OK, one of you recently told me that all of my current events and news stories were negative and that I was depressing all of you every day in class. Here is a lighter side story. A sin tax is a tax on negative behavior such as taxes on cigarettes or alcohol. A Louisiana lawmaker has decided that all of this video gaming and TV watching has got to stop. It's not just Louisiana either, lawmakers in New Mexico, Texas, and Wisconsin have tried to get similar legislation passed. What are your thoughts on this? Are the youth of America spending too much time in front of their Xboxes and Wiis? Will this legislation alter their behavior?
63 comments:
Really? This has to be the most asinine beyond trivial proposition I may have ever heard. By taxing video games, we can save fat kids from themselves? Look, some incompetent parents will continue to fuel their kid's stupidity by buying them video games that are completly ephemeral in the long run. Taxing video games will not make little Johnny get the bon bon away from his face and move his bottom away from the tv and go out and do some physical activity. Though this Louisiana lawmaker has some good intentions, they are, in reality, impossible to implement.
Putting a tax on video games is stupid. Putting a tax on games will not stop kids from playing them or stop their parents from buying them. It's the parents that have their children become obese. If their parents pushed them to be outside more and not eat so much junk food, they wouldn't obese and be obese in the future. So there is no need for a tax because it's stupid and it's the parents' decision. Not all kids that play video games are obese or anything of that sort, some have common sense and go out and play also.
This is probably one of the dumbest things I have ever heard. Don't we have a problem with illegal immigration as well as illegal drug trafficing going on along the border in Texas? There are bigger problems that the legislation should be dealing with. Yes if there was a tax on video games it would bring in some extra spending money for a state but it is unecessary. If someone likes playing video games then they should be allowed to play video games. This topic is just awkward because it isn't something you would expect to be a topic of discussion in the legislature.
What happened to lawmakers doing something beneficial with their time? Are you serious? Get a life and help someone who needs healthcare, a home, or something that will REALLY have an effect on someone's life. The fact that we are making laws on video games is really an insult to me.
What? Why would someone do that. Ya kids are really fat and overweight. But this is america people have the right to sit on there couch and watch tv and play video games for 48 hours. Its complte crap that someone would care if kisd played video games. Come on mr. Pye your kid loves video games how would he feel if someone try to take one of his greatest loves away. AUSTIN DARSEY LOVES COOPER.
I feel like there are many more pressing issues to be worried about than whether video games are being over-played. But I honestly doubt any sintax would discourage them from playing. I think it would be a waste of time to try and tax these games because parents will continue to spoil their kids and buy them anyways.
A "sin" tax is a way in which the government legislates morality. We did not elect officials to push their individual morality on the public, but to interpret the law as it is written. To declare such a neutral activity as playing video games sinful, and discourage it by passing a tax on it weathers our already assaulted freedoms and makes our officials look like empty narcissists who only care about making a name for themselves.
Really, if they take away kids sources of entertainment they're going to go out and find some of their own- which will probably be drugs. No joke. I mean, it's not like most kids pay for their own video games anyway, but the jump in already pretty expensive games (ranging from $20-$50+) will make parents less willing to go out and buy them. If this doesn't lead the hard core gamers to go out and find other uh, sources of entertainment, then a huge underground downloading scheme WILL take place. People will download them illegally or turn to different games on the computer. Either way, kids are still going to play their games whether it's infront of a TV or a computer.
Such a small tax on those forms of entertainment will obviously not get any child, or their parents, to stop buying them. So the programs they intend to fund have to somehow appeal to kids more than shooting each other in the head(virtually). I doubt the legislature or who ever they employ to construct these programs will be able to think of something that can get kids off the couch. Also a tax like this implies that the government knows what your children should be doing better than you do since the parents still have control over what their children are allowed to do. Who are they to say you should be playing outside.
