This comment posted the other day:
Regards,
WCIE.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
8 comments:
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I was wondering about that myself. I know that if you are a drug addict then your name is on a waiting list and that is how it is and again the Government should be ashamed of themselves for their addiction stratagies. Not only a shame but also a disgrace because they certainly do not mind the tax revenues from the pills or the revenue from gambling do they!
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12:09 PM
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Anon 12:09's comment intrigues me, because it expresses two pretty common sentiments: "government should be ashamed" because of inadequate funding for X, and government enjoys revenue from taxes on medication/alcohol/
gambling/etc.
How is it that people think "government" "enjoys" tax revenues?
I say, "government" is us. We, the people, get revenue from taxes, and we, through government, spend it. Mostly, we spend it on free health care and free education, and on paying the bills for money we spent in the 70s and 80s, when we regularly spent more than we had. And, we spend it on about 600 other social programs for people, including addiction services and legal aid and welfare and pension protection and on and on and on. -
3:34 PM
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Actually, the above isn't close to being true, but I can see why people would think it.
First, take a look at debt. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't 'spending money we didn't have' that accounted for the massive amount of debt currently held by governments all over the world. It was the move by Mulroney to change that debt from 'public' to 'private'. So instead of that debt being held by canadians, who enjoy all the services and paid for them partly through bonds, instead foreign markets hold the debt and make demands on payment.
One of those demands is high interest rates. The vast majority of debt, just like your mortgage, is due to an incredibly large amount that is traded on international markets. In the 1980's interest rates soared, and this resulted in a massive build up of debt. This had absolutely nothing to do with government spending.
For education there is considerable evidence out there that NB's educational system is one of the worst in the country. There is no evidence whatsoever on technical industrial training jobs, and test scores in the province consistently rank low.
For health care NBers pay the highest proportion of drug costs themselves out of every province in the country.
THe idea that 'we' are the government is quite laughable, although I've heard it before. Currently, the person who makes every decision in the province is a guy who wasn't even elected by the majority of voters. The person who got more votes than him is now working in Montreal.
And if that were true then we could ask-how much influence do you have on government policy? Whether its natural resources, where international companies are now paying $5 million less in royalties than they were a year ago even though they are cutting more trees, to aquaculture, where money budgeted for enforcement has been cut in half, to virtually any department.
The reality is, of course, you have ZERO power to affect government policy. So the idea that 'we' are the government is absurd. How did 'we' decide to give IRving a huge property tax break on a natural gas terminal so that they are paying one twentieth what an LNG terminal in Levis Quebec will be paying?
WE, or YOU, or anybody else didn't decide that, a very few individuals decided those things. -
5:58 PM
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computer dude when did you come off the coach and start talkin,wcie your my hero
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9:26 PM
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Hi folks I'm the one who wrote the story and thank you WCIE for printing it.
Well and update, not much to say. I paid $75 for private counselling at Gentle Path Counselling on Germain Street in Saint John. They were not a heck of a lot of good.
I never heard back from Ridgewood or the other organization and I never called again. I am calling again on Monday though.
Right now I'm trying to stop on my own, with no support at all and it's very hard.
Even my own family are trying to get me hooked again just so they can get their kicks, I don't know.
I have no one to support me in this. -
7:40 PM
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Gamblers Anonymous
http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/mtgdirCAN.html#CANnb -
1:53 AM
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I'm the original writer. I'm going to put my phone number out there and I would like to hear from gamblers, past, but preferably present, just for talking support. Just so you know, I am female.
Please call me at 635-1112.
Leave your number if I'm not there, I'll get back to you. Because sometimes it helps to talk, even if you're not a professional. -
3:51 PM
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to the person with the problem? send me an private email at
oldmaison@yahoo.com
merci -
4:06 PM
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I called Ridgewood on Friday for some much needed help with a gambling addiction. I was told they have beds up there for that as well. I had to leave a message on the in-take worker's machine. The message line said she would be there until 4:30pm on Friday. I called around 2 pm. No one got back to me. I waited and waited.
Finally today, Tuesday, I called again and left another message. Then I called another line and got a live person. The live person told me if I need someone right away like that to call Mental Health. I called Mental Health, the receptionist said we have no gambling support people here, but I will give your name and number to our in-take worker and the worker will call you back.
I waited several hours then I went out for a walk. When I got back there was a message on my machine from a worker, she left no number. By that time the Mental Health was closed.
My point being, it's no wonder people are committing suicide with this gambling affliction. If there is help out there, where is it? It's darn long getting to you!!
It will soon be a week since my initial call and I have received no support counselling as yet. Awful!
5:42 PM