Today, the debate over VLTs (Video Lottery Terminals) at racetracks was re-packaged to be a "save the children", school-funding package.
This proves, finally, that VLTs are all about the state's bottom line, not about saving the racing industry.
I disagree with the VLTs for a number of reasons: It won't create many jobs; it is limited to a very select few existing businesses, and people who have full-blown casinos near-by will still just go to those, instead.
That said, I think it makes more sense to propose a common-sense alternative.
Let's empower both county fiscal courts and citizens (through ballot initiative) to put full-blown gambling on the ballot. The measure should include the general location of said casino, and the percent of the take the county gets, in addition to the state's take. Then people would have a choice at the ballot box.
Imagine, a casino on the banks of the Ohio River, in Covington -- officially putting the nail in the coffin that is Cincinnati. A casino in the Louisville area, to compete with the one in Indiana. A casino near Ashland to revive that city.
I know that many people in the southern end of the state don't like gambling, for religious reasons. I respect those reasons, though I disagree, and respect the community's wishes to not have a casino in their county, just as I do with alcohol.
But given the amount of money we bleed out to Indiana, and the recent blunder in Frankfort by raising alcohol taxes, we need to do something that will actually resolve our budget crisis, not just give a bone to particular special-interest groups.