Comment Text:
Laws against “insider trading” prohibit people from using non-public information to gain an unfair advantage in financial dealings, and from passing that information to others who might improperly profit. This must now be extended to the so-called “predictions markets” which are betting on future events. There have been too many cases of Congress persons abusing their knowledge of pending legislation to allow them to continue to be active in the stock market. Now it appears that Trump and his minions are part of that notorious gang of thieves. All government officials’ financial assets should be put in truly blind trusts for the duration of their terms in office, or fully invested in Treasury Bills or Savings Bonds and overseen by a non-partisan monitoring board. Those still have opportunity for abuse through policy manipulation, but not as blatant as stock and bond investments. Furthermore, any manipulation of government securities to enhance returns would benefit all investors.
The expansion of gambling in many states has been quickly followed by “gambling problem hotline” services being created to help those who get addicted to gambling. A lot of gambling has been run by organized crime groups, who profit immensely from greedy people hoping for a quick monetary fix to all their woes, only to find themselves worse off than ever before.
Finally, even though a few folks get lucky, the “gambler’s ruin problem” in probability theory says that since the odds favor the house even slightly, if one keeps betting long enough, the house will eventually win all of an individual gambler’s money. It’s time to rein in the greed.
