No on 3 !

------ Forwarded Message
From: Gary Weiss <gary.weiss@math.uc.edu>
Date: Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:42:48 -0500
To: Ellen Bierhorst <ellenbierhorst@lloydhouse.com>
Subject: [Fwd: [EAT-Discuss] Columbus Dispatch Editorial: No on State Issue 3]

It looks like issue 3 has some bad underpinnings-perhaps you will circulate this vote NO initiative.
I heard yes is running way ahead of No.
This info did not arise at our discussion several weeks ago.
gary

-------- Original Message --------   
 Subject:  [EAT-Discuss] Columbus Dispatch Editorial: No on State Issue 3  
 Date:  Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:22:23 -0700 (PDT)  
 From:  Michele <grinoch@yahoo.com> <mailto:grinoch@yahoo.com>   
 Reply-To:  Discourse and Discussion List for Monday Night Atheists <monday-night-atheists-discussion@dentar.com> <mailto:monday-night-atheists-discussion@dentar.com>   
 To:  monday-night-atheists-discussion@dentar.com  

I thought this was worth sharing.

Editorial: No on State Issue 3

Casino proposal would give owners lucrative monopoly; Ohioans would get leftovers

Sunday,  October 11, 2009 3:37 AM

Whether one favors or opposes legalizing casino gambling in Ohio, State Issue 3 is a horrible deal.

Whatever their attitudes toward gambling, voters should not permit self-interested companies and individuals to write their own amendments into the Ohio Constitution to create a state-sanctioned monopoly.
 
The public's elected representatives -- the governor and members of the General Assembly -- had no role in crafting the proposed amendment. There was no public debate over how to design an amendment to give Ohio the best possible deal.
 
Instead, businessmen who control Penn National Gaming Inc. and Quicken Loans Inc. drafted an amendment to deal themselves the best possible hand, including an exceptionally low tax rate of 33 percent.
 
The proposed amendment contains about 1,200 carefully chosen words to give owners maximum leverage against any competitors and to minimize oversight by local government.
 
The Ohio Constitution is no place for such detailed, self-interested amendments. If Ohioans wish to bring casino gambling to the state, the proper way would be to approve a succinct amendment granting the governor and General Assembly the authority to draft statutes, rules and regulations for such enterprises.
 
In this way, the state would retain leverage to properly license, govern and tax casinos. As times and circumstances changed, the state would be able to respond. If State Issue 3 is approved by voters, the amendment would be unalterable by any action of this or future governors and legislatures. Only another statewide vote could change the amendment.
 
The short, succinct approach is sound public policy. The constitution's original prohibition of lotteries was just 25 words. The 1973 amendment authorizing a state-operated lottery was about 40 words.
 
Similarly, any amendment sanctioning Las Vegas-style casino gambling in Ohio should be as short as possible. For the protection of all Ohioans, the details belong in a state statute -- not in a constitutional amendment.
Vote no on Issue 3.
 
Michele Grinoch



      

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