First of all: How would a 1% sales tax on video games and tv's produce any kind of income? The average video games costs what, $40-60? That's only 5 cents per game. Even the most enthusiastic gamer would contribute $1.50. Second: How can politicians be concerned with fat kids at a time like this? There's a world out there that needs saving and we're worrying about the fat little kid down the street that can't do a push-up. At least save this kind of a bill for another time. One where it'll be funny instead of annoying.
The idea of a tax on video games is stupid... Yes, kids are spending too much time playing video games... some lose touch with the real, physical world... some become morbidly obese and then dissociate from reality with their best friends Mario and Luigi... there are those that play video games to relieve stress or just make believe for a while...others somehow network and befriend people through video games (kind of creepy)... and then there are the oldies(lawmakers) that did not have video games back in their day... they are right that kids are not as healthy as they were when they were young, but as technology has advanced kids have gotten lazier... sure it is a problem, no more than people losing touch on the internet or doing unproductive things in reality... sometimes it is just better to live in a fantasy land and get a release... without that some people may just snap... lawmakers need to stop and think of the reprecussions... For Example: If Hillary Clinton had gotten Grand Theft Auto banned a couple years ago, there would be much more violence in the world...
Obviously taxing video games is just a way for the government to get more money because it might be somewhat inelastic. As for the sin tax... people get addicted to video games like they get addicted to shopping, porn and food. so if they were going to tax video games, they might as well tax everything else addictive. Also, would they tax wii fit? because that promotes physical fitness.
The idea that imposing a tax on video games will not stop kids from buying and playing them. It is completely up to the parents to decide and set rules for their own children on how much they are allowed to play. The government will have little or no effect in controling obesity in youth. There are other problems in the economy today for people to worry about video games. Besides, I don't think a tax on video games would stop my brother from playing all his games.
Its just a tax on inelastic goods, but we're not sure whether or not video games are inelastic. kids don't want to save up their allowance for another week in order to get a game that just lost it's popularity. Some might think that this would help the kids, but that's all BS, it's all about the money. But if there was any positive feedback from this legislation, I guess it might get kids off of the video games; but I'm certain that it won't get them outside. They might probably explore the internet, and discover all of the fun, and educational things the internet is used for. I'm sure that the internet is a much safer environment than Pokemon.
lol-not!
A 1% tax on the average video game costing anywhere from $49.95 to %$59.95 would increase video games from $0.50 to $0.60. A bill with the intention to deter purchases is asinine (this is the proper usage of this word, Blue) as in devoid of intelligence or irrational. Moreover, the Louisiana legislature and its Representatives should be clear with their fiscal incentives to increase state income rather than creating the facade of controlling obesity. At best, if the Representative's intentions are ostensive in his claim and it seems to gain efficacy, then it will deter consumer spending and hopefully (to teach Louisiana a lesson) damage their economy in microcosm.
Intsead of kids spending to much time in front of their video games, I think the government spends to much time thinking up ways to enforce taxes, policies, and numerous other ideas on the american public. Parents will raise their children the way they believe fit. If letting your child sit in front of a video games 4-5 hours a day is the way you choose to raise your child, the government should have no say in that.
not only is this idea asinine as blue said, it also infringes on our rights I believe. if I want to waste my life away on a video game, then thats what im going to do. The people responsible for this accusation of tv and video games are simply looking for a scape goat to blame their sad parenting on.if we must rely on lawmakers to discipline our children, we have truely failed as a society.
This just goes to show how utterly ridiculous our legislative system is. As Staci K. said, why don’t our congressmen think of something more productive than taxing the younger age group on something that they enjoy? A tax on videogames wouldn’t make children buy them less; this is just a way the government can make a quick buck off of the ages of 8-30. The funny thing is the government wonders why they lose their popularity each year. Maybe if the spent less time taking “candy” from babies, the people of America, and the children of the future would trust them more.
This is just another money grab attempt by politicians. Kids do need to spend more time being active, but taxing their parents is not the answer. It is the parents fault that they can't get their kids away from the TV and help them be active. The state governments have plenty of money to spend on programs for helping kids be active without this ridiculous tax on video games.
