This column is different than my usual ones; but the recent Congressional legislation against online poker got me thinking. . .
The major argument against online poker is that some people have become addicted to gambling on the Internet. Ex-Congressman Jim Leach of Iowa was one of the powers in Congress who pushed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement (UIGE) Act, getting ex-Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee to attach it to the must-pass bill on port security. (Leach was defeated by a Democrat.) After UIGE was enacted, Leach argued that "many American families have been touched by huge losses from Internet gambling. . ." Then he added, "Just click the mouse and lose your house."
Personally, I don't know any such family, but I won't deny that Leach's statement could very well have substance. Yes, it is really unfortunate if someone loses huge amounts of money, more than he can afford, playing poker or any other form of gaming - betting on horse races and other sports, playing roulette or the slots in Indian casinos, or buying lottery tickets at the corner 7-11 store. . .
So what's the best way to solve that problem? Is it Government's place to legislate laws that protect us from ourselves? Should our elected representatives make laws to deal with human behavior? Is that the way to solve this problem? To solve a tough problem, often it helps to find an appropriate analogy. For example: If I over eat - and, as a result, become dangerously obese (perish the thought) - is the Government going to make a law that prevents me from purchasing my favorite foods or entering a fast food restaurant?
Ridiculous, you say. Besides a lot of our "fat cat" Congressmen already over eat. Well, the same applies to playing poker - online, in a casino, or in a home game. I wonder what ex- Congressman Leach would say to that. . . (In fact, I will send this to my own Congressman. Henry Waxman is an honorable and intelligent human being; and I have the greatest respect for his judgment.)
When I was a child, Congress passed a law making it illegal to drink alcoholic beverages. They called it Prohibition. Years ago, my father, then in his twenties, and other young men learned to make an alcoholic beverage from potatoes; he set up a still in the bathtub. And my grandmother made a delicious alcohol-containing wine from grapes. (I sampled it when I got older.) In fact, the only thing that emerged from that prohibition was to make lots of people into criminals and to encourage crime. As a matter of fact, isn't that the situation with the war on drugs. Personally I think anyone who uses illegal drugs is a fool; but I wouldn't try to solve the problem by using an act of Congress making it a crime. (But, then, I'm not a Congressman.) The solution, of course, is to educate people. I'm not a psychologist - just an engineer who learned how to solve technical/engineering problems and now (in my "retirement") enjoys the challenge and excitement of playing (mostly WINNING!) poker; but I do know that human behavior is not something that Congressmen can legislate. If you want to change how we the people behave, teach us the pros and cons of such behavior so we can make the best decisions. The trouble is too many of our elected representatives THINK they know how to change or control human behavior. Good education is THE answer - not new laws!
So, readers, what's YOUR opinion?
