FOLLOW UP: Government has ripped off million$ that should have gone to community charities

On January 12th I wrote a blog piece entitled, “Government has ripped off million$ that should have gone to community charities ---on Wednesday Christy verbalized they plan to continue”.  Today I received a comment on it from a reader who stated:

Alan, as you can see, I am a little behind on my reading, but I agree with you in this matter of gambling and government. Like women going back to work, first out of desire and then inevitably out of necessity, so gambling revenues have created their own need within money hungry government without providing the return to the grass roots promised.

 I have said repeatedly, if government tried to secure this amount of extra money by raising taxes, the populace would be up in arms. But because there is a hope held forth of windfall gains, (plus as you said, slick advertising) people stand in lines to give the government their money. It is robbery, pure and simple, and those robbed are foolish enough to buy into the lie and pay the piper.

There is no slogan on TV so hypocritical as the famous "Know your limit and play within it."

Now you have heard my rant.  Question: How would a conservative government extricate itself from this lie, or will the easy money win conservative allegiance also?

I thought about these words for a while, and then wrote them back saying;

I have to agree, the know your limit play within it is definitely a joke!!  As to extricating ourselves from what we are in, I am not sure how that can be accomplished given the deep tentacles it now has into the economy, government, and budget of BC.  For starters however, there should be NO FURTHER expansion. 

Government truly has become, I believe, addicted to the revenues it receives from gambling … and I do wonder how, if ever, it can end the addiction.   There is certainly no “12 Step” program for that.

One thing however, would be to get a real plan in place to get spending under control, and then to find ways and means make cuts where they can.

Governments led by the New Democrats, and the BC Liberals, have dug themselves a deep hole on this one.  The question goes to you the reader, "Is there indeed a way out?

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops, with the thoughts of one conservative