I can see why the tax was thought up because America's kids are becoming more and more overweight. But, not all kids who play video games are overweight or play them all day. So, why should the kids who are healthy and stay fit have to pay extra money because other kids won't get off their lazy butts and play outside. Putting sin taxes on ciggarettes is understandable because no matter how many you smoke, even if its only one a day can affect your health. Video games don't neccesarily affect your health directly.
Kenny Hoyt said...
Taxing video games and television should be considered a crime against humanity. Furthermore this bill follows suit with other bills by politicians (whose affiliation will remain nameless…. *cough left wing cough*) that are trying to allow the government to raise the children. A government program to raise the children, that sounds oddly familiar, that’s right Hitler’s Youth. Alright that may have gone a little too far by comparing left wing people to Hitler, but still when will the government realize that people are allowed to make their own decisions? and if that decision is to get no exercise and get a little tubby then so be. In short this is just a waste of time.
This tax is a way for legislators to claim that they have been fighting childhood obesity which is quickly becoming a big issue in American Society. This tax is designed to discourage parents from buying video games for their kids. Suppose this tax is a 10% tax on video games, this would put a dent in the profits of businesses like Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft and in turn would cause the loss of jobs for quite a few workers. If kids want to play video games they don't need a console, they just need a computer. Kids can go to sites like freeonlinegames.com, armorgames.com, even history.com if they want to play games for free. Kids can find any type of game they want online, even though it may not have the same quality as console games. A sin tax on video games is pointless because one can go online and play video games for free and 10% of $0.00 is still 0.
Varun Kunchala
I needed no motivation to go outside and play..I hated it when it was time to go home.
One thing we do not need is more taxes...if a parent allowes their kids to sit and watch t.v. or play games all day every day, thats up to the parents. Who the heck are these politicians who feel they have to stick their noses in everything everyone does?
*tugs on collar* startin' to feel like i'm suffocating with all these restrictions and taxes that are in place and are being planned to be put in place. Plus there is a separation of church and state.
I could give or take on this "sin" tax on video games. I doubt that it will do anything on health though. Alone, people and kids get just as fat watching just T.V. If anything happens, if this ever does come true, is that people will probably start making copies of their games to sell...creating even more problems.
So basically this politician is trying to find an easy way to get more of the tax payer’s money. I don’t believe this politician is trying to help out the youth or try to push his moral crusade. This will not make children go outside more and it certainly will not make people buy less videos games. Still I am wondering since when did politicians tell us how children are supposed to be raised? This sounds like the book 1984.
-Courtney Rodriguez
Taxing video games wouldn't affect the youth as much as it would affect 20-something college students. Sure children that decide to spend their time playing only video games might not have as much of a variety of games to play, but they will still have access to the ones they already own. Not to mention the advent of free online games, a genre of games that has no sales tax. Unlike alcohol and tobacco, video games are a flexible, and an additional tax would only hurt.
Obviously this tax will add a substantial amount to the cost of a video game. What parent or child would be willing to pay the EXTRA 50 OR 60 CENTS for a game? I am sure all children in Louisiana will now more actively participate in sports and outdoor activities. Politicians are obviously so good at what they do that they have solved all other important problems and can now focus on the evil of video games. I applaud the intellect of the person who came up with this ingenious plan and hope that other politicians will follow suit. My faith in the US legislative system has been restored.
Increasing the sales tax on video games is rediculous. I mean, yeah, too many children are obese, but putting a sales tax on these games is not going to influence children to eat better and exercise more. The government is just trying to make an excuse to rob people of more money. People need to allow kids to be kids, and that includes playing video games.
hahaha! this is great! Goodness.. what are people thinking these days? This 1% tax isnt going to stop any video game fanatic. I believe that in order for the kids to get out and exercise there needs to be some parental force. I know when I was younger my grandma would always just turn off the tv and make us go outside. no questions asked.
