TREMENDOUS piece. For starters, we should demand from Congress a law that forces online gamblers (betting and "predictions") to choose betting or welfare. No one wagering money on gambling and prediction sites should ALSO be getting SNAP, other cash welfare programs, or get "refundable" tax credits while owing no federal taxes. Middle class taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's gambling. SNAP or Draft Kings? Incredibly low-cost to implement, can be privacy-protecting and instantaneous. All of this stuff is online anyway, and the companies have the tax info on their customers already. Congress will be terrified to do so, as online gambling, predictions, crypto, and AI have unlimited resources to deploy against errant lawmakers. *But it just takes one courageous [or safe-district] conservative lawmaker and a discharge petition* to smoke out the position of every lawmaker on this issue.
Nice to see some American conservatives recognising this, given that whenever we regulate big tech in Europe we get grief from senior MAGA people for restricting free speech. Its important to remember the US constitution was written nearly 100 years before the widespread adoption of electricity. Your founding fathers did not have social media et al in mind when they were drafting it. It would be better to consider what is good for human flourishing rather than making decisions based on an almost theological reading of an in many ways out of date document.
While I sympathize with the thrust of this piece, I must correct the analysis. The demand curve with respect to price does not slope upward. Rather, what the essay is really describing is an upward shift of the demand curve as the addiction kicks in. This raises the willingness of the addict to pay more and yields higher revenue for sellers. Best, Frank Tinari
TREMENDOUS piece. For starters, we should demand from Congress a law that forces online gamblers (betting and "predictions") to choose betting or welfare. No one wagering money on gambling and prediction sites should ALSO be getting SNAP, other cash welfare programs, or get "refundable" tax credits while owing no federal taxes. Middle class taxpayers should not be forced to pay for other people's gambling. SNAP or Draft Kings? Incredibly low-cost to implement, can be privacy-protecting and instantaneous. All of this stuff is online anyway, and the companies have the tax info on their customers already. Congress will be terrified to do so, as online gambling, predictions, crypto, and AI have unlimited resources to deploy against errant lawmakers. *But it just takes one courageous [or safe-district] conservative lawmaker and a discharge petition* to smoke out the position of every lawmaker on this issue.
Well done and very concerning.
Still can't help think this is just part of human evolution, logically no different than Grandpa smoking 2.5 packs of Marlboro a day in the fifties.
Whatever government touches turns to suck, so open to ideas.
Nice to see some American conservatives recognising this, given that whenever we regulate big tech in Europe we get grief from senior MAGA people for restricting free speech. Its important to remember the US constitution was written nearly 100 years before the widespread adoption of electricity. Your founding fathers did not have social media et al in mind when they were drafting it. It would be better to consider what is good for human flourishing rather than making decisions based on an almost theological reading of an in many ways out of date document.
While I sympathize with the thrust of this piece, I must correct the analysis. The demand curve with respect to price does not slope upward. Rather, what the essay is really describing is an upward shift of the demand curve as the addiction kicks in. This raises the willingness of the addict to pay more and yields higher revenue for sellers. Best, Frank Tinari