4 ms·

It is, because we live in a society, have a social safety net that you and I pay for, and our kids go to school with their kids. It’s your responsibility as som

It is, because we live in a society, have a social safety net that you and I pay for, and our kids go to school with their kids. It’s your responsibility as someone fortunate enough to be graced with intelligence and impulse control to help those who weren’t, and you’re not doing that by encouraging them to do whatever they want.

garciasn 1y ago
Wait; are you saying that as a society we should regulate EVERYTHING people spend money on regardless of their method of doing so? Because, as everyone knows, EVERYTHING is addictive in one way or another. I don't personally agree with gambling, as I just don't understand how someone could possibly enjoy it; but, I sure as fuck believe that every human being can spend their hard-earned money however they see fit. Churches, retailers, bars, strip clubs, restaurants, etc. All of these allow people to spend their hard-earned money in questionable ways and many folks go WAY overboard w/them. But, my guess is, you don't really want to regulate all of those; just the ones you disagree with.
- bdangubic 1y ago
  solid points but why do we “regulate” anything? why is prostitution illegal? hard drugs (well best drugs you can get from your Doc if you are rich but say street-drugs)? we should either stop all the nonsense all together and if we are already “OK” with regulating something, gambling should be close to the top of what we regulate
  - garciasn 1y ago
    Because people love controlling other people and making excuses as to why.
- rayiner 1y ago
  > I sure as fuck believe that every human being can spend their hard-earned money however they see fit. Why? Do these people not live in society next to you? Don’t you subsidize their healthcare, the education of their kids, etc? > But, my guess is, you don't really want to regulate all of those; just the ones you disagree with. The only one of those I wouldn’t regulate is churches, and that’s because study after study shows that people who participate in organized religion are happier and healthier, and communities with healthy churches do better in social metrics than ones that don’t. E.g. Mormons live 5-10 years longer than white Americans generally: https://www.deseret.com/2010/4/13/20375744/ucla-study-proves-mormons-live-longer https://www.deseret.com/2010/4/13/20375744/ucla-study-proves.... (I suspect New England Congregationalists have similarly superlative outcomes, but I don’t have the data.) Imagine how much lower our healthcare costs would be if you could take the social magic Mormons do and apply it to the whole country. Maybe we don’t have to ban coffee. But is the alternative really for society to suffer the negative externalities of every individual choice with no power to regulate those choices?
  - bfg_9k 1y ago
    You know, I think you'll find people being unlike Mormons is better for the taxpayer. https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Smoking-and-the-Public-Purse.pdf https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Smoking-and-th... For example, the study above shows that smokers *are actually a net benefit* to the government's bottom line since they pay taxes throughout their lifetime on tobacco and then they die faster (therefore spending less money in the form of healthcare/ aged pensions).
stickfigure 1y ago
Something like 3-5% of the gambling population are "problem gamblers". This is a much lower percentage than problem drinkers or smoking addicts. I'm really not comfortable with the idea that we should only permit activities that are purely harmless. 30-50 people die each year in skiing accidents in the US alone. Those people have families too. Where do you want to draw the line?
- hattmall 1y ago
  It's pretty easy, we draw that line at things that are psychology designed to be exploitative. Well, I mean, we DON'T draw the line, but we should. Skiing carries risk but it generally provides participants enjoyment. There aren't companies that exploit psychological quirks to compel people to ski continuously even when they actively state they don't want to. Even alcohol companies don't generate their revenue on exploiting behavior patterns to compel more drinking. Gambling and Social media do exactly that. In fact social media has purposely adopted the exact same patterns of gambling to make it so that "scrolling" IS gambling, but it's time and enjoyment instead of money. They don't just show you what you want all the time, they induce FOMO by only occasionally offering rewarding content, which results in compulsive usage.
  - stickfigure 1y ago
    I see, you want to take away my social media. While I'm pretty ambivalent about gambling, I very much enjoy my media habits. I am glad to have my intuition confirmed - you're a busybody who wants to meddle in my life for my own good. I don't like these modern temperance movements. Leave people alone.
    - jjani 1y ago
      They said, watching society go down the abyss. Have you noticed how things are going? Do you genuinely believe these are non-factors?
      - int_19h 1y ago
zoklet-enjoyer 1y ago
I like electronic music and I have a Sweetwater credit card with a limit of several thousand dollars. Why should I be allowed to go into debt to buy electronic doodads that I don't need? So now what if my hobby is betting on sports? I don't see a difference.
- rayiner 1y ago
  To a degree you aren’t! Many countries take a little out of your paycheck every month (and often make your employer do the same) because the government knows you won’t plan for the future properly.
yieldcrv 1y ago
how does them gambling or spending on things have to do with the social safety net and public education program? their activity funds it - where taxed - and their activity doesn't strain it either
SirMaster 1y ago
Just because a relatively few can't handle it doesn't mean we should take it away from everyone. How about we just educate or deal with the few in some way?
- rayiner 1y ago
  Because education doesn’t work. If it did there wouldn’t be fat doctors. Everyone knows don’t eat too much and that gambling is bad. A significant fraction of the population needs more intensive management and supervision.

