HOOKED ON WAGES OF SIN

It seems Liberal policy making, both federal and provincial, is largely
driven by whatever way the wind is blowing on any particular day.

Do the two levels of government ever actually talk to each other about how
their policies will mesh? The evidence suggests they do not. Take the
province-wide smoking ban, which Health Minister George Smitherman said
yesterday is on its way and will be comprehensive.

The feds, at the same time, are decriminalizing the possession of
marijuana. So it's okay to smoke marijuana but not tobacco? How does that work?

The Ontario Medical Association keeps telling us that it's not so much
nicotine as the dirty delivery system -- smoking -- that kills. At least
the nicotine cancer sticks are filter-tipped, while roll-your-own joints
are not.

(I won't even go into the outrageous bid by Toronto Coun. Howard Moscoe to
end the tax-free status for legion halls if they allow members to smoke.
What kind of city is this? Any lout can smoke dope but veterans in the
confines of a private club can't smoke a legal product without bringing the
wrath of government down on their heads?)

Tough Legislation

Not just that. The province is bringing in tough legislation that will
allow hydro utilities to cut off electricity to homes if they suspect they
are being used as marijuana grow houses.

Okay, I understand grow houses are a massive problem, but whatever happened
to being innocent until proven guilty? We do still have due process in this
country, don't we? If some homes are racking up big hydro bills, why not
perform the same kind of police investigation that happens for every other
crime? Since when did we hand over policing to electricity utilities?

It used to be that suspicious activity was investigated by the police. If
the activity was criminal, charges were laid -- and at that point, the
police might request that the electricity be turned off. Apparently not any
more.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for cutting out smoking -- both tobacco and
marijuana. And I'm all for shutting down grow houses. But as long as our
federal government is sending the message to young people that possession
of small amounts of pot is A-OK, you can expect grow-ops to keep growing
like weeds.

Meanwhile, it seems to me that once upon a time governments balanced their
books by tailoring programs to fit the level of taxation voters found
acceptable. Some time ago, that premise was thrown out the window.
Governments have become increasingly dependent on gambling revenues -- most
recently from casinos -- to balance the books.

You can argue that gambling is voluntary -- sort of a surtax on the
foolish, if you will. But the fact is that gambling addiction is so real
and so pervasive that the province recently dedicated $37 million to help
people whose addiction to it is out of control. A recent study showed that
35% of gambling revenues come from the 5% of the population that is
addicted. That means a lot of families suffer hardships because one or more
members are stuffing their paycheques into one-armed bandits.

"There is no doubt about it, we have come to rely on gambling revenues,"
Premier Dalton McGuinty said yesterday.

"Perhaps in a better world we wouldn't, but the fact of the matter is it's
here, it's here to stay," McGuinty said.

Addicted to Revenues

So there you have it. The provincial government is addicted to gambling
revenues. And both it and the feds are addicted to tobacco taxes --
otherwise, they'd simply cut the hypocrisy and outlaw smoking completely.

And how long do you think it will be before the feds, having decriminalized
marijuana, look for a way to tax its use? And how long after that will it
take for the province to decide they'll sell it from government outlets --
our own MCBO? Which brings us to booze, the other sin tax the province
couldn't do without.

Instead of the good management and prudent budgeting we had a couple of
decades ago, we now have hypocritical governments at all levels desperately
looking for revenues to pay for their wild overspending.

These same governments pay lip service to cracking down on addictions --
but they are themselves hooked on the wages of sin.