Biggest gambling addict is the Alberta government
Reader says it’s time to acknowledge that while gambling funds many worthy things, it is also highly destructive when people get addicted.
Photograph by: Archive , Calgary Herald
Re: "Guilt money," Editorial, July 7.
Thank you for focusing the spotlight on a devastating problem - gambling addiction. The most seriously addicted group is, of course, the government of Alberta, seduced by the lure of easy money to swell the coffers, rather than using our tax base to balance the budget or provide us with important services like health care.
As well, the Alberta government uses gambling revenues to finance charitable, non-profit organizations through its Community Spirit grants. The irony is that we are all encouraged to gamble to make our society a better place, quietly ignoring the lives we are destroying.
One statistic you did not include in your editorial is the number of Albertans who attempt or succeed at suicide because of their gambling addiction. You couldn't quote that statistic because the government refuses to release such information. We are one of the few provinces that will not do so, lamely claiming it is impossible to link a suicide to a gambling addiction. If that is the case, how is it possible for Quebec to release such statistics?
Some will argue that we live by free choice, so if addiction comes to you, it is your problem. However, the depth of human misery incurred by a gambling addiction is staggering, leading to despair, disintegration and the loss of life itself.
Is it not time for us to care about each other enough to quit greasing the wheels to the point where even the most disciplined among us can fall into the trap of a gambling addiction?
Rev. Linda C. Hunter, Calgary Linda Hunter is reverend at Wild Rose United Church.
Thank you for focusing the spotlight on a devastating problem - gambling addiction. The most seriously addicted group is, of course, the government of Alberta, seduced by the lure of easy money to swell the coffers, rather than using our tax base to balance the budget or provide us with important services like health care.
As well, the Alberta government uses gambling revenues to finance charitable, non-profit organizations through its Community Spirit grants. The irony is that we are all encouraged to gamble to make our society a better place, quietly ignoring the lives we are destroying.
One statistic you did not include in your editorial is the number of Albertans who attempt or succeed at suicide because of their gambling addiction. You couldn't quote that statistic because the government refuses to release such information. We are one of the few provinces that will not do so, lamely claiming it is impossible to link a suicide to a gambling addiction. If that is the case, how is it possible for Quebec to release such statistics?
Some will argue that we live by free choice, so if addiction comes to you, it is your problem. However, the depth of human misery incurred by a gambling addiction is staggering, leading to despair, disintegration and the loss of life itself.
Is it not time for us to care about each other enough to quit greasing the wheels to the point where even the most disciplined among us can fall into the trap of a gambling addiction?
Rev. Linda C. Hunter, Calgary Linda Hunter is reverend at Wild Rose United Church.
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Biggest+gambling+addict+Alberta+government/6939042/story.html#ixzz20sphuVJJ
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