Victimless Crime
My coworker and fellow blogger Lindsay and I were talking today, and the subject of prostitution came up. The gist of the conversation was whether or not prostitution should be legal since it is a victimless crime. I'll leave it to Lindsay to go into more detail in her blog (my opinion: It should be legal. Whores and sluts need to make money too), but it got me thinking about another victimless crime: Gambling.
Congress recently passed a bill to "crack down" on internet gambling. This bill will make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to deposit money for a client into an internet gambling account. According to one Congressman, gambling is a "major problem in our society". Ok, so since its a major problem we should stop it. But wait, there was an amendment to the bill to allow online lotteries and off-track betting. And don't almost all states have their own lotteries? Some states, like Pennsylvania, even allow slot machines. So, gambling must only be problem if you are doing it outside one of these government sponsored venues. Apparently, if the government gets a cut of the money, then everything is ok. If not, then its a "major problem." So, I think I shot down this argument.
Another Congressman argued that its never been so easy for people to lose so much money so quickly. "Click the mouse, lose your house" was his slogan. Ok, I agree that is easier than ever for people to lose money gambling. You don't have to drive to a casino any more. You don't have to wait for a dealer to shuffle and deal cards. Everything is at your fingertips from the comfort of your own home. But, why does the government care? They let people smoke and drink themselves to death every day. And we're always told that its "your choice" to do or not do these things. If somebody wants to blow all their money online, let them. If they are degenerate enough to lose their life-savings, then so be it. My take is that if somebody wants to destroy themselves, they'll find a way to do it, regardless of what laws you place in front of them. Another point for me.
And don't give me "It's a moral issue." According to some people, gambling is immoral. The Bible says gambling is wrong. But how many churches do you know that have raffles for fund-raisers? How many churches have weekly BINGO? Again, it seems that gambling is moral if it benefits the church, but immoral any other way.
So, in conclusion, the government is full of shit and this is a completely stupid waste of tax-payer dollars. If you want to regulate it, fine. But don't outlaw it. Prohibition didn't work in the 20s and its not going to work now.
Congress recently passed a bill to "crack down" on internet gambling. This bill will make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to deposit money for a client into an internet gambling account. According to one Congressman, gambling is a "major problem in our society". Ok, so since its a major problem we should stop it. But wait, there was an amendment to the bill to allow online lotteries and off-track betting. And don't almost all states have their own lotteries? Some states, like Pennsylvania, even allow slot machines. So, gambling must only be problem if you are doing it outside one of these government sponsored venues. Apparently, if the government gets a cut of the money, then everything is ok. If not, then its a "major problem." So, I think I shot down this argument.
Another Congressman argued that its never been so easy for people to lose so much money so quickly. "Click the mouse, lose your house" was his slogan. Ok, I agree that is easier than ever for people to lose money gambling. You don't have to drive to a casino any more. You don't have to wait for a dealer to shuffle and deal cards. Everything is at your fingertips from the comfort of your own home. But, why does the government care? They let people smoke and drink themselves to death every day. And we're always told that its "your choice" to do or not do these things. If somebody wants to blow all their money online, let them. If they are degenerate enough to lose their life-savings, then so be it. My take is that if somebody wants to destroy themselves, they'll find a way to do it, regardless of what laws you place in front of them. Another point for me.
And don't give me "It's a moral issue." According to some people, gambling is immoral. The Bible says gambling is wrong. But how many churches do you know that have raffles for fund-raisers? How many churches have weekly BINGO? Again, it seems that gambling is moral if it benefits the church, but immoral any other way.
So, in conclusion, the government is full of shit and this is a completely stupid waste of tax-payer dollars. If you want to regulate it, fine. But don't outlaw it. Prohibition didn't work in the 20s and its not going to work now.
posted by Michael at 8:13 PM
1 Comments:
Sorry to disappoint you about my input on prostitution. But since you misquoted me, I now must say something. I didn't necessarily say it should be legal & I NEVER said whores need money too, I just said that it is a victimless crime. And if you can give it away, why can't it be legal & regulated. Make prostitutes get a license to do this so then they pay taxes & make them get regular tests. Like a re-certification! Ok so I don't have all the details worked out. Just for the record I do think it is immoral & there are much more important issues for our government to be worrying about than prostitution & gambling.
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