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#1
08-31-2006, 03:55 PM
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This Upsets Me, What About You?
Today I was listening to a local talk radio station. They had someone on who is from the Learn and Earn Program, which is a group that is helping spearhead the ballot in the upcoming election to allow slots at Ohio Racetracks. She started out talking about our two local tracks, of course those are Beulah Park and Scioto Downs. Beulah is privately owned and Scioto is now owned by Mountaineer Gaming, they purchased Scioto I believe 2 years ago. She talked about the 200 Million dollars in improvements the owner and management of Beulah plan to put in place. Those include a nice hotel, covered parking and of course some nice restaurants. She did not go into detail about the improvements at Scioto, but did give mention, thank goodness, to the improvement in purses for the Horsemen. On to what upsets me.
A good portion of the revenue they will be receiving from slots will be going to a program so that many a college student will not have to pay tuition. She mentioned an example of how they would like to see in the future a 4 year students tuition expense at least cut in half. She then went on about how too many college graduates are forced to live almost in poverty as they stuggle to pay their college loans. Now, what upsets me is this.............. Since when are we, the Ohio Taxpayers, responsible for footing the bill for all these college students? Granted, not everyone plays the slots but I cant help but think that they will be dipping into other gambling revenue as well, i.e. Horse Racing. even if they don't dip into the Horse Racing money pool, why should the slot revenue go to what ultimately is the college students and parents responsibility? Welcome to life in the real world. Maybe your parents should have thought twice before buying that $200,000 home they could not afford. Maybe they should not have driven those brand new SUV's and Toyota Camry's they could hardly afford. Maybe you should have thought twice before you bought little Johnny that $15,000 Mustang when he turned 16. That $15,000 would put a great dent in that tuition. I know there are under privaledged kids out there who bust their tail thru school who are in a home life where the parents can't afford to put them in college. I agree that they deserve some help. But for me to think that their is a program out there that wants to help EVERY single college student with revenue from slots, that burns me. That is not the slot players responsibilty. That is not the taxpayers responsibility. That is not the Horse Players responsibility. That is the parents and college students. Maybe once that college student graduates and has to think about paying on that loan, maybe instead of going out and buying a new car and getting married and having two kids that they could go out and buy a nice used car for a thousand or two and live in a modest apartment paying on that loan. Not too mention not having any kids till they are financially sound. But no, the public is going to help carry that burden. Anybody feel what I am trying to convey here? 
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#2
08-31-2006, 04:29 PM
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Don't Steal - The Gubment Hates The Competition
I think you are trying to say socialism sucks.
The long and short of it is. Without a promise to help out "education" they get no slots. However, promising to do good with the new tax revenue is not the same as actually doing good with it. Here in the People's Republic of Illinois. They promised to put the money from the State lottery to education. It does go to education. They just stopped taking the money form the general fund. Net gain zero. That's sorta the way the United Way does their bit. I can ask that all the money I would donate go to the Boy Scouts and NOT to Planned Parenthood. So they take the amount I gave to the Boy Scouts and subtract other money that was going to them.. and then give that money to Planned Parenthood. I think that getting slots will help Buelah. The purses will go up, the quality of the races will go up and the Twins can get even more attention.
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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ Last edited by AeWingnut : 08-31-2006 at 04:38 PM.
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#3
08-31-2006, 04:30 PM
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Ummm NO..I completely disagree with your opinion.
