Instead of ranting

Maybe try to think of alternative places for 'the poor' to go. Is it time, perhaps, to get the Church of All Worlds really up and running in our fair city? gathering riches in Heaven rather than on Earth? If they have fifty cents to spare, a collection plate may be a surer bet than the green tables...

great article

Loved the article Charles! Just tart enough to make it a tasty read.

I've been saying Vancouver is aiming to be Monte Carlo West. We already have the requisite number of yachts in the harbour. Now all we need is the return of a certain car race and some royalty to complete the picture. But I guess you are right, we'd rather be Reno-esque that Rainier-lite.

Gambling expansion- and neoliberal capitalism

and let us not forget how Vision supported gambling expansion at Hastings Park - which was contra the community plan.

We need progressive taxation...not gambling expansion. ...we need sectoral and spatial economic planning...not leave it up to the (un) hidden and much subsidized hand of the 'free' market. We need an end to privatization of crown assets and a political party and leaders with the guts to say neo-liberal capitalistic economic policies is disaster capitalism in BC. Do we have that in CJ, GC or JS, not by a long shot, and only in my nightmares do I envision a future Premier - whose former job title of former a Vancouver mayor, IMHO.

Excellent analysis

Like other "vices", gambling is something that needs to be regulated, not eliminated. The author's point that we should be targeting facilities to get money from people who have it, not the poor, is right on the money (pun unintended).

Decent piece...except for one thing...

The Las Vegas dream, and the Atlantic City one too, have turned sour.

If you haven't been down there for a couple of years you might not realize exactly how bad things are in those parts of Nevada and New Jersey where the dream of a never-ending supply of easy cash was going to wash into town every few days.

It's dry as a bone there these days....and no signs of recovery. The market and the cost of oil may still be rising - but this is a jobless recovery and people are hanging on to their loose change - except of course those who are down to their last few dimes and think plunking them into a slot machine is a 'good' idea.

If you want money from people who have more cash than they need and haven't been paying their way, then change the tax structure - don't play silly games with roulette wheels.

Otherwise, you're going to end up sounding as clueless as Kevin Kreuger did earlier this week on AM 690 and Gordon Campbell did when he called this scam a 'cultural and entertainment' centre.

You bet your life.....

Attempting to address social justice and infrastructure funding through the expansion of gambling is based on the same erroneous assumption that dieting is an "effective" way of losing and maintaining weight loss. It may work for the short term...but for the long term too many unintended consequences come into play.

Inevitably, the quality of one's life choices must be addressed.

As Louise Arbour once noted: "Violations of civil and political rights are intrinsically linked to violations of economic, social and cultural rights, whether they are causes or consequences of the latter."

Consequently, it is more than just changing our economic system, as our systems - be they political, social, justice or economic - are all intrinsically inter-connected.

(This is quite evident in the present protest against the HST that has become almost solely focused on the economics of this tax. It is delusional to think the HST is merely an economic issue. It isn't.

It's sneaky appearance in BC is directly related to the extensive loss of human and civil rights that have occurred under the "reign" of our present "government". The sad truth is - we have little or no say, at present, in the evolution of social or economic justice within our own country, within our own province and within our own communities.)

We should be asking ourselves: How, have we, as a province and a people, landed ourselves in such a treacherous position that we now have to gamble with our right as citizens to effective infrastructure?

Most of us would probably agree that gambling has always been a short "fix" of distraction from reality. Surely our social system has to based on something more thoughtfully substantial and "real" than mere whim? Surely we deserve better than to be made into co-dependents victims of a roll of the dice?

(Really enjoyed reading this article though - it was clever and sardonic and funny in all the right places..... just disagree with Charles Campbell's conclusion.)

BC's Tacky Premier

How sweet it is just what BC needed as living in BC is a gamble as many try to hang onto their homes and jobs as it is hard to say what is in store for residents. A job at the casino maybe but somehow I don't think many will find much reassurance there but may want to bet their last unemployment cheque to see if they can come up with the mortgage payment?