I am amazed that this is even a topic of discussion. This is just another excuse made for parents not parenting. Yes, it is the governments job to oversee the well-being of the country's youth, but we need th place th blame on the people responsible...the parents. Secondly, with the current state that the country is in i'm sure that lawmakers have more important issues to consume their time with. Thirdly, video games are a leisurely past-time that should not be regulated by the government.
A 1% tax won't stop people from buying TVs and video games, and it won't stop kids from sitting in front of the TV and getting fat. Maybe the 1% will eventually add up (because so many video games and TVs will still be bought) into a very small fund, but is fighting obesity a good enough reason for the legislature to impose a new tax? I mean it's understandable to want people to be healthy, but taxing video games? Really? And maybe they'll come up with some lame programs trying to get kids to be active, but the kids they're targeting will be too busy playing video games to participate. The government should just hand out some Wii Fits and DDRs if they're that concerned.
Well, just because you put a tax on something, doesn't mean people will stop buying it completely. And there are lots of other methods of getting video games, like playing games online or maybe even stealing/copying games. There's no stopping a dedicated gamer. The tax is pretty useless. Even though kids these days are getting more obese, a tax on video games would hardly tear them away from their beloved Xboxes and Wiis.
I really don't think this will cause the kids to play less video games because I'm pretty sure it's their parents' money that's buying the equipment and not their own, so they wouldn't feel the cost "burden" of a 1% tax. I don't think the parents would either, since raising prices 1% is barely noticeable. Most parents just think of pleasing their children when they buy them video games.
And because the parents are buying the video games, maybe it's their fault their kids are fat. Parents are a significant influence in a child's life and if they never took the initiative to tell their children to go out and play and just let them play video games all day, then it's their fault.
Cute title by the way, "No Child Left Indoors."
Many kids only play video games a couple hours a week. Why should the government punish them for having some fun every once in a while. The idea may sound like it could work, but there are always parents who spoil thier kids and will buy them anything. In reality taxes on video would be pointless and ineffective. Let the kids who play video games all the time rot thier brains. What they need is physical activity not a tax increase. The tax increase will not work and will only worsen our economy.
This is definitely a stupid law. I honestly think it will have little or no effect on the number of obese kids or the amount of time kids spend playing video games. However, that is not to say that there is not a problem. Whatever happened to the days when kids would go outside on the weekends and play a pickup game of baseball in the culdesac down the street. Now, I do not even see half of the kids that live on my street because they virtually live inside. It will be interesting to see the effects of this trend as our generation matures.
ok first of all if this happens im going to go broke, and second this is complete bs. this is just another way to get more money out of the public because they are starting to realize that video games are an inelastic item so they just going to tax it to make more money. this is going to ruin childs lives......to a degree
Honestly? While these legislators have good intentions, I do not even begin to believe that a tax put on video games is going to stop kids from playing video games so much. Parents are not going to stop buying their kids video games because of an extra few dollars. This is somewhat ridiculous. I do believe that there's too many kids who are lazy and spend all their time playing video games, but this is definitely not the way to fix that problem.
If we allow the governement to start taxing luxury tax on video games, where will we draw the line. Video games just harmless ways to have fun using modern technology. The fact that children get addicted isnt the fault of anyone, but the parents who allow them to. Americans cant run to the government for every little problem, they need to just step up and take responsibilites for themselves. The government should be concentrated on more important issues and leave parenting to parents.
While I think the intentions of the Louisiana governor is in the right place, I believe his tactics are going to be ineffective. The purpose, he says, is to discourage little children from hours in front of a screen playing video games. I am not an expert but I am pretty sure that taxes effect the adults of this country, not the children. Who knows, maybe parents will not want to pay the tax and children won't play games as much, but I just do not see that happening, because taxes don't change parenting mentalities.
I don't think the government should tax something like gaming. Its already a costly hobby. It may cost $60 for a game, which is about 1/4 of what the console was paid for. There is always an excuse for these taxes like obesity, or giving kids funny ideas like shooting up schools. It really doesn't have any other use, but to entertain people who play them. Besides, adults play them too, so what can you do? Its a stupid tax.