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#4
08-31-2006, 04:48 PM
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#5
08-31-2006, 05:07 PM
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Here in NY, millions are made on people that buy "scratch off" tickets and lottery. The money raised is supposed to go towards education. Yeah, right. I still get a huge school tax bill. Seems to me that the people that take chances (gamblers) are the "suckers" that get exploited. Sorry, but the "powers that be" use whatever they can to raise revenue. We are easy. Should the state fund free college education to everyone? I don't think so. I commuted so that I could get my bachelors, then commuted some more for my masters. Did anyone pay my way? No. I worked a job after classes, worked summers, and lived on hot dogs and macaroni. I set my goals and worked hard to reach them. Taking money from gamblers is bogus. I agree that the gamblers of Ohio aren't being treated fairly. Do those that receive the funding appreciate it? Your guess is as good as mine. DTS
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#6
08-31-2006, 05:16 PM
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i'm not a fan of socialism, i guess you could say this is somewhat socialistic....but anything that gets more kids a degree is a good thing. so whatever bad may outweigh the good. problem is, any time funds are found for education in one spot, they generally take it away elsewhere. so education never gets ahead. don't want to pay for a kids college? i guess you could choose not to play the slots. besides, she said she'd 'like to see' it paid. not a done deal. i wouldn't get worked up over something that might not even occur.
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Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all. Abraham Lincoln
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#7
08-31-2006, 05:18 PM
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I think I'm with wayne here...we have the same lottery percentage in VT that goes to education and yet my school tax is still 2.38/100$. At 30 I am still looking down the barrel of 10 more years of student loan payments. While in school I worked a near 40 hour work week and basically went without. My parents did not contribute to my education after the first year of school. Like wayne, I think it is completely within reason to expect that people can do for themselves... Also in VT they are initiating a scholarship program, that forgives tuition provided that students remain in the state upon graduation to prevent "brain drain" that occurs often around here due to the high cost of living and limited job opportunities. I don't think you guys are getting a good deal .
__________________
 Seek respect, not attention.
Last edited by paisjpq : 08-31-2006 at 05:21 PM.
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#8
08-31-2006, 05:18 PM
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Man, I hate slot machines and see no evidence they're good for horse racing. Does anyone really believe the horses running at Mountaineer (or CharlesTown or whereever) are better than they were 25 years ago? The top guys at Mountaineer go to Chicago and Kentucky and get a bunch of nickel claimers by claim or purchase and they win at the Mount right away.
I lump the lottery in with slot machines. Does anyone see any improvement in their schools due to lottery proceeds? No, the money just goes in the general fund, no matter what the pols tell you. The dirty little secret about slot machines and the lottery are that they are huge tax revenues gained from the spending of low-income people. They should know better, but they don't.
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#9
08-31-2006, 05:25 PM
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Pais and S2S,
You both said what I was trying to say, only you both said it better. Thanks. Ain't no free ride. Bettors take it on the chin all the time. We're much more available. DTS
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#10
08-31-2006, 05:26 PM
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STS so true as well about Mountaineer and their purse structure and the Horse Stock.
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#11
08-31-2006, 05:29 PM
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I am not bitter per say, just to clarify. I am very proud of what I achieved during my college years, very proud.
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#13
08-31-2006, 05:34 PM
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__________________
Seek respect, not attention.
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#14
08-31-2006, 05:34 PM
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#15
08-31-2006, 05:42 PM
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I'm not sure I agree with you on that. Having educated people benefits us all. K-12 education is expensive, but considering the alternative (ignorance) and the costs to maintain it, I'm in favor of education. As far as college education, seems to me that if you earn it, you appreciate it more. It worked that way for me. Looking for "hand-outs" via fleecing the gambling public might gain some points with the ones that share the church pews, but I don't think it's the way to go. So, let's fund the public schools and support higher education through Pell, and other scholarship programs. No "free rides". If they want it, they'll earn it, and pay back later. We'll all win that way. DTS
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#16
08-31-2006, 06:02 PM
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The poor will always get their freebies, education included. But a small fee for education would still be the best bargain anyone will ever get. Around here people buy elementary students cell phones, designer clothes, and all the electronic garbage a kid could ever want. They have cable and HBO and take atleast one vacation a year. They keep up with the Joneses when it comes to houses and vehicles. Most eat out four or five nights a week.
But if you tried to charge them $100 a year per student, they'd scream bloody murder. I'm just saying it's time we pulled our weight and get our priorities in order.
