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Kathleen K. Watterson
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18 Nov 2009
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Once again, a forward-looking U.S. congressman had a great idea.
And once again, that great idea has been thwarted. What else is new?
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon – one of the most progressive U.S. states – suggested
that American health care subsidies for uninsured and inadequately insured citizens
might be partially financed through Internet gambling taxes. I thought it was a great
idea, and one that had personal impact, which I’ll explain shortly. |
Wyden’s proposal was temporarily on
the table for discussion at the U.S.
Senate, where he had offered it as an
amendment to Barney Frank’s bill
(the Internet Regulation, Consumer
Protection and Enforcement Act, which would
legalize online gambling within the United States
and provide the appropriate framework and context
for taxation).
While Wyden’s idea was still “in committee,” I
savoured the prospect that many people, including
myself, could wind up with better health coverage
once online poker and other Internet gambling
activities are officially legal and regulated.
Naturally, it wouldn’t be the only benefit, or even
the primary benefit. Freedom is always primary, and
it goes without saying (I hope) that adults should
have the freedom to play poker or other games for
cash stakes, whether online or otherwise. But for just
a few short days, there was also a possibility that
some badly needed reforms might be partially
financed by tapping the vast, untapped reservoir of
online gaming taxation.
As I mentioned earlier, Wyden’s idea “struck
home” for me in a very personal way.
You see, I’m one of those “under-insured”
Americans you’ve probably heard about. Thus far,
I’ve escaped major medical expense through the
blessings of good health and a safe driving record.
But I’m at an age where I no longer take such
blessings for granted, and the medical insurance I
presently have through self-employment is nowhere
near the coverage I would actually need were I to
suffer a major illness or accident before age 65. (At
that age, I will qualify for federal health benefits
under the program known as Medicare – assuming it
survives the current economic upheaval.)
Alas, my daydream of better health coverage
through taxes on Internet poker soon fizzled. Senator
Wyden suddenly withdrew his amendment.
Apparently, his progressive ideas ruffled feathers
in the wrong places. (Yes, I’m referring to that
powerful, right-wing, conservative, fundamentalist
“family values” camp you’ve heard so much about –
which, not coincidentally, was already vehemently
opposed to the legalization of online gambling, no
matter how much revenue it might provide.)
Well, at least there’s nothing new about all this.
For Congress to turn its back on what amounts to
“found money” is sheer stupidity, but that’s what
successive Republican administrations have done,
and it remains to be seen whether wiser heads
will prevail before the next elections. Or ever, for
that matter.
I can’t help but think how differently things could
have gone.
If only Internet poker had been properly taxed
and regulated – not to mention legalized under
federal law – right from its inception. At this point,
online gambling would be an accepted fixture in
American life and it would be political suicide to even
suggest the elimination of such a convenient revenue
stream. Why didn’t our elected representatives
exercise just a bit of common sense back when
PlanetPoker.com and ParadisePoker.com were
launched? A cyberspace-based tax stream was ripe
for the taking even in those early years of dial-up
connections and clunky software.
Taxes on legalized Internet gambling would
generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue in
coming years. America’s uninsured and semiinsured
citizens would clearly have benefited from
allocating some of that money for their medical care.
Now it won’t happen – at least not this time.
The costs, flaws and built-in inefficiencies of the
U.S. health care system are out of control, and have
been for some time. Despite President Obama’s
efforts to institute reform, I’m not sure we’re
any closer to a working solution than we were a
decade ago.
Nevertheless, it was wonderful to see one of our
legislators come up with a truly sensible and helpful
idea that would have been a step in the right
direction. I’m sorry to see it go.
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