I don't want to be rude to honest second-hand car salesmen but..

...every member of the Liberal cabinet looks like a sleazy second-hand car salesman. Same slick hair-do, same slick glasses and shiny suits. They even have the same "it's my boss's birthday so I can offer you a really great deal" approach.

We need a poster with all the provincial premiers and the federal prime minister's faces on it with the caption, "These men are addicted to gambling".

Gambling is no way to pay for government programs. It does not create wealth, it merely redistributes it from the poor to the wealthy casino operators.

Let us parrot the Liberal's own words by saying that:

"FIRST NATIONS CHILDREN MAY DIE TONIGHT BECAUSE THE LIBERAL POLITICIANS ARE ADDICTED TO GAMBLING. THEY MIGHT JUST AS WELL PUT A GUN TO THE KID'S HEADS AND BLOW THEIR BRAINS OUT BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS ARE SPENDING GROCERY MONEY AT THE CASINO"

So really, using the Liberal's own logic, they are all ACCESSORIES TO MURDER and should be thrown in jail. Further, because gambling revenue is so racially biased, the Liberals are actually COMMITTING GENOCIDE. That puts them on the same plane as Slobodan Milosovich and they belong in The Hague, facing WAR CRIMES CHARGES.

Yes, I know I am exaggerating, and I apologise to every honest, hard-working second-hand car salesman everywhere. They don't deserve to be compared to a Liberal politician. It is an insult to the salesman.

Would be nice if gambling

Would be nice if gambling advertising could he heavily regulated and reduced. Treat it like tobacco and alcohol.

It is time

Back in the days where we stood up too the government instead of hiding our heads in shame we would be waiting it out for the Hated Sales Tax and then call a general strike say for a couple of days or even a week but now that we are taxed upon taxes what do we do take it lying down. For example in 1995 the forestry didn't like the core report so there were some 20,000 objecters on the Britsh Columbia Legislatures lawn for a one day walk out do you remember that Will. Well it is time we had one of those for the Liberals and the swelled head of their leader the Great Gordo

Gambling is...

Gambling is basically voluntary taxation. Slot machines are B-O-R-I-N-G.

We have enough casinos already. We do not need another one, ugly or otherwise.

Deja Voo Doo

I was around and involved during the last attempt to foist a casino project on the Downtown Eastside. What disturbed me most at the time, which continues to this day, was the new involvement of local and provincial big union pension funds in property development, and how it would change them and the politics of this province. When you have the BC Fed and VDLC becoming what they once considered "the enemy" who then is left to fight for social justice? Agencies and residents of the adjacent neighbourhood were told that it was a city wide facility and not a local issue and that they had no input in the process. Glen Clark rammed a doomed bank project (Four Corners Bank) down the throats of the neighbourhood who just wanted their own credit union, so that the NDP and the unions could control the project's financing, all at a loss of millions of dollars (remember Jim Green's famous quote? "I don't know why they picked me to run it, I can't even balance my own bank book."). Ken Georgetti was on the phone pimping the project and offering the possibility of sweetheart deals to local agencies in exchange for their silence. Many agencies accepted similar overtures and have reaped the benefits of that benevolence to this day. That gambling/development project certainly brought out the finest qualities in all concerned. Not long afterward the NDP veered to the right and started kicking the poor to impress the right wing and the same players layer became complicit in shifting Vancouver politics to the right when COPE wouldn't sell out and then became ardent promoters of the Olympics project. Fast forward to the latest mega-stupidity that no one is asking for or needs, only this time they're all in bed with Gordon Campbell and the Liberals. I thought my disillusionment had peaked during the NDP years but it seems there are never ending new wonders to be revealed.

Headshakin

I've got some real problems with Ken Georgetti and his union buddies too - particularly the way union pension funds are being used to support developers...I think the NDP has severed most of those ties and it needs to get busy and clip the rest of them.

