[ansel12]

Reagan
“I cannot go along with the libertarian philosophy that says that all of the sin laws can be ruled out as simply trying to protect us from ourselves. You can take the case of the father who gambles his money away and thus leaves his family dependent on the rest of us. You can take surrounding areas–the necessity for protection against dishonest gambling–which requires added government duties and obligations–”

[nufsed]

Reagan was wrong on that one. He should have said that the state is not responsible for those people. If you mentally or physically can’t work or your disabled then we’ll help you. If you can’t take care of your kids, take them away or just feed the kids and then establish a permanent bill for child support, just like divorced parents. Freedom is more important than the government stopping stupidity.

[ml/nj]

I guess I disagree with the great man. Most people who "gamble" are like me. I sometimes play in $10 poker games that last two hours. And I go to the race track and bet $5 or $10 on some of the races while I'm there. At home I bet $1 or $2 on three to five horses on the days when I pay attention. It's fun for me. My airfare to Kentucky for my spring and fall trips to Keeneland is double the total amount I bet on these trips. (I do sometimes come away with a profit, and lose a fraction of my total bets other times.) That some people are unable to control themselves isn't my problem any more than that some people will drink too much. Freedom isn't always pretty, but it is almost always the way to go.

ML/NJ