America's gambling boom should be celebrated, not feared

economist.com

4 points·pseudolus··7 comments

What an absurd argument. Even if granting the dubious assertion that increased gambling is a sign of a booming economy it's not a good idea to celebrate people's dreams of unearned riches. This will lead to a lot of heartbreak and more transfer of wealth to the already ultra wealthy.

This article won't age well and was probably better suited for the pages of Reason and not the Economist. As the article itself notes, this expansion of gambling is reminiscent of a lot of the optimism that surrounded drug decriminalization.

Love the submission right above this one: "DraftKings sued after father-of-two gambles away $1 million of his family’s money"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing

Astroturfing is the deceptive practice of hiding the sponsors of an orchestrated message or organization (e.g., political, advertising, religious, or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from, and is supported by, unsolicited grassroots participants. It is a practice intended to give the statements or organizations credibility by withholding information about the source's financial backers.

Is this written anonymously?

I'm wondering what stake the author(s) have in gambling companies.

> The gambling frenzy is mostly about people being free to enjoy themselves

"The smoking epidemic is mostly about people being free to enjoy themselves"

"Gladiatorial combat is mostly about people being free to enjoy themselves"

"Genocidal warfare is mostly about people being free to enjoy themselves"

"mostly" does a lot of work in all of these statements.

https://archive.ph/nfoII#selection-979.0-979.56

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