Lawmakers Bet on New Online Gambling Ban
(This one comes courtesy of my oldest stepson, Adam, who wrote this post)
Of all the hollow buzzwords tossed around by our elected representatives, perhaps the most destructive is “big government.” People who have spent a lifetime protecting us from big government bring us things like the USA PATRIOT Act, the death penalty, and the Defense of Marriage Act. Despite these ridiculous displays of hypocrisy, citizens continue to vote based on sound bytes centered on the phrase “big government.”
While this issue has troubled me for a long time, recent events have brought to my attention an egregious example of the hypocrisy alluded to earlier. Yesterday, H.R. 4777 was introduced in the House of Representatives. Named the “Internet Gambling Prohibition Act,” its purpose is to prohibit US citizens from gambling via the internet and to prohibit companies from facilitating the transfer of money over the internet to be used for the purpose of gambling.
The sponsor of this lovely piece of legislation is Robert “Bob” Goodlatte from Virginia. He claims that it “is vital to protect our children and communities from the problems of addiction, crime, bankruptcy and family difficulties that come from gambling.” I have several problems with his position.
To begin, as an advocate of eliminating big government, Bob had this to say about government regulation of the internet:
The more governments that become involved … the more red tape and overly burdensome regulations that huge bureaucratic agencies bring will increase. By keeping the private sector and market principles involved in the administration of the Internet, we can help ensure that the Internet continues to thrive.
Well thank God for that! It’s too bad that the market created a $12 Billion industry out of internet gambling that Bob is (a) Not profiting off of, (b) has no control over, and (c) can’t score political points off of! Obviously, this situation must be corrected post haste. What better way to accomplish this than to invoke The Children©?
Unfortunately for Bob, this line of reasoning turns his views into a black-hole of consistency. You see, he cares not about the sociological damage done by gun violence, because the second amendment is sacred; the “addiction, crime, bankruptcy, and family difficulties” caused by the Virginia State Lottery (which lets anyone 18+ gamble, legally, with all profit going to the state); or the exact same probems with addiction and family difficulties caused by alcohol (Virginia actually has state-owned liquor stores). In each of these issues, the state gains both money and power, in each of these the individual loses both, and in each of these, Bob has decided that $10,000,000 dollars PER YEAR would be better spent policing internet gambling.
Nevermind the good living thousands of Americans make from gambling (myself included), nevermind the civil liberties at stake, nevermind the fouding fathers’ own proclivity toward gambling, nevermind the myriad ways to prevent minors from engaging in gambling, BANNING IT ALTOGHETHER is the rational, reasonable, small government response that should be undertaken. After all, with the Gulf Coast still in ruins, thousands dying in Iraq, and terrorists threatening our lives daily, what better way would there be to spend $27,300 per day?
