Just as we all used to follow the form of horses – think the Great Depression and the success of Seabiscuit to see we all love a champion – the latest form book covers the race among US states to balance their budgets. Of course, everyone has been focussing onCaliforniawith Arnold Schwarzenegger leading the charge to the winning post on getting the budget signed into law. He has enough strength for arm twisting and ‘gator wrassling to bulldoze the bill through. ButPennsylvaniais just as interesting with the Governor’s office matchingCalifornia’s use of IOUs by refusing to pay funds to the four state universities. Probably someone somewhere is running a book on whichUSstate will be the first to declare itself bankrupt. These would be the front runners among an alarming number of states lacking initial prudence and the political will to raise taxes, to cut spending, or both.
Anyway, the real point of interest inPennsylvaniais the growing threat of litigation from the group of license holders who run slot machines. When the licenses were first issued, the state sold maximum exclusivity