garciasn 1y ago

Wait; are you saying that as a society we should regulate EVERYTHING people spend money on regardless of their method of doing so? Because, as everyone knows, EVERYTHING is addictive in one way or another. I don't personally agree with gambling, as I just don't understand how someone could possibly enjoy it; but, I sure as fuck believe that every human being can spend their hard-earned money however they see fit. Churches, retailers, bars, strip clubs, restaurants, etc. All of these allow people to spend their hard-earned money in questionable ways and many folks go WAY overboard w/them. But, my guess is, you don't really want to regulate all of those; just the ones you disagree with.

bdangubic 1y ago
solid points but why do we “regulate” anything? why is prostitution illegal? hard drugs (well best drugs you can get from your Doc if you are rich but say street-drugs)? we should either stop all the nonsense all together and if we are already “OK” with regulating something, gambling should be close to the top of what we regulate
- garciasn 1y ago
  Because people love controlling other people and making excuses as to why.
rayiner 1y ago
> I sure as fuck believe that every human being can spend their hard-earned money however they see fit. Why? Do these people not live in society next to you? Don’t you subsidize their healthcare, the education of their kids, etc? > But, my guess is, you don't really want to regulate all of those; just the ones you disagree with. The only one of those I wouldn’t regulate is churches, and that’s because study after study shows that people who participate in organized religion are happier and healthier, and communities with healthy churches do better in social metrics than ones that don’t. E.g. Mormons live 5-10 years longer than white Americans generally: https://www.deseret.com/2010/4/13/20375744/ucla-study-proves-mormons-live-longer https://www.deseret.com/2010/4/13/20375744/ucla-study-proves.... (I suspect New England Congregationalists have similarly superlative outcomes, but I don’t have the data.) Imagine how much lower our healthcare costs would be if you could take the social magic Mormons do and apply it to the whole country. Maybe we don’t have to ban coffee. But is the alternative really for society to suffer the negative externalities of every individual choice with no power to regulate those choices?
- bfg_9k 1y ago
  You know, I think you'll find people being unlike Mormons is better for the taxpayer. https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Smoking-and-the-Public-Purse.pdf https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Smoking-and-th... For example, the study above shows that smokers *are actually a net benefit* to the government's bottom line since they pay taxes throughout their lifetime on tobacco and then they die faster (therefore spending less money in the form of healthcare/ aged pensions).

stickfigure 1y ago

Something like 3-5% of the gambling population are "problem gamblers". This is a much lower percentage than problem drinkers or smoking addicts. I'm really not comfortable with the idea that we should only permit activities that are purely harmless. 30-50 people die each year in skiing accidents in the US alone. Those people have families too. Where do you want to draw the line?

hattmall 1y ago
It's pretty easy, we draw that line at things that are psychology designed to be exploitative. Well, I mean, we DON'T draw the line, but we should. Skiing carries risk but it generally provides participants enjoyment. There aren't companies that exploit psychological quirks to compel people to ski continuously even when they actively state they don't want to. Even alcohol companies don't generate their revenue on exploiting behavior patterns to compel more drinking. Gambling and Social media do exactly that. In fact social media has purposely adopted the exact same patterns of gambling to make it so that "scrolling" IS gambling, but it's time and enjoyment instead of money. They don't just show you what you want all the time, they induce FOMO by only occasionally offering rewarding content, which results in compulsive usage.
- stickfigure 1y ago
  I see, you want to take away my social media. While I'm pretty ambivalent about gambling, I very much enjoy my media habits. I am glad to have my intuition confirmed - you're a busybody who wants to meddle in my life for my own good. I don't like these modern temperance movements. Leave people alone.
  - jjani 1y ago
    They said, watching society go down the abyss. Have you noticed how things are going? Do you genuinely believe these are non-factors?
    - int_19h 1y ago

zoklet-enjoyer 1y ago

I like electronic music and I have a Sweetwater credit card with a limit of several thousand dollars. Why should I be allowed to go into debt to buy electronic doodads that I don't need? So now what if my hobby is betting on sports? I don't see a difference.

rayiner 1y ago
To a degree you aren’t! Many countries take a little out of your paycheck every month (and often make your employer do the same) because the government knows you won’t plan for the future properly.

yieldcrv 1y ago

how does them gambling or spending on things have to do with the social safety net and public education program? their activity funds it - where taxed - and their activity doesn't strain it either

SirMaster 1y ago

Just because a relatively few can't handle it doesn't mean we should take it away from everyone. How about we just educate or deal with the few in some way?

rayiner 1y ago
Because education doesn’t work. If it did there wouldn’t be fat doctors. Everyone knows don’t eat too much and that gambling is bad. A significant fraction of the population needs more intensive management and supervision.