Internet Gambling: "Underground and Uncontrolled"

Gambling isn't just for the casinos anymore. A new wave of gambling has taken over and that is the unregulated industry of internet gambling. Currently in this country it is illegal to gamble online however, it is legal to sit in a casino and gamble in 48 states. Sounds strange huh? I believe so...I chose this interview with Michael Waxman:Executive Director of the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, that I found on C-SPAN because of the impact certain proposed bills could have on our economy. Throughout this video Mr. Waxman explains the positives, that when regulated, internet gambling could have.

Currently there are ways for internet users to gamble online through companies that are located off shore(of the US) and they are not regulated. An estimated 10s of millions of dollars are being exchanged through these websites on everything from online poker to sports betting. As Mr. Waxman says "Gambling is apart of or Culture" and is going to continue. I agree with Mr. Waxman in saying that the best way to handle this issue is to regulate it to help provide safeguards for underage, compulsive and fraudulent gambling. If regulated people would know that the websites they are gambling on are licensed and reputable.

Beyond the fact that consumers would know that they are on and dealing with licensed companies, government could place taxes on theses licenses creating a new form of revenue. As pointed out in the video, a possible 42 billion in federal tax and up to 30 billion in state tax revenue could be collected from theses companies. This is NEW revenue, that could help our economy, which is currently being lost off shore. All the taxes that would be collected would be from licensing fees and come from the companies not the consumers. Some people argue the fact that it would create a issue with problem gamblers however, in the bills being proposed, the internet sites would be required to set loss limits, advertise for gambling help and post odds for games.

No matter the case, internet gambling will continue to happen whether it is regulated by our government or not. The biggest difference I see is that without regulation, our economy is losing out on billions that could be used to reduce our deficits. This is a very interesting video and brings to light a very interesting topic that is being debated in our congress right now. I suggest watching this video and forming your own opinion but I see the positives out-weighing the negatives.

Political Gimmicks? Indiana Sen. Ellsworth (D)

RealClearPolitics - Video - IN-Sen: Ellsworth Suggests Obama Economic Proposal Is A "Gimmick"

Turning the Page?

I am responding to the Aug. 31 C-SPAN video announcement by President Barrack Obama. Here Obama makes a statement announcing the withdraw of US troops in Iraq. The US is officially handing over the ropes to Iraqi forces to maintain their own security and democracy. The removal of the forces does not mean the US is packing up and leaving Iraq to swim alone. No no, we shall remain as a life jacket giving them support, democratically and military, when needed. The President has set a complete turnover date for next year with promises of a long term relationship/partnership.

Obama addresses the fact that the US has paid a huge price in this drawn out "open ended" war. We have not only paid trillions at the expense of the tax payers but also with the blood of our young soldiers. This was has come at during a time of great economic downfall in our own country and Obama announces that the resources spent of the Iraq was can now be focused at fixing problems within our own country. I very much agree with this statement and think that the US needs to focus more on protecting its own boarders.

I can't help but wonder about the timing of the withdraw of the troops. It is about voting time and democrats are losing support. Is Obama trying to ramp up support for the left? Also, congress has promised thousands of troops to the 4 southern states... This brings me to another question.. With are own boarders becoming increasingly unsafe, are our troops coming home or just being relocated to fight a war in our own back yard? Just a few side thoughts...

With the withdraw Obama says we are "Turning the Page"... We a turning the page but the next page has WAR written all over it. If our troops don't come home some are sure to be sent to Afghanistan. Yes, another country we have to clean up. I believe its only right and that we are headed in the right direction but I wonder if it is really possible to withdraw so quick and these 2 economies still remain stable....after all we did destroy a lot of their infrastructure just a few years ago. Whatever the case this is a good first step to helping out our own economy and refocusing important issues. I hope one day we will be able to "turn the page" to a day when all troops come home and war is over, not just moved BACK to the country next door.