Technology 
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Gambling: Free to Lose?
Gambling has been around for much of human history. But as it grows from a local practice to an international online phenomenon worth $335 billion, people begin raising questions. Cato scholar Radley Balko participates in the Economist's debate series, on the resolution: "This house believes there should be no legal restrictions on gambling." Blako describes many practical reasons why gambling creates perverse incentives, but says that the best reason to legalize gambling is upon the grounds of individual liberty. "If liberty means anything at all, it means the freedom to make our own choices about our own lives, our money, our habits and how we spend our leisure time, even if they happen to be choices other people would not make for themselves." Check out the debate and share your thoughts here.
The Myth of the Model
“Most people don’t notice it, but “model” may be the most dangerous word in the English language right now. Models justify a lot of the bad policies that have been, or soon will be, foisted on us,” says Max Borders, writing in the June 2010 Freeman. Explaining how society has come to rely on models, and how that reliance has come to cripple us, Borders says “economies are not pumps to be primed, but economic ecosystems. Economists are thus notoriously bad at predicting, much less planning, economies.” Therefore, he advocates that, moving forward, economics should focus on the fundamentals, not magic models that carry an air of accuracy but are most often defunct in reality.
Whole-Body Imaging: Intrusion Without Security
Writing for the Foundation for Economic Education, Becky Akers describes the FTA's rollout of full-body imaging in airport screenings, technology that provides a plethora of conversation starters but no dramatic increase in security. The imaging, which reveals practically everything under one's clothes, can be adjusted to protect privacy and only detect dense items, like guns, but then it misses softer items like plastic explosives. Akers conveys the sort of graphic trade-offs such policies will assuredly produce. Hinting at the ballooning costs of broad-scale adoption, Akers offers a solution: entrust security decisions to the professionals rather than politicians. This would not only save tax payers money, but it would also align business interest with safety because “airlines have all the incentive we could ask to institute practical, effective security.”
Friday Event: The Great Copyright Debate
Information technology and intellectual property have become integral parts of everyday life, but how can they blend together in a way that promotes ownership and trade? Cato Director of Information Policy Studies Jim Harper will present at a student forum on the policy considerations of copyright, April 30th, at 4:00pm (EST). The event will be held at the Cato Institute, in Washington D.C., and broadcast live here. The event will be followed by a wine, cheese and beer reception with Cato scholars and staff. Register for free on the link above.
Politicians Keep your Flights Delayed
'As the holiday travel rush approaches, air travelers grounded by delays should take a moment to think about why they're stuck in airports or on the tarmac. There's a good chance Washington is to blame,' says a recent Reason.tv video. The technology used in current U.S. air traffic control is basically the same system that was used decades ago. Countries like Canada have already adapted to market-based, privately organized systems. This video explains why the U.S. should follow suit.
No Thanks, Net Nannies
'Net Neutrality' is a funny way to say 'government control of the internet,' but that's what regulators are calling it. Reason editor Peter Suderman explains the issue, and what's at stake. The government, along with several big businesses who would benefit from such regulation, is trying to strong-arm and mislead the public, saying that regulation is needed to protect the Internet. But Suderman asks, "Isn't it usually true that the best way of preserving a system that's almost universally agreed to be working quite well already is to leave it alone?" Time will tell how well Obama, his administrators and his big business friends get with their pursuit of control. If you thought GM was a big takeover, what about the whole Internet?!