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Some of us like to gamble. Americans bet a hundred million dollars every day, and that's just at legal places like Las Vegas and Indian reservations. Much more is bet illegally.
So authorities crack down. They raided a VFW branch that ran a poker game for charity. They ban lotteries, political futures markets and sports betting. They raid truck stops to confiscate video poker machines. Why?
On my Fox Business News show tomorrow night, Chad Hills of Focus on the Family (www.focusonthefamily.com/) says: "These machines have been shown to be extremely addictive. That's a huge concern,...
Leave the Gamblers Alone!
It is currently estimated that there are $684 trillion in outstanding derivatives and another $800 trillion in "shadow" or off-balance-sheet derivatives (which are impossible to calculate because they are not reported), totaling well over $1.4 quadrillion.
This is roughly 27 times the global GDP at $55 trillion, and 7 times aggregate global asset values (of stocks, real estate and private business) at $200 trillion. Obviously, this total amount is not at risk, but the derivatives are based ultimately on underlying asset values or assumptions that if off by even 5%, could create a loss that well...