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Al D'Amato: Online Freedom Fighter

Posted by Hemos on from the like-adam-eterneum dept.

netbuzz writes "Former New York Sen. Al D'Amato is giving lobbying a good name by providing an insider's political savvy to a fledgling group called the Poker Players Alliance, which is attempting to overturn the federal prohibition against online poker. The New York Times has the details, including an enlightening look at D'Amato's passion for the game. As with all forms of gambling, online poker should be legal, regulated and taxed. Go, Al. "

4 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Where we often part ways by MikeRT · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Taxing vice is bad policy for a few reasons:

    1) It gives the government financial incentive to keep vice going, rather than let private citizens be the sole determining factor in what happens to it.

    2) It often gets carried away, recreating the black market. Cigarette smuggling between states is a good example of this. If every state imposed a modest tax, it'd be non-issue but many jurisdictions can't help themselves.

    3) It has no demonstrated tendency to reduce the consumption of or participation in a vice.

    The best way to go is to hit vice with existing taxes, such as sales tax for drugs, liquor and sexual services and the income tax for gambling. That way you still get the revenue without getting much bureaucracy involved or encouraging the vice.

    1. Re:Where we often part ways by speardane · · Score: 3, Insightful
      and banning vice works?

      Alcohol = prohibition & Mafia

      Drugs = DEA & trafficking

      put it in clear view, like Amsterdam and cannabis, most people will get bored and ignore it

      --
      if "Faith" could be proved with facts - would it still be faith? So why does "Faith" try to present beliefs as fact? -
  2. Special Interests by RedHat+Rocky · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Wow, torn I am. As a poker player who no longer plays due to the legal situation, how do I feel about a lobbyist?

    The same why I feel about the rest of them: Bad.

    As much as I would like to restart playing online legally (yeah, I know I could do the offshore bank thing but not on my bankroll), a lobbyist is not the way I'd like to get it back.

    Special interests are what got our government where it is today; unfortunately, I don't see a way out. Does anyone else? Argue with me, I need some hope! :)

    --
    Anything is possible given time and money.
  3. The US doesn't own the Internet by PrescriptionWarning · · Score: 2, Insightful

    and that is precisely what they get in to their heads... its one thing to help prevent murders, and other such nastiness by using the internet, its quite another to attempt to block something which is legal in certain areas of the US! Hypocrisy, it seems, is becoming the norm.