Does it take skill to win at bingo or solitaire? I think solitaire takes a little, but it’s mostly how the cards fall. Bingo is random and based upon persistence and luck of the draw.
Can any enterprise survive, if too many betters win? If you think through the gaming adds, you discover that they are political. Who gets what, when and how. To have a profitable gambling enterprise, you need losers. They provide purses and profits.
you can’t force right thoughts, just as you can’t legislate morality. We can’t even agree what right thinking is. We may all agree we don’t like the consequences of a loss . What is the answer?
Some in a free society will act irresponsibly. People must employ their God given intelligence in any economic system. If there is money won, someone lose in any for profit economy. The company may use the thrill of a quick first win as a psychological hook, but must have many lose their bets to make money. Winning is a temporary loss leader. Eventually, more must lose or there will be no profit for the company.
Do I think the upcoming crisis can be averted by legislation? Hell no! You can’t demand people think. All gamblers believe they are the one, the winners and someone will win, but many, many more will lose. It’s a numbers game. So how do we stop this? We don’t! Free people can make terrible choices! Society will survive! Yes, some will face bankruptcy, Choices have consequences.Homelessness will result and some children will even do without. Even in an authoritarian dictatorship, people still gamble despite dictatorial prohibitions and draconian consequences. Free people have to educate themselves, then just observe. No amount of regulation will convince the masses they aren’t the winners nor will it serve society to try!
So what’s next for us? Liberals will beat their chests and moderates will agree, as they always do, to regulations to limit the advertising claims or try gambling prohibition again. Only the consequences of loss, will force the learning. No learning will be done without consequences. Have we learned nothing from our educational institutions and its unwarranted promotions? No tests with consequences means lessons aren’t learned. Why do we continue to repeat the errors of our past? We despise loss.
The Courts abhor a forfeiture, so no consequences. This means no learning! Once again the ultimate super legislature ( the judiciary) will act to save us from ourselves! God bless judges and their omnipotent hindsight. They don’t learn either. Always substitute their judgement for the judgement of those in the situation.
We can always just continue take from those, who accumulate wealth until we have a big enough bill that no one will want our debt. Yes, and no one will suffer, except eventually we all will! Government can’t be your daddy or mommy!
So, what’s the answer? Some must lose! If that’s you and your parents caused it, that is lousy! To many just Unacceptable, but life! If you caused it , learn from your personal failure. Perhaps you will learn and get another chance or perhaps the next generation may learn from your loss, perhaps not.
I fear we will opt for increased regulation and relive prohibition all over again except with gambling this time. No one learns! All lose! So i say use common sense now and accept that some will choose against their interest with consequences. This won’t be a crisis unless we opt to think we can think for others!
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