Imagine if every time there was a hurricane or an earthquake, people could bet on how many lives would be lost. That's essentially what's happening now as elites turn global crises like war and economic turmoil into gambling opportunities through prediction markets.

The official story is that these markets are a new form of information gathering, supposedly helping policymakers make better decisions by aggregating the wisdom of crowds. But who is this helping? The real beneficiaries are speculators looking to profit from suffering elsewhere in the world.

When you hear about prediction markets being used for things like predicting casualties or economic impacts in war zones, it's hard not to feel sick to your stomach. My late husband always said that the real measure of a society is how well it takes care of its most vulnerable members — and right now, we're seeing that value being turned into cold cash.

Think of it like this: if you were facing financial troubles at home, would it be okay for others to place bets on whether your family would lose the house or go hungry? It sounds outrageous because it is. Yet somehow, in international affairs, this has become considered normal behavior among certain circles.

What does this mean for our kids and grandkids? For one thing, it means that the lessons they learn about morality and responsibility could be severely distorted. If financial gain can come from betting on pain and disaster, what kind of world are we teaching them to expect?

I stayed up last night thinking about all those families impacted by wars abroad while gamblers in fancy suits place bets over their fates like it's a game.

It's time for us to take a hard look at these prediction markets and ask ourselves whether this is the kind of behavior we want to tolerate or encourage. Do we really want to live in a world where someone can make money off of suffering?