While I understand the intentions of this Louisiana lawmaker are for the better, its not gonna halp. This tax is like the one on cigerettes. They keep raising it to "help the people" and encourage them to stop smoking, when in reality all they want is more money, knowing that people will continue to buy them no matter the price. Here, instead of adults and cigerettes, we're dealing with kids and video games, both addictions. If parents are going to let them, kids will continue to purchase and play video games, no matter the tax placed on them. But by placing a tax on these is not going to keep them out of children's homes, just costing parents more money to fuel their children's addictions. It is the parents that have the power to change the amount of time their children spend playing the games, and limit them.
Jen Iles :]
First of all, I would like to begin by applauding Claudia's comment. I agree, this tax will stop the fat kids from playing video games and watching T.V. I mean, although they are already looked down upon by other althetic counterparts, they will now no longer be picked last because they will playing outside in mother nature. This "No child left Inside" Bill is similar to the "No child left behind" Act. Students who never learned to read now miraculously know how to read. So, now fat children who never learned how to play outside will want to everyday in order to save ONE DOLLAR. This is a great idea, because now that tax, if the parents still pay for the now-expensive video games, will pay for the obese camps which all fat kids are enrolled. Wonderful! My deep appreciation to the Louisiana legislature.
has this person never hard of modded game systems? you can just get an M3 or mod your xbox to play all the games you want. its one expenditure to play and infinite amount of games for free. it really plays for itself. so if they add taxes to make the games and stuff more expensive it will just cause more people to buy the equipment to mod their stuff.
i would like to say that i totally agree with Claudia. Clearly a 50 to 60 cent increase of the price videos games will abruptly stop the purchasing of it. They are willing to throw away their childhood and deprive themselves of the blood and guts of zombies in resident evil 5. How will the youth of today know what to do if they were randomly attacked by these creatures? Where will they learn to steal cars if they dont have the game grand theft auto 4? How will they learn that dead bodies will disappear when you kill them from 007? And finally how will they learn how to drive recklessly? These are some of the important life lessons that you cannot learn from the outside world.
ps. Texas is way better than Louisiana.
It is definitely true that the youth today spends too much time in front of the television or the computer, and they should really go outside and play some sports or go on the playgrounds or something. Obviously that is what these parks that we have are made for. Some people wonder why America is so fat, well look at what people are spending their time doing all day. Most people I know rarely go outside; most of them stay inside all day and eat, sleep, wake up, watch t.v., and play games on the computer. Still, taxes on video games really wouldn't stop the kids from getting their parents to buy the game and then they would play them just as much as before. If they want people to stop playing video games, they should stop producing them altogether.
I think the Wii is definitely better then the regular gaming system. At least with the Wii more action is involved. But I do believe that video games are becoming way too popular. I also kind of believe that it is making obesity more of a problem nationwide.
a tax won't do anything. people will still but games. Maybe not as frequently, but games will always be a big present object. Besides that, there are now ways to download games for free. if they tax games then people will do more illegal ripping. plus how are they going to help with tv and computer? are they going to tax internet and tv bills?
The more rules, the more kids want to rebel. Setting taxes on the video games will not stop the kids from playing it because they are too little to care about the taxes. I don't support this legislation because it is just pointless. There are many other things to worry about than kids spending much of their time in front of Xboxes or Wiis. I think Goverment should spend more time finding a solution for that than a silly thing like this.
ANN THARAKAN
Well i can hardly believe that a small tax on video games would keep kids away. Although when playing video games you can become obese and all that other stuff, playing video games themselves does not lead to that. In Moderation video games are harmless at worst. Maybe a little tiring to the eyes but definitely not a leading cause for obesity. It is foods that make kids obese not video games. Although some can make the argument that kids are spending way too much time in front of the TV playing video games or watching TV, that is solely on the shoulders of the parents. They should be monitoring the kids daily TV usage. So as for Video games, they do not deserve a tax. However they should only b used in moderation, and not played for too many hours a week.
