Easy doesn't do it

No pain, no gain is accepted as a tenet in much of American life.
A kid who is struggling over a math problem might hear it from a parent, while an adult might hear it from a little voice inside his head when he's tempted to skip a day at the gym. Sportscasters use it all the time.
One group that you'll never hear utter that phrase, though, are the proponents of casino gambling as the answer to regional or state financial problems.
One answer fits all: They see casinos as a painless answer to the problems of low tax receipts, joblessness, economic development, substandard education -- you name it.
Gambling to them is a win-win situation. No pain, lotsa gain.
Pardon us if we're not buying in.
There is no painless way to rebuild the Mahoning Valley. There is no cheap and easy way for the state of Ohio to come up with the billions of dollars needed to bring a semblance of equity to the state's educational system.
And yet, in some quarters, casinos are seen as the linchpin of prosperity.
Build a casino in downtown Youngstown and hotels, shops and tourists with bulging wallets will follow, we're told.
Ignored is the very real prospect for corruption that a gambling enterprise brings to town (especially, we must ruefully observe, this town, given its past association with the numbers game, horse-betting parlors, floating baccarat tables and slot machines).
Ignored, too, are the increases in crime, domestic violence and personal bankruptcy that lie within the shadow of a casino.
We don't dispute that there is some enthusiasm for a casino in Youngstown, but we believe that it is misplaced enthusiasm.
One-armed bandits: Meanwhile in Columbus, some legislators are suggesting that the state could pick up hundreds of millions in income for education if only the state would allow thousands of slot machines to be installed at horse racing tracks.
Amazingly, some of the state's most "conservative" politicians are trying to ride this nag to a pain-free pay-off. Again, in their zeal for a quick buck, the slot-machine legislators are ignoring the long-range costs to the state that come with gambling.
Fortunately in Columbus, Gov. Bob Taft stands in the doorway blocking access to the casinos. He says he'll veto any attempt by the General Assembly to legalize gambling, and that threat will probably put an end to casino talk for a while. No such luck in Youngstown.