Addicted to dependency



I haven’t played poker on the internet in a while, so I pulled out the ol’ plastic the other day and tried to send some money in. The sight that I usually play on stopped taking credit cards however, so I couldn’t play. And it’s all because our government made internet gambling illegal.

They (our government) say that the reason they want it outlawed is that too many people are getting themselves in debt, because they are addicted.

Call me skeptical, but I don’t buy that one.

Oh, I can believe that some folks are addicted to internet gambling. People can and do get addicted to just about anything these days.

What I’m having trouble believing is that the good old boys in congress have our best interest at heart.

Think about it. There are millions of people addicted to casinos and lottery tickets, but does the government outlaw casinos and the lottery. Of course not, that would cost them billions and billions of tax dollars every year.

If our government was so worried about our welfare, they would outlaw vehicles. I know that sounds crazy, but hear me out.

An average of 15.5 fatalities occur for every one billion miles driven in Texas alone. That’s way worse than being addicted in my book. But it’s too lucrative to outlaw, no matter the danger.

The government gets a cut when any vehicle is sold, as well as any parts that you may buy for it, and oil, gas window stickers, etc.

Everybody and their brother drives, therefore everybody and their brother pay these taxes. It’s easy money.

I suspect that the real reason our government is against internet gambling is because they can’t get their slice of the internet pie.

Most- if not all- of these gambling sights are based overseas, so they don’t have to pay U.S. taxes.

Now, let’s just say that I did believe their reasoning for outlawing internet gambling was to protect us- it would still be the wrong thing to do.

I’m a grown ass man who has worked hard for my money since the age of 16. I’m not wealthy by any means, or even what you would call comfortable. But I don’t ask the government for one red cent, either.

So the last thing I need or want is for some pencil pushing nerd behind a desk up in D.C. telling me what I can or cannot do with the money that I’ve earned.

At some point, people in this country are going to have to learn what it’s like to take responsibility for their own actions. Sometimes, with all of the seat belt laws, the helmet laws, and every other law that is supposed to protect us, it seems as though our government has taken over where our parents have left off.

And just like we depended on our parents to get us out of a jam, a lot of people are now depending on our government to bail them out every time they need help.

Don’t feel like growing up and getting a job? No problem, the government will send you a big fat check every month to feed you. They will even get your rent lowered for years at a time. So low that in many cases, your payment on your 52” flat screen is higher than your rent.

We have company bail outs, mortgage bail outs, credit card bail outs, etc. You can go climb a mountain in the winter, get lost or caught up in an avalanche, and our government will spend a few thousand dollars to come and find you. Or you can sit on your butt as a Category 5 hurricane comes at you, ignore every warning for a solid week to get out, then complain loudly when the government doesn’t get there fast enough to help you.

All of these things are a product of people depending too much on their government, much like a child whose parents never kicked him all the way out of the nest.

But as long as our government treats it’s citizens like children, the dependency is never going to stop.