This act is extremely useless. Even if they did pass this proposition, I am sure a tax increase won't stop the lifestyle of a kid. Instead, parents will just pay a little more for videogames. I agree that kids don't spend enough time outdoors. The next generation of kids are going to grow up fat and unhappy.
The whole idea of taxing video games is crazy. If a kid wants a video game, they will buy it. A tax will not help anything at all. And taxing TV's is absurd. Yes, it will definently make more money for the government, because people will still buy TV's, but how will any government program help obesity? Why do they even care? There are much bigger issues that polititions need to be working on.
I personally think that this tax on video games will not cause a decline in the demand of video games. People will still go out and spend a few more dollars for their children’s satisfaction. When I was adolescent I was always out playing sports with the neighborhood kids and friends because video games never caught my interest. I still believe that kids these days should still have some physical activity away from the television screen and stay healthy.
Taxing video games is a complete waste of time and could possibly hurt the gaming industry. The economy is the most important concern in our nation at the moment.
Cody BAca
I will agree that time spent in front of a video game is time wasted somewhere else. there is this opportunity cost between playing x box and playing outside. I personaly enjoy playing video games with a group of friends, which allows me to improve my social skills. I also enjoy playing Wii which improves many of my motor skills.
You know, everyone seems very against this, but I think the idea behind it is not bad. The problem is that this really ends up hurting the parents because let's get real, most parents are not going to stop buying their kids something due to a 1% tax. Rather than taxing video games, which almost serves as a punishment, why not advertise more games such as the Wii Fit or something that kids can physically engage in? Why not promote more physical activity, than punish kids and their parents? The bottom line is that the tax will not affect the child, rather it will affect the pocket of his or her parent. Even then the minuscule amount of 1% is essentially nothing. Louisiana should focus on the corruption that is still affecting the state after Katrina, not little kids' hobbies.
That's dumb! I mean, isn't America the "land of the free"? Why aren't people allowed to do what they want?! So... will there be new, higher taxes on pizzas and food now, too? Honestly, it probably wouldn't stop anybody from buying video games. This would actually probably help develop a very good underground game-selling business where people sell kids bootleg video games for a cheaper price!
What a ridiculous proposal.I would thing that there are far more things to be concerned about. I don't believe taxing is the solution to childhood health problems. Behavior and choices won't change simply because it costs more to put favored activities into motion. Kids will still beg for what they want, and it's really up to parents to help their little ones make healthy choices.-Charmecia Morris
I believe that the people behind this bill want nothing to do with getting kids to stop playing video games but rather see the amount of revenue from taxes based on the huge popularity of video games. While it can be considered unhealthy to play video games instead of doing other things, only people with psychological problems (addiction) will really be affected by playing too much. The name "No Child Left Indoors" seems like an infringement on personal rights too, although I know that is not their intent.
This whole concept is retarted. Modern video games are 1st off, already too expensive as it is. Secondly, people need to realize that video games are not mindless drivel that just retarted boys play that amount to nothing. Most video games today have transcended into an almost artistic form that provide more in-depth and meaningful insights to life than most modern literature works or movies. And the main reason this tax wont stop hardocre videogames from playing games is because videogames as also become a part of a lot of peoples means of a career, i.e. the pro videogame circuit and video game developers, testers, and videogame journalists. Thus all the government would be doing is making is anoying the crap out of hardworking videogamers.
This should not be the main concern of legislation. Don't they have more important things to worry about like the recession and education? I doubt that a tax will discourage kids from playing. They should definitely be worrying about other issues right now and leave the obesity and video game problem to the parents.
Hurray for the nanny state. What next, will Lousiana change the diapers of all babies in Lousiana? What "good intentions" are there for this bill? Removing responsibility from the parents destroys the "family unit" that this country prides itself in. I think this is just another case of people in power fearing anything new, and priding themselves for becoming creatures of habits.
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