This Blog will discuss politics, government, corruption, police, S.I.U., courts, education, min. of attorney general, min. of labour, v.o.i.c.e. and other current and past events of interest to concerned citizens. In the "About me" section to the right and down I have included the names of persons whom I have tremendous respect for. Their influence on me however has been primarily environmental (and personal) and this is therefore a disclaimer that all words posted on this Blog/Website are mine and I alone am responsible for them. I say this with the greatest respect and affection to my friends.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

OLG SLOTS & CASINO COMING TO WOOLWICH TWP?



Boy am I ever struggling with this one. I've long recognized gambling as a sin denounced by some religious groups as well as many others. The argument in Woolwich Township just north of Waterloo, Ontario is that this issue should not be a moral issue but simply a business, financial one. Seriously I don't think that is the case as the money flowing into these casinos is in theory discretionary income being spent on entertainment. If true then people are spending less on movies, books, theatre, clothing, bowling etc. and simply transferring it to the casinos. If true then casinos will simply compete, probably well, with other areas of entertainment. One of the problems is the folks who spend money beyond their discretionary income. Quite frankly for decades I've always considered things like government sponsered lottery tickets as merely a tax on the stupid. The odds of winning are horrific and yet people spend money week in and week out on them. Personally I don't view casinos as money making ventures for anyone but the casinos and or government.

Getting back to the moral issues. The local Mennonite tradition in Woolwich Township is certainly against the typical sins of drinking and gambling. Yours truly has long enjoyed a cold beer especially after a squash game. At the same time I am fully aware that a certain segment of the population are alcoholics and there is no safe level of alcohol for them. Should alcohol and gambling be banned because there are certain citizens who become addicted? Should one and not the other be banned? There is a certain hypocrisy in my gut feeling that slots and casinos should not be in communities while I'm just dandy having the odd cold beer. Yours truly even worked a few years back in a domicillary hostel which was home to recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. There is another issue. Many drugs are horrific, physically and phsycologically. Other drugs are less addictive and harmful than tobacco and alcohol. Governments have absolutely no problem with alcohol, tobacco and gambling and make billions off them.

Politically Woolwich Township can see the money coming in to help balance their budget and take pressure off of constantly rising taxes. Personally I don't like the idea but to date I don't feel as if I have any debate ending, game changing data or facts to trump the arguments of the pro side. This issue was divisive more than a decade ago in Woolwich Township and I expect it will continue so.
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1 comment:

  1. MVans16March 22, 2013 at 9:10 AM

    I know that your post is several weeks old but I just discovered it now. I would agree with you that there is a long discrepancy between our government policies and what may be good and bad. The legalization of tobacco and the criminalization of marijuana is a long story that could have come out either way depending on the lobbyists at the time.

    I oppose the casino project on the grounds that I don't believe that it is sustainable development. Basing your economic structure on gambling is not viable long term. The only way to increase that revenue is to build more casinos. I have created a facebook page opposing the casino development (noWRcasino.com). I think this will be a very hot topic in our region in the coming months/years.

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