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#17
08-31-2006, 06:09 PM
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I agree with you on that. Seems to me that if those folks can afford all that, they should be able to afford the other. Priorities do need to be put in order...and not on the backs of the gaming public. Heck, we tax payers already pay for baby food and juice through the WIC program, right? It's time to leave the horse bettors alone. DTS
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#18
08-31-2006, 06:19 PM
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I see people buying scratch offs and lottery tickets every day. You can even go on Ohio Lottery's website (google it and see) and they tell you how much money was taken in on the Pick 3, Pick 4 etc.. Where is all this money going? Is the appropriate % going to the schools? Meanwhile folks are getting taxed by their respective school district like crazy every year. Especially property taxes in some areas. What is going on?
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#19
08-31-2006, 06:22 PM
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Did you know that Cuba's, yes Cuba's, college education is free for everyone? Yet, the United States is the richest country in the world. The federal government has cut down on half the money used for Pell Grants and other aids for college students recently. Do you know why? Because, it has been estimated by the time that these wars (the War on Terror, on Afganistan, and on Iraq) are over with they are going to end up costing a total of 2 trillion dollars. Do you know the good things we could do with two trillion dollars? We could have helped the victims of Katrina, or got the homeless off the streets, or had free health coverage for all...
The United States government, as a whole, doesn't value education at all. Yet, education does run this country. I want you all to think where we would be without those people who have graduated from college. No doctors, no nurses, no scientists, no stock brokers, no computer technicians...etc. Well, we're certainly headed in that direction because it is becomming harder and harder to get an education. Look at the overwhelming shortage of nurses for example. Tuition is rising and federal aid programs are being completely cut or drastically reduced. Without education, we would not be industrialized. Therefore, we would most likely be under the rule of a dictator. We are living in the jungle folks. Yes, the jungle. These are "dangerous and challenging times". It's called capitalism, and it is going to be what inevitably destroys us; "everyone looking out for themselves" and "everone in competition with one another." There is no sense of community here. "It's do onto others before they do onto you" or "looking out for number one." When Americans' tax money goes into giving others a so-called "free ride" that benefits society as a whole, they get angry. We should be helping others, not trying to beat them. The way we are living now reminds me of Thomas Hobb's "state of nature" theory, only more civil. Members of a society are "killing" and "hurting" the other members of that same society financially. This empire, like all great empires, will inevitably fall too. Quite frankly, I would much rather my tax money be spent on education than going to wars that we can't win. You can't FORCE democracy upon another country! Just look at Iraq. Hussein was a terrible person and a tyrant indeed, but he controlled those people over there. It wasn't in chaotic ruins like it is now. You didn't have bombs killing hundreds and thousands of people . A firm dictatorship was the only thing that worked for them. The reason that democracy won't be established in Iraq is because some of the people don't want it as they have displayed by planting explosive devices in churches and on streets. How do you beat suicide bombers? Also, Iraq is not industrialized and is in economic ruins. It has been proven time and time again throughout history, that democracy can't and won't be established until the largest class of people are the middle class in terms of economic standing. Therefore, education, wealth, cars, radios, and businesses must first be well established throughout the people. Iraq will only become a democracy when it is ready too, not because the White House thinks that it can force it. Yes, I would rather my money go to the homeless, or to those who risk there lives serving our country, or the widows and children of those who lost their lives serving this country, or to natural disaster aid programs than into the pockets of greedy Congressmen that said, "Iraq needs democracy!" Yeah, right. I have a message to the White House, "Not very many Americans are buying into that anymore." Wouldn't having more people who were college educated benefit society as a whole? It's just something to think about. Last edited by kentuckyrosesinmay : 08-31-2006 at 06:48 PM.
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#20
08-31-2006, 06:36 PM
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Jessica--I completely agree with your opinion here and your point is well made.
You should post it under it's own thread as I am sure it would invoke the ire of one bold B.
__________________
Seek respect, not attention.
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