Stop Predatory Gambling

Bono, you left out at least one important threat: extreme greed

by spgadmin

Bono, lead singer for the rock band U2, published an opinion piece in Sunday’s New York Times about how, in his view, “America might just hold the keys to solving the three greatest threats we face on this planet: extreme poverty, extreme ideology and extreme climate change.”

But there is at least one more important threat that needs to be added to his list: extreme greed and it is directly connected to the other three threats he identifies.

Extreme greed is at the root of our present economic crisis, appropriately described as “casino capitalism” – the use of predatory practices and financial gimmicks to promote an illusion of free money. Extreme greed is the driver behind the loss of economic values in America, leaving us exposed to a potentially long period of decline.

In his column, Bono writes that “America is not just a country but an idea, a great idea about opportunity for all and responsibility to your fellow man.” Extreme greed is the polar opposite of this “great idea.”

And no issue better symbolizes the threat extreme greed poses to America than state-sponsored predatory gambling. Promoted in the name of getting someone else to pay your taxes, state-sponsored predatory gambling has led America into a swamp of greed and debt while handing a small number of schemers an obscene level of unearned power and wealth. “Rebranding America”, to use Bono’s term, starts right here.