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Change you can believe in.

Didn't vote for the guy but +1 to him if this gets done.

is the problem with the governemnt? i dont think so.
it s the poker sites that dont wanna pay taxes, so the government wont let them get USA players.
correct me if i m wrong plz

Nice

come on Obama one time!!!!

Could be trure. But the casinos are are getting ready if this gets overturned.

I believe the problem is with the government. Poker is seen among many (who don't play it or just plain suck at it) to be a game of pure chance. Because of that, it's seen as gambling. The government doesn't seem to like gambling very much unless you're in Vegas, on an Indian Reservation, or contributing to the government through the use of state lotteries. Unless previously listed, gambling and poker is one of the most horrendous things you could do.

The government doesn't ban US players because companies don't want to pay taxes. It's banned because many conservatives consider it to be a morally wrong thing to do, regardless of personal freedoms. Rest assured, if the government were to legalize it, there would be many companies sprouting up based in America where the industry can be regulated within the law (whereas now it cannot). Plus, the fact that online poker will be LEGAL, will actually attract a larger consumer base.

LOL conservatives.

Of course the problem is the government. They are the ones with the monopoly on force and law that is standing in the way.

I will say, at least both online and brick and mortar casinos don't demand you pay them a portion of your income every year and then come to your house with guns if you refuse to pay it.....

Morally, casinos > government, imo.

/end anarchist rant

Yeah man, who needs schools or police or a social safety net? I say, **** the poor I got mine.

Also, your point about casinos is pretty bad; they demand that you give them 5 (or 10) percent of everything you win (which, because of churn, is much higher than 5% of what you actually win), and in return they promise to provide a safe and fair game. Hell, sometimes they even take a little extra, so they can provide a bad beat jackpot. That seems exactly like a government taking taxes to provide services and a safety net.

I know Ayn Rand has some convincing arguments, but you have to remember that she was completely insane because the soviets ****ed up her life so bad.

Governments don't need to impose income taxes in order for their populations to be educated or be safe. Just look at countries like Switzerland, containing the happiest peoples in the world, some of the highest GDPs per head, and zero beggars.

They need taxes of some sort to provide those services (or they need to be incredibly wealthy because of natural resources, such as Dubai). Also, Switzerland does have income tax, it just isn't taken by the federal government.

Yeah because the unilateral expropriation of wealth by the government is clearly the ONLY possible source for any of those things. Awesome logic.

Clearly there were no police, schools, or charitable foundations before the government started stealing from people to provide them....

Except you aren't forced to go into a casino, whereas you are forced to live under the territorial monopoly of a state.

Good thing I'm not a Randian.

If there is a demand for those services, people will voluntarily pay for them without being forced to.

Sorry but all of those services have been provided by the market at some point or another. You are using a false dichotomy here.

Correct me if I am misunderstanding you... but you are saying that there should not be governments, and the free market will take care of the rest?
Who protects the property rights of the people? What prevents corporations from just dumping nuclear waste where ever they want? Are there any roads? What stops your neighbor from coming into your house and raping your wife/killing your family?

If the government doesn't provide free education, who educates the poor who cannot afford to go to school? Do we just let old people die in the streets because they don't have any money and they aren't able to work?


And when we give up all this (social stability, safety, an educated populous, environmental protection) what do we get? A slightly larger pay check?

Pretty much.

Lots of things. Namely, the property owners, the law, and PDAs.

The property rights of whoever's property they are dumping on, obviously.

Of course. Do you really believe that governments are the only agencies capable of building roads?

Same thing that realistically stops them now: my gun.

There is no such thing as free education. Someone has to pay for it. No one has the right to force other people to pay for someone else's education against those people's will any more than I have the right to hold a gun to your head and demand that you buy my friend an Playstation 3.

Also, more false dichotomies. Why do you assume that the government is the only agency capable of taking care of the poor or old or sick (especially considering the fact that they don't even do that great of a job at that as it is)?

No, we get a thing called liberty and a just society.

I'm not so sure it is a great idea to turn this into a political/ideological pissing match going back and forth, so let's just leave it at you thinking I'm some nutbar Libertarian/Anarcho-capitalist and move along, ok?

Fair enough. Its just that I used to believe very similar things to you, but I had my mind changed.
//end derail


Most likely, Obama is going to just ignore this, like he did when he was taking open questions and a bunch of people asked him about legalizing marijuana - he doesn't want to waste the political capital on something he doesn't see as important, when there are a bunch of huge problems out there.

Well our president did promise CHANGE....

I've always said that if the casinos are so concerned with online poker taking away from their business then maybe they should look to jump into the online gaming industruy themselves. Just think about "Ceasers Online" or the "The Palms Online Poker Room". I would've thought greedy casino execs would've thought this one up already. With their lobbying we would have online poker back already....of course it never really left.

LOL Free Market

Ooops, I seem to have clicked on politics forum.