Say goodbye to InTrade

Remember when conservatives warned that the federal government was grabbing way too much power, and they'd increasingly use it in ways you wouldn't like?

Well if you liked the on-line prediction site In-Trade, too bad: Seems the gummint's "Commodity Futures Trading Commission" has unilaterally decided that the process of betting on the outcome of future events is actually "trading in commodities futures."

Since In-Trade doesn't have a gummint license to do that, the CFTC has threatened to fine 'em--a business-ending $140,000 per "violation."

Sweet, huh.

Oh, they did apply for a license.  Guess what?  CFTC turned 'em down.

Interestingly, when an established, licensed U.S. commodity exchange applied for permission to do what Intrade does, the CFTC turned them down, too.

See how the game works to control behavior?  Some gummint bureaucrat decides "You gotta have a license to do X, and if you don't, we'll fine you out of existence."  Then the agency refuses to give you a license.

But hey, don't worry, citizen:  If you don't like the law, work to change it.

Oh, wait:  The CFTC, like all federal agencies, runs on internal regulations that it makes up as it goes.  Congress merely charges federal agencies with "regulating" X, and leaves the details to each agency.

Of course that actually doesn't matter because congress has been rendered powerless by Obama's use of executive orders or simple "policy letters" to agencies directing them to do things a certain way.  Like the way he unilaterally granted 30 million illegal aliens the right to stay in the United States forever, and also gave 'em green cards.

Why bother with trying to push a law change through congress when it's so much easier and quicker to simply issue a decree, eh?  Just like Chavez.