Long, long ago, there was no gambling in New Jersey. The issue appeared on the public ballots several times and each time, the wise people of that state - unimpressed by the promise of the revitalization of Atlantic City - voted gambling down.

One fall, scant weeks before the issue was, once again, due to appear on the ballot, members of the NJ Governor's cabinet appeared at every Senior Center in the state to say that a percentage of gambling revenue was to be earmarked for Senior Issues....if only gambling was legal. (sigh)

My goodness! Those old folks turned out in force to vote FOR Atlantic City gambling! Gambling won that election.

Within days of the election, the governor's office issued a statement saying he didn't know where his people got the idea that any of the gambling revenues would be earmarked. It would all go to the general fund.

Sound familiar, Teachers???

Regardless, more money for the state isn't a bad thing, especially when shortfalls are obvious.

Whether the use of the funds for primarily education's sake is a lie is another issue, perhaps.

I believe this discussion needs to be resolved. It will continue to come up until slots have passed. In regards to education, I agree with Stop Slots Maryland in a perfect world. I am not sure how funding education with slots has worked in other states and would like to know more. I voted for O'Malley, but I know that MSTA never would have backed slots under Ehrlich!

If gambling created good schools, you'd have good schools in states like Nevada, Mississippi, and West Virginia. But you don't. What you do have is high rates of bankruptcy, suicide, divorce, and high school drop outs. The MSTA folded to intense pressure--extortion, really--from Mike Miller. This whole exercise is nothing but special interests getting their way through the miracle of campaign dollars. Hopefully voters will see through this.

Yeah, the whole "we're doing it for your kids" routine doesn't fly. They pulled it in New York to get the lottery back, and the money was never earmarked. It went into the general fund, and schools were told, "Hey, if it wasn't for the lottery, you'd be looking at funding cuts right now." Snakes, all around.

I can tell you that I've personally spoken to several of our representatives in Annapolis, specifically Senator Verna Jones, and Delegates Keith Haynes and Ruth Kirk, urging them to ensure that at least some portion of the money is specifically earmarked as being a bonus for our schools rather than as a means of filling in a gap from somewhere else.