Improving the Mental Well being Method
According to a news release that was dated Might 9, 2006, the “Standing Senate Committee On Social Affairs, Science and Technologies” in Canada suggested the creation of a Canadian Mental Health Commission that will be responsible for substantially upgrading the Canadian mental well being method. As stated by Senator Michael Kirby, the Chair of the Committee, “The Senate Committee is committed to enhancing the range, good quality and organization of health and support services that are required by the tens of thousands of Canadians who are living with mental illnesses and addictions.”
Funding The Proposed Alter
Based on an extensive three-year study on mental wellness and addiction, the Committee determined that it will price .36 billion over a 10-year period for this mental health system upgrade. Where will these funds come from? According to the Committee, the revenue will come from raising the excise tax on alcoholic drinks by five cents per drink.
Part of the rationale for the five-cent increase per drink was obviously the objective of raising the needed funds for the proposed changes in the mental health system. Yet another justifying factor for the cost improve, nonetheless, was the truth that because each alcoholic drink will cost much more, Canadians will be more inclined to drink lower-alcohol products such as beer and wine rather of liquor.
Let’s Do the Math
At 1st glance, this proposal seems to make sense. Why shouldn’t those who drink aid finance a program that will present them with a much better mental well being program? Why not let those who are component of the “difficulty” turn into part of the “remedy”? This logic appears sound until you do the math. If .36 billion is necessary to assist finance the upgraded mental wellness method, then how several drinks will have to be consumed in a ten-year period to reach .36 billion dollars? The answer: 107,200,000,000 drinks. That is 107 billion, 200 million drinks.
To arrive at how numerous drinks this is per year, all we have to do is divide this number by 10 (for the ten-year program) and the result is 10,720,000,000. This is still a huge number that thankfully can be “massaged” even more. According to The World Factbook website, the population of Canada was estimated to be 33 million individuals in 2006. Dividing 10,720,000,000 by 33,000,000 equals 325. Putting this in terms that the average person can realize, every single man, woman, and child in Canada will have to consume 325 alcoholic drinks per year for the next ten years to finance the new mental well being program! Just put, these numbers are not realistic.
More Flaws
The “logic” of this proposed mental health program also breaks down when it is examined far more deeply. For instance, why would people drink lower-alcohol goods such as beer if the increased excise tax applies to all alcoholic drinks? To help understand this far better, let’s use an example. Let’s say that the average shot in Canada currently costs .00 and the average beer expenses .00. Based on the proposed cost improve, if Joe drinks an average of five shots per week, his weekly average alcohol expenditure will be .25. When the numbers are calculated, this figures out to be 1.7% far more than Joe would have spent just before the proposed tax boost. Let’s do a similar physical exercise with beer. Based on the projected price enhance, if Pete drinks an average of five beers per week, his weekly average alcohol expenditure will be .25. When the numbers are calculated, this figures out to be 5% much more than Pete would have spent prior to the proposed tax boost. The point: considering that the proposed price enhance affects greater-alcohol goods (such as shots) proportionately less than their lower-alcohol counterparts (such as beer), why would Canadians switch to lower-alcohol items?
Alcohol and Mental Well being
Another question. What if tens of thousands of Canadians, realizing that drinking alcohol is not excellent for their “mental well being,” considerably lessen their alcohol intake or quit drinking alcoholic beverages altogether? Where will the funds come from to offset this lack of revenue? In a similar manner, what if thousands upon thousands of Canadians who drink alcoholic beverages decide that they do not want to pay the additional excise tax and, as a result, quit drinking alcoholic beverages? If this occurs, where will the government get the cash required to transform the mental wellness system? In other words, does the Canadian government have a realistic “strategy B” for this main transformation?
A Logical Contradiction
From a various perspective, isn’t it rather ironic that those who drink alcoholic beverages will pay for the revamped mental well being method? Isn’t there a contradiction in logic somewhere in this proposal? Stated differently, if tens of thousands of Canadians have mental illnesses or are addicted to alcohol or drugs, wouldn’t the government want Canadians to drink Less alcohol in order to decrease the existing alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and alcohol-related mental wellness problems? However according to the existing mental well being proposal, from strictly a monetary standpoint, it would appear that the Canadian government is banking the whole mental health program upgrade on historical information that strongly suggests that Canadians will continue to drink at their current or even higher levels of consumption.
Budgetary Miscalculations
What happens, for instance, if there are cost overruns in the proposed mental health program? There are, of course, two “easy” solutions to this issue: boost the excise tax on every drink or motivate Canadians to drink even more alcoholic beverages. Either “solution,” even so, is predicated on the fact that in order to “function,” the upgraded mental wellness system requirements to be funded by Canadians who continue to drink alcoholic beverages.
Conclusion
It appears logical to conclude that the Canadian mental wellness program is in need to have of a main overhaul. As with most comprehensive government programs, nevertheless, the concern of funding becomes a major obstacle to overcome. The proposed Canadian mental health system upgrade is no exception. Based on the factors given above, it seems obvious that the Canadian government needs to come up with alternate sources of revenue generation for this worthwhile project. Indeed, to point out one of the key “flaws” in the present proposal, take into account the following question: When is a lot more drinking a “good factor?” Answer: when it finances a nationwide mental wellness method upgrade. One thing tells me that Andy Rooney from “60 Minutes” would have a lot of fun with this.
Copyright 2007 – Denny Soinski. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You could reprint this article as lengthy as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and give the author credit.