CNN.com - Slot machines may soon be legal in Pennsylvania - Jul 4, 2004
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) -- The state House of Representatives passed and sent to the governor a bill to legalize as many as 61,000 slot machines in Pennsylvania.

As the Legislature's marathon election-year session continued early Sunday, the House also appeared likely to approve a companion measure that would eventually funnel $1 billion a year of the new gambling tax revenue into property tax cuts for homeowners.


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What does it say about the relationship between PA state government and the people of the Commonwealth that they need to fund services by licensing and taxing gambling? Seems to me there was a time when people wanted certain services from state and local governments, so they elected people who figured out how much all that would cost and set tax rates accordingly. The money came in, the books were balanced, and the next year they did it again. Now we have a situation where state and local government cannot persuade people to pay taxes for all the services government wants to provide. Either cut the services or raise taxes--but don't make up the difference between what people are willing to pay for and what government wants to do, by licensing a money-wasting, family-destroying, parasitic venture like this.