget cuts that will do much damage to needed
services, including library resources and the Early Learning Initiative program supporting child care,
preschool, and health screening.
His wolf-like strategies ironically include a proposal to allow 12,200 slot machines at the state’s race
tracks to raise revenue. This short-sighted strategy, one that he had previously opposed, is not a
worthwhile gamble to solve the state’s budget problems. Certainly anyone can recall that the Ohio
Lottery, lauded for its potential to fix the state’s school funding problem, has not worked out that
way.
Lotteries, slot machines, and casino gambling, like wolves, prey upon unwitting sheep who hope that their
revenues, as well as the state’s revenues, will increase. The financial outcomes will, more than likely,
become endless howls and bleating baas.
Legislators seldom do what is necessary because they worry about their jobs if they propose tax increases
that they currently believe will prolong the recession. Graduated income taxes have been shown to be
ways to increase needed revenues to maintain services; people will pay them according to their incomes,
so that those with the highest incomes pay the most and those with the lowest pay the least. It is
ironic that people will, on the one hand, help the gambling industries reap profits at their expense but
will, on the other hand, object to paying taxes to maintain necessary services.
It is very unfortunate that Governor Strickland is, sheepishly, allowing wolf-like decisions to attempt
to solve the budget crises.
Wally Pretzer
Bowling Green