"Ever since Ronald Reagan hit paydirt selling the rubes on big black bucks driving their Cadillacs to the store for their 18-ounce T-Bones, the Republicans have used accusations of "waste, fraud, and abuse" to attack any government programs they don't like. It's always those programs that help our poorer fellow citizens, usually on thin or vaporous evidence. This worked so well that, during the heyday of the Democratic Leadership Conference, even some Democrats derived some benefit from the strategy. (Hi, Bill Clinton!)"
"The targets always were the recipients of the programs and rarely the people who profited from what actual fraud there was. The GOP got them elected to the Senate. So, now, in a desperate attempt to distract attention from a war gone sideways, and a wretched economic record, and whatever vipers are hiding in the underbrush, the administration is banging this old tin drum even more loudly. J.D. Vance is playing the Harold Hill role."
"On the evening of Thursday, June 12, a small group of internet gamblers made a highly specific prediction on Polymarket, the betting website that offers odds on virtually everything. Thirteen users wagered a total of $140,000 that Israel would strike Iran by the end of that week, even as the odds suggested that an attack was unlikely. Seven of the accounts had been opened just days earlier. Another had a history of bets related to military action against Iran-and had won money on all of them."
"Israel attacked Iran later that day, netting the accounts more than $600,000 in profits. It's hard to tell if this is more dangerous or surreal. People making book on the likelihood of a war or the success of a foreign policy initiative. The explosive growth of prediction markets like Polymarket has rattled"
Republicans have long used claims of waste, fraud, and abuse to discredit government programs they oppose, often targeting program recipients rather than those who profit from actual wrongdoing. This approach has sometimes benefited Democrats as well. The strategy is now being used more aggressively amid a war that has gone badly and an economic record that is viewed negatively. At the same time, the economy is described as resembling a casino, with prediction markets growing rapidly. A reported example involves internet gamblers placing bets on Polymarket that Israel would strike Iran, despite odds suggesting low likelihood. After the strike occurred, the accounts that made the prediction profited substantially, raising concerns about the danger and surreal nature of betting on war and foreign policy outcomes.
#political-rhetoric #government-spending #prediction-markets #war-and-foreign-policy #economic-gambling
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