WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 1978, PAGE 5 The question is repeatedly asked why the Provincial Government does not use funds raised through the Wintario and Provincial lotteries to offset the cost of health care services. This is a logical enough question, and one that I believe deserves a full explanation. Without a doubt, Ontario's lotteries, particularly Wintario, are successful and growing at a significant rate. As economic woes continue to plague us, the lottery profits look like an increasingly attractive way of obtaining additional Provincial revenues to provide necessary services. However, the Government of Ontario remains committed to the policy that it Corridor Capers Hi folks, this. will be my last column for the summer. Vacation time does not lend itself to collecting news. so I have written a poem. In this fair land of ours, we have taxes galore The Feds, Provincials and Towns keep handing us more, In California, the populous said 'We've had enough' Just cut out the extras and all that unnecessary stuff. We can start at the top, lets not procrastinate, There's a great many wrongsto investigate. In the Educational field, there may be mass unemployment, And its all because of declining enrolment. The Province instigated the problem you know, (Ontarlo's theme, "A Place to Stand and to Grow'. By demanding Zero Lot Lines on developers' land, Leaving no room to grow, let alone stand. The Province rejected beer in the ball-park, You can only 'sneak a snort' well after dark. Whitby Town had a similar request, beg you pardon, But they nçver promised the Royal a 'beer garden'. Durham Region was formed, the Provincial's baby, , But its aim and purpose was slightly hazy. The Council was elected, we thought them adept, But thé -ve acted like kids in 'Open Concept'. They - fouled up the water, sewers, roads and trades, Then just for good measure, gave themselves a raise. Whitby Council wastes hours on just what to do, About smoke detectors in old homes as well as the new. Will they? - or - Won'. they? - the bylaw endorse, An exercise in futility, one they could never enforce. Now at Council meetings, a large sign states, 'NO SMOKING', You'd better believe it, this time they're not joking. They're setting an example for the spectators and press But one councillor chewed bubble gum to help ease the stress. Parts of Whitby this year were invaded with voles, Eating the shrubs and in the lawns, digging holes, What to do with the vermin, Council did explore, They decided to ship the voles to the Corridor, The people here hardly noticed the voles, They were so busy dodging trucks and ruts and pot holes. The voles simply. grew, through force of habit, They now are so huge, I'm sure they are rabbits. Burns Street paved thru the park, would kill all the clover, Tom Edwards prefers the road to be grassed over. It-may displease the voters, that he can't afford, It's election year, please, some one else's ward. Whitby's budget was struck, with a great deal of strain, By notching the belt and tightening the rein, The only conclusion that we can construe, Was a decrease in services, while increasing tax revenue. How to beat the high cost of living, and. all the frustration? There are only two professions that could meet , the qualification, Its really not complex, if you're a mathematician, Join the ranks of Welfare, or become a Politician. Have a good summer. M. McEachern A COOL SAVINOS FOR YOUR POOL 100LS DRUM HN TAILETS OR GRANULA FOR AN EASY GUIDE TO SPARKLING POOL WATER VISIT: WANDA & TPAIY MARTIN AT 1nÊ COMPUTE HARDWARE STORE =m WN-- IT --BY is economically unsound to finance necessary government services through a game of chance. This decision is based partly on the fact that profits from lotteries are not certain. Right now, lotteries are all the 'rage' But they could very easily become unpopular and or unporfitable almost overnight. If this should happen, and the continuation of necessary services was dependent upon revenue from lotteries, there could well be some upsetting social and economic upheavals. Statistics do demonstrate that in terms of percentage income, the poor obviously play the lotteries far, far more heavily than the affluent. Although the evidence is not conclusive, it is sufficient enough to convince my colleagues, and I that the sale of lottery tickets could well be considered as a form of tax on the poor (even if it is a tax that is voluntary). As long as the revériue is niot used for necessary services, the prograrim can be cancelled quite easily if its continuation becomes a hardship on the participants. But suppose the government did agree to offset the costs of health care services with funds raised through the Wintario or Provincial lotteries. What advantage would this have for each individual citizen. For ease in clarifying, I will use rounded figures. The total profits to be realized frorn Wintario is estimated for this year at $60 million. The total health care bill is about $4 billion, and OHIP premiums pay for approximately $1 billion of this amount. Therefore, if the total amount of profits from Wintario this year were to be applied to just OHIP premiums, each contributor would realize a savings of just over $1.00 per month. But even the Officiai Opposition did not suggest that the total profits from Wintario be used to offset health care costs. Their proposai Was that the uncommitted amount of Wintario îunds be applied to OHIP premiums. The uncommitted funds at the end of the last fiscal year were $27 million (applications for grants were on file for this money . . . it just had not been committed at the time). If you applied this uncommitted $27 million to health care costs for, reduction in premiums, each contributor would realize a savings of about fifty cents per month. Or if the annual revenue from Wintario was applied directly to OHIP, and not the premiums, this would finance the health care system for less than one week. I might mention thathle1 year end iincommitted funds have since been fully commit i nri. Prrd Wintario is operating current on income versus comrnittments. The lottery system was set up to raise money for many important things that might otherwise have gone unfunded. Wintario has helped numerous communities replace unsafe arenas; it has provided funds for amateur sports, for libraries and for countless other community oriented projects of every description. When a savings of fifty cents per month is compared to all the worthwhile cultural and recreational programs financed through Wintario, I just don't believe the small reduction in premiums would be worth it to most people. Carnival Queen Contest seeksWhitby entrants Girls aged 16 to 23 who are residents of Whitby are invited to participate in this year's County Town Carnival Queen Contest tg be held July 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Iroquois Park Arena. Entry forms are available by calling Carolyn Allan, 121 Bell Drive, at 668-5074. Mrs. Allan reports that there are already six entrants signed up for the contest. A number of cash prizes and other awards await the winner and runners-up in the Carnival Queep Contest, which is sponsored by Royal Canadian Legion Branch 112. Bert Heaver will act as master of ceremonies for the contest, which will be the first event of this year's County Town Carnival. The Carnival . Queen selected July 23 will be presented officially at the Peter Perry Award dinner' July 26 at Heydenshore Pavilion and will ride in the carnival parade Aug.'5. Hai.Oui Si. Ja.Yes. Ask most muffler shops to give you a lifetime muffler guarantee on a foreign car and the answer will be no. Ask any Midas Muffler shop the same question and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Because with each Midas Muffler, you get a guarantee that's good for as long as you own your car, whether it's dornestic or foreign. If anything goes wrong with your guaranteed Midas muffler, we'Il instal a new one for only a service charge. Experience the fast, professional service that goes along with the Midas Muffler Guarantee and you'Il find yourself saying yes to Midas wheriever you have a muffler problem. MUFFLER You've gotta be tough SHOPS to be tops. 227 SIMCOE STREET SOUTH, OSHAWA