Let's see now, the ministry that over sees "gaming" and sets the rules for such has increased the online spending limit.

Hmmm, I wonder why they did that?

Idiot government. Oops, an oxymoron.
The doinks in power know darn well that this one decision of theirs is going to cause a lot more misery for the weak and addicted. I belive that they need more revenue to help pay the immediate costs of the Olympics, and to attempt to save face.
"know your limits and play within them" Why don't these idiots practise what they preach?
metalman.

Sleazy...very sleazy!
Fatten up the government coffers when you have blown it all,on the backs of low income people,seniors,etc.
Because they ARE the bulk of the customers at these casino's.
Anyone who has ever been there knows that.
An incredible number of first nations people as well.
This sleazy government has no shame,and while it is not the fault of the government that people gamble,increasing limits that they can lose is cheap and disgusting.
To bad those we elect don't know their limits when it comes to our tax dollars!

The answer my friend:
Idiot government. Oops, an oxymoron.

you could drop the oxy

Why is it the governments responsiblity to limit what people are allowed to spend their money on? I want them having LESS control over me not more. Maybe if gaming revenue goes up they won't have to put taxes up on things I can't avoid.

I know the argument: tax dollars are going in to the casinos from social assistance payments, your right, but the social assistance programs need to be revamped not the gambling programs.

"Idiot government" is not an oxymoron. It's redundant. An oxymoron would be "honest car salesman" (a statement that contradicts itself). And we certainly know that the phrase "idiot government" doesn't contradict itself!

"I know the argument: tax dollars are going in to the casinos from social assistance payments".

I am not sure that is the main argument. I was raised in a family with a father who was an addicted gambler - greyhound racing either the Haringay or Walthamstow tracks. He would rather roll his money up and shove it up a dog's rear end than buy me clothes, so I do have some insight.

Because of his addiction we lived in poverty - no clothes, not enough food, whacks around the back of the head etc, etc. We did not have social assistance, he worked full time in a job that provided enough to keep the family. Our poverty was because of his addiction, and that is the main argument.

Working gambling addicts will spend their money gambling and it is often at the expense of feeding and clothing their spouse and children. If social assistance is involved it is often to ensure that such abused children are not too badly harmed. It does not provide the gambling money.

Government has a responsibility to ensure children are cared for properly, and raising the gambling limits so they can siphon off more money from poor families, desperate to get ahead is, in my book, obscene.

How do you siphon money from people who have none? It is more likely an attempt to siphon money from those who do.
Wanna help poor people stop gambling? Get rid of the lotteries. Every prole in the country plays that crap.

Thanks for the english lesson Wolfie :)
metalman.

Ammonra, sorry for you pain. I do have one question for you, would reducing gambling limits have made a difference, or, would he have gotten someone else to make the bet for him?

Obviously it has had a major impact on my life, although I am not actually opposed to minor gambling as entertainment, anymore than I am opposed to drinking beer, unless the drinker is an alcoholic.

My father always wanted the thrill of gambling in person. The atmosphere at the track and the rush of the greyhounds was part of that thrill. It was his regular Friday night out, and he lost a lot of his pay packet every week.

To EBS&L, nowhere did I say they want to siphon money from people who had none. I said siphon it off from the poor. Poor people do have some money, but encouraging poor addicts to gamble merely makes them poorer, with all the trouble that brings to families.

I believe there were limits on what you could bet in the UK in those days at a track, but I am not sure. He would have bet on the horses on the Satrurday if he had money not lost on the Friday.

Government employees and the politicians all took pay raises in excess of 20% in recent years and they see this as easy revenue.... Its all about supporting the civil service class and has nothing to do with the greater good for the province... that is what taxation is all about these days... wealth transfers through legal means to the most politically connected.

Its called legal plunder. Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) was a French economist, statesman, and author. He wrote a book called 'The Law' which is as fitting today as it was when he wrote it.

Excerpt: Property and Plunder

Man can live and satisfy his wants only by ceaseless labor; by the ceaseless application of his faculties to natural resources. The process is the origin of property.

But it is also true that a man may live and satisfy his wants by seizing and consuming the products of the labor of others. This process is the origin of plunder.

Now since man is naturally inclined to avoid pain-and since labor is pain in itself-it follows that men will resort to plunder whenever plunder is easier than work. History shows this quite clearly. And under these conditions, neither religion nor morality can stop it.

When, then, does plunder stop? It stops when it becomes more painful and more dangerous than labor.

It is evident, then, that the proper purpose of law is to use the power of its collective force to stop this fatal tendency to plunder instead of to work. All the measures of the law should protect property and punish plunder.

But, generally, the law is made by one man or one class of men. And since law cannot operate without the sanction and support of a dominating force, this force must be entrusted to those who make the laws.

This fact, combined with the fatal tendency that exists in the heart of man to satisfy his wants with the least possible effort, explains the almost universal perversion of the law. Thus it is easy to understand how law, instead of checking injustice, becomes the invincible weapon of injustice. It is easy to understand why the law is used by the legislator to destroy in varying degrees among the rest of the people, their personal independence by slavery, their liberty by oppression, and their property by plunder. This is done for the benefit of the person who makes the law, and in proportion to the power that he holds.

New Element Discovered On The Periodic Table

Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element, Governmentium
(Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from 4 days to 4 years to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2 - 6 years. It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each re-organization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This
hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.

When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Heeehee....good one diplomat!
Well done!
(and accurate too!)