Strickland’s Plan Not as Feasible as it Originally Seemed

Let’s put aside the problems that people in the state have with bringing in slot machines altogether. It is common knowledge that the people of Ohio voted down the slot machines and did not want them in their state, and then their government went ahead and voted them in anyway without asking the people. There are a lot of upset residents in the state, and rightfully so. However, the government says that these same people don’t want to see their taxes raised or programs and education cut – so where are they supposed to get the money to fund them?
 
Putting all of that aside, let’s look at Governor Ted Strickland’s real plan. There are many who think that not only has he overinflated the amount of money that they will bring in, but they say that he is not even really close to what they can expect the slot machines to bring in.
 
The governor says that the slot machines are going to bring in $65 million for the licenses – but some experts say that this is not really feasible. They say that in this economy most people are not going to want to pay that without a guaranteed return, which they feel the state cannot give them. Then there is the opposite end of the spectrum that says he is not charging enough for the licenses. They say that to get slot machines there are companies that will pay as much as $150 million – so who is right?
 
Then there is the fact that the governor originally said that the lottery would bring in $73 million per year for the schools. However, it only raised $13 million in the first six months and then almost a quarter of the businesses that offered the Keno game got rid of it. There are experts to every which way you look at the slot machine issue, but there are too many questions that have been left unanswered for the comfort of many residents.

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