Comment Text:
I've been following activities of the CFTC ever since I covered, as an economics reporter, the agency's establishment in the mid-70s and appointment of Bill Bagley as its first chairman. In all that time I have never disagreed with one of its proposed actions as much as I do with the potential move to ban political prediction markets. Having often participated in PredictIt markets in recent years, I reject the notion that they should be considered primarily as a gambling vehicle. Rather, I see them as a useful tool in informing the public about the political process and encouraging their engagement in it. In its role as a valuable polling resource, I consider the market to be every bit as important to citizens of our democracy as soybeans and pork bellies are to commercial traders. Please allow such markets to do their job.
