Divide and Conquer
The playground cry of "No blood...no foul" hardly applies here. There will be plenty of "blood" spilled if the raid on Harrison County's casino tax revenues goes through.
Not since John Hunt Morgan led his raiders on rampage through Corydon and points north has our neighboring county seen a more damaging incursion.
In brief: Harrison County now "earns" $23 million in tax revenues from Caesars Indiana's "riverboat" casino (a casino this county's voters turned away, by the by); these monies have enabled Harrison and its cities to improve their infrastructure and government operations in advance of the expected horde of fleeing urbanites seeking rural splendor.
No more, if legislators get their way. Under a bill that passed the House Ways and Means Committee this week, most of that money will now be distributed piecemeal to every other county in the state, whether or not those counties suffer a negative impact from the offal of the casino gambling industry.
Do the bill's sponsors think that Floyd County and its citizens will judge this to be fair? Does the fact that Floyd will get a direct infusion to replace monies disbursed previously by Harrison create a mute citizenry here?
Clark County, which had received nothing in tax revenues from the nearby casino, will now get its own allotment of $1 million if the bill passes both houses. Will Clark Countians judge this to be fair?
This Floyd Countian, for one, stands with his neighbors in crying "Foul!"
Not since John Hunt Morgan led his raiders on rampage through Corydon and points north has our neighboring county seen a more damaging incursion.
In brief: Harrison County now "earns" $23 million in tax revenues from Caesars Indiana's "riverboat" casino (a casino this county's voters turned away, by the by); these monies have enabled Harrison and its cities to improve their infrastructure and government operations in advance of the expected horde of fleeing urbanites seeking rural splendor.
No more, if legislators get their way. Under a bill that passed the House Ways and Means Committee this week, most of that money will now be distributed piecemeal to every other county in the state, whether or not those counties suffer a negative impact from the offal of the casino gambling industry.
Do the bill's sponsors think that Floyd County and its citizens will judge this to be fair? Does the fact that Floyd will get a direct infusion to replace monies disbursed previously by Harrison create a mute citizenry here?
Clark County, which had received nothing in tax revenues from the nearby casino, will now get its own allotment of $1 million if the bill passes both houses. Will Clark Countians judge this to be fair?
This Floyd Countian, for one, stands with his neighbors in crying "Foul!"
posted by All4Word at 4:30 AM
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