Government Has Come To Town; they are now in the business of establishing Gambling Casinos – Big Time.
The Mob been pushed aside.
This development is a relatively recent one since not that long ago gambling was a highly illegal activity. And, this recent trend does not limit itself to Ontario but it is here that I would like to direct my focus.
Our Provincial Government is in the process of shuddering Para Mutual Horse Racing and replacing it with Big Casinos – slots, tables and all.
There is big money in it, as the Mob can attest.
I personally find government’s action repulsive since it plays on one of man’s many addictions; it leaves many gamblers broken, families destitute and too often, leads to suicide. All for the almighty dollar.
Simply stated, Government has no business raising money on the backs of human frailty. Full Stop.
And this dear reader applies to the excessive taxes on things like alcohol and cigarettes.
Government is for all the people and all the people should contribute equally from the same income sources - to the best of their financial ability. That is to say, from income tax, value added tax, capital gains and the like. Just because one likes oranges and another apples – is no excuse for the government to tax oranges higher than apples. It is simply discriminatory and in the case of gambling, it is also amoral.
As for alcohol and cigarettes, the Government plays Big Brother by saying it is taxing these items so high in order to decrease demand. Well quite frankly, Government has no business doing this – it is up to the individual (or should be up to the individual) to make up his or her own mind on what they will / will not consume.
But what is true in all these activities is the fact that Government has invaded these fields to raise money – too often to spend on frivolities – for example; green energy that creates neither sufficient energy or nor jobs. (You might well ask here – ‘why does government never find ways to reduce its spending, rather than ways to always increase it?’ - Good question.)
But it is with respect to Gambling that I have an especial distaste for government involvement.
“So Galagher, you would ban all Casinos?”
‘Well actually no, the horse is out of the barn – so to speak.’
I was listening to a call-in show the other day and the Casino issue was being discussed. Most of the callers – 80%+ were older women who just love to gamble – for the social, for the good food, for the entertainment, and yes, for the gambling. To ban casino gambling now would be most unfair to such a distinguished group of citizens and to others who can gamble without becoming addicted. So no, I would not ban them – but I would get Government out of the business.
I would treat Casinos as I would a Pizzeria – both would pay realty taxes to the City and Corporate Taxes to the Provinces and Feds etc. – but Government would no longer get a piece (%) of the action.
I would also regulate Casinos to ensure that the odds of winning tilted more in the gambler’s favour – e.g. 49% for the gambler // 51% in favour of the Casino.
I would hold Casinos responsible for reimbursing Addicted Gamblers for their losses.
Permit me to provide you with an example:
A woman friend of ours had a gambling problem – she and her husband have 2 children and he makes less than $25k per year. She is a stay at home mother. At one point she used their joint credit card to rack up over $13,000 in gambling debts. It took her poor husband over five years to pay off the debt and to do that, the kids often had to go without.
I would hold the Casino responsible for her debt – i.e. and have this lady send her chargex bill directly to the Casino at issue and demand that it pay the full amount plus outstanding interest. I would then demand that the Casino ban this addict for life from their premises.
You would not have to do that too many times before you got the attention of the gambling establishment. The Casino would soon add this cost to their overall cost of doing business. Addicts would be banned, and regular folks who could gamble and control their impulses, would be welcome.
Government – other than for regulations – would be entirely out of the picture.
As I see it….
‘K. D. Galagher’
