Hershey: Will Ohio burn as its leaders fiddle?

Gov. Ted Strickland's plan to raise $933 million with slot machines in Ohio racetracks has been under heavy criticism from Republicans and anti-gambling forces. File photo

SKIP PETERSON/STAFF Gov. Ted Strickland's plan to raise $933 million with slot machines in Ohio racetracks has been under heavy criticism from Republicans and anti-gambling forces. File photo

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By William Hershey, Staff Writer 8:32 PM Saturday, July 4, 2009

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 when the city went up in flames. If Nero played anything, it probably was the harp-like cithara.

Things are a little clearer over at the Statehouse here in 2009, also A.D.

Ohio’s falling apart while Gov. Ted Strickland, House Democrats and Senate Republicans play tit for tat.

That’s not a new game; it’s played frequently for political advantage.

This time it revolves around the state 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 temporary seven-day budget. The House already has passed a second stop-gap spending plan that would 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. His plan lacked details.

The plan was a shocker because Strickland had been denouncing expanded gambling about as frequently as he bad-mouthed raising taxes. Committing the tax-raising sin contributed to Strickland’s re-election defeat back in 1994 when he was a U.S. House member.

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 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 his colleagues 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.

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

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

Maybe everybody should get citharas and learn how to play together before Ohio burns.

Contact this reporter  at (614) 224-1608 or  whershey@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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Lets look at recent Budget History. 1) Ohio Law requires Governor, House and Senate to submit a Balanced Budget. Strickland proposed a budget, which spent rainy day fund, all Stimusus monies and still had $3 billion debt. With no way to pay after one-time funds were used. Dem controled House passed same budget. Only GOP Senate followed law and made custs necessary to balance budget without debts. House and Governor don't like cuts so they blame GOP. Democrats are tax and spend party.

L Berry
10:30 AM, 7/5/2009

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Without serious economic development planning and implementation, it will be a generation or more before Ohio recovers. Look to North Carolina- they put in place a visionary economic development plan for the Research Triangle. This area is a beacon of progress.
We need ALL our leaders to get on board, get the economy going and stop this nonsensical partisan political posturing. The stakes are too high to keep up this nonsense.
My compliments on the article and thanks!

Nancy
11:45 PM, 7/4/2009

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