OPPOSING VIEWS
5 June 2009
Barney Frank and Spencer Bachus present their
cases
The publication US News gave American politicians Barney
Frank and arch rival Spencer Bachus plenty of space to
present their strongly opposing views on Internet
gambling this week, bringing a welcome exposure to the
subject shortly after Frank launched his latest bill to
legalise and regulate the pastime in the United States.
The result is an interesting comparison of the
libertarian approach aimed at protectiing the rights and
freedoms of citizens espoused by Democrat congressman
Frank, and a more moralistic, controlling attitude from
Republican politician Spencer Bachus.
The two
views, which can be found at
http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2009/06/01/online-gambling-debate-barney-frank-vs-spencer-bachus.html
raise nothing really new in the arguments deployed by
the two men, but it is a useful reference to their
debating positions and widely differing attitudes on how
the US citizen should be treated in his or her personal
use of the Internet.
Frank concludes: "Finally,
there are two blatant contradictions in the position of
those conservatives who push to outlaw Internet
gambling. First, it is the most glaring example we have
of interfering with freedom on the Internet. Second, to
those who claim to be unhappy with the intrusiveness of
the "nanny state," there is no stronger case than for a
nanny government insisting we be "better" people by
reducing our freedom."
Bachus, who tends to use
previous incidents to reinforce his often sweeping
statements, ends his presentation by saying: "Even if
one concedes that legalization and regulation could
possibly prevent underage gambling, compulsive play,
cheating by casinos as documented by 60 Minutes and the
Washington Post, and money laundering or drug
trafficking by criminals on U.S.-sanctioned gambling
sites, the pre-2006 problem of predatory, illegal
offshore casino bets would return. One country's rules
would be woefully insufficient. Ultimately, the results
of legalization would be expanding, sanctioning, and
inevitably losing control of an industry that offers few
advantages to the economy or tax base but incredible
pain to families across the country."
The two
arguments are well worth reading, and the presentations
are followed by an online poll where readers can
indicate whether online gambling should or should not be
legalised and regulated in America - when InfoPowa
visited the voting was overwhelmingly in favour of
legalisation.
Online Casino News Courtesy of
Infopowa
More news here.
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