Barebacking_Bernanke t1_j2zrvyz wrote
Reply to comment by squall571 in NY officially solicits bids for casino with license fee set at $500M by geoxol
Gambling is a tax on the poor. The addictions they encourage hit the poor the hardest and society will be paying the price for it in perpetuity. In a place like Singapore, they don't even allow locals to play at their casino because they know the toll it extracts on society, so only tourists are allowed.
Somehow, society destroying parasites like casinos are invited into this state and city, while local politicians fought tooth and nail against an Amazon HQ in Queens. This is such a backwards ass system we have. Owning Jeff Bezos on Twitter was more important than protecting the people from the pestilence of addiction, poverty, and crime that follows every casino that has ever been built in America.
CactusBoyScout t1_j30d6tz wrote
Why is this paternalistic logic okay when it’s about gambling? If you made the same argument about alcohol’s impacts on society as a justification for banning it, you’d rightly be laughed at.
drpvn t1_j310q0z wrote
It’s true, for starters.
CactusBoyScout t1_j312tg9 wrote
It’s true for alcohol too.
drpvn t1_j31u2kz wrote
Good point. I guess we always had to legalize gambling so we weren’t hypocritical about alcohol. Don’t want to be paternalistic!
SachaCuy t1_j33rsr8 wrote
Both gambling and alcohol prey on addictions. It is not necessarily paternalistic to say that both can cause poverty. We tried banning alcohol once and the consequences were deemed worse than not banning it.
In this case we are legalizing gambling because the state wants a piece of the action. As far as I can tell illegal gambling has been doing just fine in NYC with massive crime attached to it but the state wants their money too because apparently a 200b budget per year isn't enough.
CactusBoyScout t1_j33s5de wrote
Right so both should be legal to take money away from organized crime?
You’re never going to find a perfect solution to these societal problems but I think the Prohibition example shows that handing over an entire industry to organized crime is the worse option.
SachaCuy t1_j33vlhh wrote
I am ok with organized crime making money from gambling.
We all got to make a living.
Alcohol no. That became too disorganized. Weed we will see how this new experiment goes.
Don't forget the state taxes you on your winnings and you can't write off your losers. Not only is it negative expected value (which is fine) but the winnings are taxed.
ctindel t1_j35m0xi wrote
You can write off losses up to the value of your winnings.
Letting organized crime make money on anything is fucking stupid for society. Regulate and tax, make sure the gambling is fair and properly run and money isn’t laundered.
NKR1978 t1_j31pk7b wrote
Stop infantilizing adults.
We must protect the poor from themselves. They’re just too stupid to know what’s best for them. That’s what your argument sounds like.
CensorshipIsTheDevil t1_j31tvk2 wrote
Not what it sounds like, it is what it is. "I know the impacts on your life better than you, so you shouldn't be allowed to do it."
ctindel t1_j35ltsq wrote
> society destroying parasites like casinos
Society runs gambling programs we just call it a lottery. Reminds me I gotta get my megamillions ticket
[deleted] t1_j31prqq wrote
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drpvn t1_j31v538 wrote
More people gamble the more widely available gambling is.
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