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Is Ohio burning? Then play louder

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By William Hershey, Staff Writer 7:16 PM Saturday, July 4, 2009

COLUMBUS — It’s not clear from history if Emperor Nero really fiddled while ancient Rome burned.

That was a long time ago, way back in A.D. 64. According to one source the violin hadn’t been invented yet. If Nero played anything, it probably was the harp-like cithara.

Things are a little clearer over at the Statehouse here in 2009.

Ohio’s falling apart while Gov. Ted Strickland, House Democrats and Senate Republicans play games with the budget.

All that’s at stake are the fates of school children, college students, prisons, the mentally ill and abused, needy kids, hungry and homeless folks, libraries and anything else that depends on tax dollars from the state.

The deadline for passing a two-year state budget was June 30, but Strickland and lawmakers couldn’t agree.

They entered the fiscal new year with a seven-day budget. The House already has passed a second stop-gap spending plan to carry things through July 14.

The Senate probably will go along unless everybody agrees to a permanent budget first.

Meanwhile, most state programs – with the big exceptions of K-12 education, colleges, Medicaid and debt service – are getting by on 70 percent of what they got last year.

The stumbling state economy and plummeting tax revenues set the stage for this fiasco, but it has human touches.

Strickland applied one of the first on June 19 when he abruptly unveiled a proposal to raise $933 million by putting video slot machines at Ohio’s seven racetracks.

The plan was a shocker because Strickland routinely denounced expanded gambling .

Senate Republicans were aghast that Strickland – a Democrat by the way – would ask them to authorize video slots. Voters have rejected expanded gambling four times since 1990 and the senators didn’t want their fingerprints on that one. Let the voters decide, they said.

Except they’d be glad to appropriate the money if Strickland unilaterally gave the OK to slots. They said he could do that by expanding the Ohio Lottery.

Strickland said he didn’t have that authority.

He wondered about an apparent change of change of heart by Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, and six other Republican senators, including Gary Cates of West Chester.

All had voted for legislation in 2007 that approved putting video horse racing machines at the seven tracks without a vote of the people. The horse racing machines and video slots are different, Harris and friends said.

That difference had escaped Sen. Keith Faber, R-Celina, who voted against the horse machines back in 2007.

“If it looks like a slot machine, plays like a slot machine, it just might be a slot machine,” Faber said way back then.

Harris called hearings to examine the legality of Strickland’s of slots’ plan.

House Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, called hearings about drastic cuts that would occur without money from the slots.

Now we can all get citharas and learn to play as Ohio burns.

William Hershey Commentary

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I say throw a bucket of water on it and forget the whole idea.

flipper
4:52 PM, 7/6/2009

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When are the media and government going to wake up to the obvious? The lack of good-paying jobs is causing our decline. This decline will continue to accelerate until an effective plan is developed and put into place. Globalization, downsizing, outsourcing and offshoring are sealing our fate. A college education is not enough in this environment. I don't care about 5/3 Field, Riverscape or any of the other "amenities" available in this area. Where are the jobs?

Fred B
4:02 PM, 7/5/2009

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