However, that being said, compared with the corporate contro of CEO government under Campbell that situation is pretty benign....well, perhaps not benign...maybe the 'lesser' of two evils.

In the end there should be no direct union or corporate ties to government.

Gambling in BC

I remember when Mr. Winn and crew came up from Las Vegas to attempt to sell BC on a vision of gambling in BC. Everyone was appaarently against it as it did not fly.

Instead the convention centre was built instead as it was going to be the revenue builder for BC and it took money from the rich not the poor.

I remember how all governments in canada were dead against gambling as it was evil.

My how the times change in a few short years. New shit same faces. Politicians are all white caller criminal bandits with a licence to steel.

Now the governments in canada can't build enough casinos as it pays for healthcare, run provinces. pay more money to mla's, 2010 parties and on and on. Now take money from poor to fund rich playgrounds.

The government in BC has more money than it ever has and is broke as it is all spent on 2010 winter party for the rich and famous. We will be in debt until 2020.

So raise HST, raise BC Ferries, raise Hydro, raise natural gas prices, raise gasoline tax, raise property tax, raise car insurance, raise fuel prices, raise mortgage prices, raise property prices. No matter how much monet liberal gov get we still broke province.

Once evrything raised up we have another recession, work layoffs and world dowturn predicted acccording to RBC who made a 2000% profit in first 1/4 of 2010.

Maybe people of BC get into banking business. Open own Canadian bank with 5 million BC members. Guaranteed to make lots of $$$$. Banks pay no taxes. Bonus.

Hopefully second coming of JC is in 2012 as predicted. Amen.

This whole thing stinks

This whole BC Place retractable roof expenditure makes no sense. Winnipeg announced yesterday that they are going to build a brand new stadium for $115 million. It will seat 30,000+ attendees and be expandable to 40,000 for the Grey Cup. 80% of of the seating will be under cover.

Meanwhile we are going to spend 5 times that for one stinking roof. I'd love to see the business case for this expenditure.

Also there is some very interesting information about Paragon Gaming which will be building the casino complex. A fellow named T. Richard Turner became a director of Paragon Gaming in Sept 2006. He is a chair of ICBC and was a chair of the BC Lottery Corp. until Dec 2005. He has made personal donations to the BC Liberal party of $17,600 from 2005 to today. Two companies he is either owner of or involved with, TitanStar Capital and TitanStar Holdings have donated $52,400 to the BC Liberal party, the last $50,000 having been made on May 12,2009. He also had discussions with Kevin Krueger last year about the type of roof that should be installed on BC Place. He told Krueger that a retractable roof would be looked upon as the best option to secure Paragon as the builder of the new casino. All this information came courtesy of Publiceyeonline.

What's wrong with this picture?

G West: My union pension plan

helps pay for development (Concert Properties). Without the cash from the pension plans, the money would have to come strictly from big business. And if big business didn't do it, then where would the money come from? Big banks? Financial institutions?
Some people don't think before they post.

I want to know why the chair of ICBC was lobbying for Paragon (the developer for the new casino). This was reported in the Vancouver Sun today, of all places.

Now there's some shady dealing.

offended

The chair of ICBC, T. Richard Turner, was lobbying for Paragon because he sits on one of their Canadian boards and has a stake in their company.

Read my other posting just above yours.

@offended

I don't think, just because Concert uses 'Union' Pension funds to support YOUR pension, or my pension, means that I need to look the other way at the operations of the equally big (and often just as bad) businesses involved.

The point of my post clearly was that you can't attack Campbell and his friends' special rules for insiders tactics and ignore the same thing just because it's our pension that benefits. I think there have been shady special deals under previous, more labour-friendly regimes and I don't think, as an honest commentator, that I can ignore those things while criticizing what Campbell's been up to for the last 10 years.

In fact, that’s the kind of hypocrisy that gets us INTO trouble – not out of it.