Promises - easy to make and tricky to keep.
In the case of Governor Dannel Malloy, he promised throughout the legislative session that he wouldn't raise taxes. And, by his account, he didn't. (Others disagree.)
But here's a riddle. If you promise not to raise taxes, and you've cut all you say you can cut, and you STILL need money to balance the state's books, what do you do?
Answer: Keno.
Karen Buffkin works in the governor's budget office. She says Keno could bring in more than $30 million next year. But she doesn't know how many machines there will be. And she doesn't know where they'll be located -- other to say they'll probably be in restaurants and bars. She told WNPR's Colin McEnroe that it wasn't part of the governor's original budget.
Good government folks don't like the move, which happened without public input. And anti-gambling folks say it's a weak move to make money for the state off the backs of the poor. And the addicted.
We'd highlight more details of the plan. But as Colin points out, there don't appear to be any.
