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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, E

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).

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).