commentaries

Even if your lucky enought to win, the chances are you will lose it back trying to win more. In some places down the islands the local people are not allowed in the casinos.

Gambling as a funding mechanism is a sin tax, and has the inherent flaw that all sin taxes have--once the gambling addict is no longer addicted, the income realized from gambling shrinks. Same with smoking: we tax cigarettes up the wazoo, using the proceeds for all kinds of tax-funded necessities, with the sanctimionious rationale that by so doing we limit their use, and thus their unhealthfulness. However even if we do extinguish the behavior--be it gambling, smoking or whatever--those causes that the sin funded still are there. As a society, we should not be dependent upon the weaknesses of our fellow citizens to fund what we as a society need.

Many would say that those who cannot afford to gamble but still choose do so are at fault. Nobody compels them to make a wager. They are acting within their freedom as independent citizens to spend their capital as they see fit. ---------- Two words: Personal Responsibility.

Why is everyone dead set against the laws of natural selection?

People old enough to gamble are also old enough to make personal choices. We can not become the keepers for that small percentage that does not make wise choices. The choices are still theirs to make. Most of us have made unwise choices in life. That is our choice and I do not think I require policing by the voters to make sure I don't overeat or shop too much or run with scissors. It should be my decision how to control my life and my belongings.

Pretty lame argument Thor. Couldn't you make the same point regarding the sale of alchohol or cigarettes to those "less fortunate"? Don't you think it is just a little condescending to presume that you know what is best for some people.

Yes, there are people that can't afford to gamble, yet still do. The gambling establishment are actually a great thing for Minnesota. They provide many jobs, most pay above the min. wage. Many of these jobs offer insurance and retirement savings. The racetracks help the ag industry tremendously in this state. There are more benefits than not as to having casinos/card rooms in this state. Like you said, the people who shouldn't gamble, make the choice to do it. No one puts a gun to their head and force them to go to the casino, buy lottery tickets, etc.

"Two words: Personal Responsibility." - this is exactly the problem at hand. Americans on average are really not that bright, and their poor decision making ends up impacting everyone. When personal responsibility goes wrong, it ends up becoming social responsibility. People used personal responsibility in buying homes they couldn't afford and investing their 401k in the volatile stock market. The result? A housing crash that's caused major losses for people that made wise decisions and a future filled with near retirees that clearly don't have enough money saved for retirement. If you believe in personal responsibility I hope you're morally okay with tossing the poor and elderly into the streets without care, otherwise people's poor decisions become a moral society's responsibility.

Liberals, why can't you understand that this is how a capitalist society is SUPPOSED to work! Unlike its evil opposite, socialism, which attempts to ensure that none of its citizens lives in abject poverty or is denied basic health care, etc., with capitalism there are SUPPOSED to be WINNERS and LOSERS, and over the long haul, the STRONGEST (i.e. biggest winners) are in a position to win MORE and MORE abnd MORE, while the LOSERS live with LESS and LESS and LESS (or die). All gambling does is help to accelerate this process.

Just drive through a parking lot at a casino. Yes there are a few expensive RV's, but the majority of vehicles is tired, and rusty Detroit iron, which tells me these folks gambling and giving away their money, should be somewhere else. Don't they ever wonder how the big casinos get built?