"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Friday 14 November 2014

Monty Pythonesque

I wrote a post in response to a comment that people who smoke should be required to pay for their own medical and hospital care.

I provided the colossal figures to illustrate how smokers and drinkers and lottery ticket hopefuls not only pay for their own hospital and medical care, they probably pay the better part of everyone else's  as well.

Then I get a  how-dare -you comment. Accusing me of  stating  smokers,drinkers and lottery ticket holders should have to pay for their own hospital and medical costs.

The writer points out how much revenue comes from smokers et al and how the Province could not make it up elsewhere. And concludes  in his/her surprise that a person with the liberal stance I proclaim could suggest medical and hospital care should be denied to people who smoke.

I am repeating the argument because it is such a perfect illustration of how a supremely  self-righteous person,can twist the reality to suit her/his preformed preference.

The optimum opportunity presents itself  in writing only occasionally.

Since the blog belongs to me It seems only fair that  I should  make use of it to establish the reality is Monty Python's Circus.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

I once watched a funny exchange between 2 customers at the grocery store. A woman buying a handful of lottery tickets went after a man getting cigarettes. Each said the other was wasting money.
They were both holding up the check-out line.

Anonymous said...

According to the Ontario Ministry of Finance the following revenue figures are part of the 2014 Budget:

In hundreds of millions of dollars -

Tobacco 1,300
Beer and Wine 572
OLGC - Lottery 2,053
LCBO 1,779 5,704

Gas Tax 2,395
Fuel Tax 734 3,129

Total provincial revenue is shown as 118,870,000,000

The "sin" tax revenue equals 4.8% of revenue, gas and fuel equals 2.6 %.

I'm not sure what lies buried in the budget so trying to get an accurate picture is probably impossible, which is typical of government budgets in general