The Liberals are also doing wonderfully in the provinces. They are in power in every province except three. Arguably, the most successful Liberals are in the largest province – Ontario. Since 2003, they have controlled Ontario with majority governments. In recent times, a few scandals and an unpopular sex-ed curriculum are only minor annoyances to Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Teflon Liberals. The unions, education progressives, and most journalists have their back.
However, the Wynne government will have to be prudent concerning finances. Perhaps in the future a few more people will see Ontario’s $300 billion debt as a problem. Being “the world’s most indebted sub-sovereign borrower” (a debt of $21,000 for every man, woman, and child in Ontario) might not be a good thing.
One strategy to raise government revenue is to sell weed to stoners. As reported in the Toronto Star, Wynne explained on Monday that it “makes a lot of sense” for government-run liquor outlets (numbering 651) to sell marijuana.
Last year the Ontario Liberal government collected $1.8 billion in booze taxes from its liquor outlets. It must anticipate that number will rise significantly once it gets into the drug business.
Union leaders representing the Ontario liquor outlet employees agree. They love government expansion. Ontario Public Service Employees Union president Warren (Smokey) Thomas and others will be ready for the next important step – when the federal Liberal government legalizes marijuana.
By pushing weed, the Wynne government expects to exercise “social responsibility” and utilize its business expertise to make money. What could possibly go wrong?
This article was originally posted at The Conservative Prof. (https://theconservativeprof.wordpress.com/2015/12/16/ontario-liberal-government-hopes-to-increase-revenue-by-selling-marijuana-to-stoners/). At The Conservative Prof., Eric Crouse posts shorter articles on economic topics.
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