The "one way ratchet" issue is certainly worth discussing here

[MiltonFriedman]

I am not sure why the thread about arguments about future trends in legislation was locked. Despot had valid things to say about how he felt that things would be getting worse, a "one way ratchet".

I thought he was wrong,, and that the Legislative future was not that bleak ... fo a number of reasons.

An artificial and arbitrary line should not be drawn between politics and legislation. His thread was discussing legislation, it should not have been locked.

[4_2_it]

Milton,

I locked it after all of the following occurred:

1) Deleted a dumb political post
2) 2 more political posts appear
3) I post a warning to not side track the thread.
4) More political posts appear.

I agree that the one-way ratchet discussion was good, but it was getting drowned out in that thread by partisan bickering.

I will delete all political posts to keep this thread on track as I am curious about this topic as well.

[MiltonFriedman]

Thanks ... on to substance:

Contrary to Despot's assertion, not all criminal laws are a one-way ratchet, leading to stricter and stricter laws.

I cited Prohibition as a counter-example. In response, Despot did not dispute the Prohibition argument, but asked for other examples.

Consider,

Federal anti-lottery statutes and Powerball,
InterState Horseracing Act authorization
the Mann Act,
the Travel Act (H Rap Brown Act),
Campaign Finance laws,

(Disclaimer: I am not a criminal lawyer, but I watch a lot of Law and Order.)

[StellarWind]

Legislation that remove barriers to shadowy offshore gaming sites is simply impossible in today's political environment. No politician in his right mind is going to sponsor or support such legislation.

The ratchet effect of tougher-and-toughter online gaming laws is very real.

WTO pressure might deter new laws but it will not erase the ones that exist. It's a matter of national pride.

The only way out of this mess is a new campaign promoting regulated U.S.-based games operated by respected U.S. companies. If American gaming interests can succeed in promoting this then offshore companies could come back by applying to the new U.S. regulatory regime.