Al D'Amato: Online Freedom Fighter

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. "

Comments

Where we often part ways

[MikeRT]

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.