The Sierra Club proposes video game and TV tax

The Sierra Club -- a group dedicated to environmentalism and preservation -- has proposed that a tax be levied against kids who choose video games or computers rather than venturing out-of-doors. The tax, also being referred to as "No Child Left Inside," would ostensibly encourage kids to get up off of their fat, lazy back-ends and hit the trails, mountains, and waterways of our nation's parks and other natural treasures... by further taxing video games and TVs. Recent studies have shown links to obesity, lowered academic scores, and the rise of attention-deficit disorder in America's kids to increased time spent indoors, though we suspect the problem lies with bad parenting rather than an entire industry of game-makers and electronics companies. Would adding a one-percent sales tax on our gear (and penalizing children who have plenty of good reasons to stay inside) increase kids' desire to head outdoors instead of "finishing the fight?" We've got our doubts.

[Thanks, wasp2151]

Read - A Tax to Remember
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[(Unverified) Posted Jan 22nd 2008 2:28PM]

Wow. These people should stop giving everyone else so many reasons to string them all up in public.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 22nd 2008 2:57PM]

I stay inside more than my kids do (and certainly more than when I was a kid). Perhaps there should be a tax on my employer.... never mind.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 22nd 2008 3:31PM]

Stop attacking video games! It' really getting annoying. First they say video games make you "kill" people, and now they want to put a tax on them?! What did video games ever do to them anyways? I bet this is the work of some loony politician.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 22nd 2008 3:32PM]

Maybe if I wasn't living near level 3 sex offenders I'd be less worried. There is no real yard at my apt. building and people drive way to fast on the streets. Just another example of the rich idiots at the Sierra club not living in reality. I'm sure it will play well with the rich idiots that hold political positions but for those of us that have kids and have to work for a living it's just another useless idea from a useless group. In an idea world the children of these idiots would have to play in the street so my kids can learn why playing in the street is a bad idea.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 22nd 2008 4:03PM]

I can drive 5 minutes to the arcade, or 30 minutes to the nearest natural wonder. Isn't 80% of the carbon coming from nature anyways? Save the planet, build arcades.

[sebbles Posted Jan 22nd 2008 5:34PM]

But the fewer people we have indoors playing video games, the more we have outside on the trails dropping candy bar wrappings all over the place!

If the tax is just a few dollars, it ain't gonna do anything.

[athousandleaves Posted Jan 22nd 2008 6:17PM]

why do governments think that by taxing people they'll do whats good for them?
why not offer free running/hiking shoes to those that give up the gameboy? Free bikes for the ones that trade in their ps3's

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 22nd 2008 6:34PM]

"Food is the leading cause of obesity!"

hahaha, genious!

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 22nd 2008 7:01PM]

So, um, what happened to the government butting out of our business? Let the parents deal with it. That's how it should be! Stupid government!

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 22nd 2008 10:55PM]

WOOOOWWW

First thing I though,

how the F*** does a 1% tax make kids go outside?

Firstly, kids don't buy the games, it's not their money, it's their parent's money, and regaurdless of how much extra it will cost, the kid will still get the game.

Also, WTF, 1%!? that's CLEARLY a scheme to blame the video games industry and rack in more free money for some dumbass greedy organization.

1% extra to the parent buying the game is nothing, I doubt that if they put this into effect that anyone would even notice that they're paying more. But get 300 million people to all pay 1% tax on video games and TV, and whatever organization the tax goes to is now getting billions of dollars. It's not going to help kids AT ALL, just the greedy people who want the free BILLIONS.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 23rd 2008 8:10AM]

Stupidest Fucking Idea Ever.

Increasing the cost of a product, even artificially, rarely reduces demand. It only starts having an effect when it is 75%-500% of the original price.

Ohh, that and children don't buy the games or pay taxes. The parents buy them, and you can't put a price on silence and a glowing TV raising your kid, so you don't have too.

Just what is the government going to do with that money anyways? Fund some public service announcements?

The obesity problem in this country is already at a critical level, and a couple of small programs is not going to do shit.

It's the FDA, fast food companies, pesticides, High Fructose Corn Syrup, etc.

We're shoving so much chemical, fat-laden, ultra-high bad carb crap down our throats, it's no wonder we are where we are at today. Maybe we need to look at what our kids eat, and not just how much exercise they do.

I have a lot of experience with this too. I worked out 5 days a week, 2.5 hours a day, for over 2.5 years. Hit a plateau at around 50 pounds overweight and did not lose a single additional pound. 90% of losing weight is proper diet. Not working out, NOT dieting either. It's just eating right for your body. Period.

Of course its easier to get some stupid taxes passed for the children then it is to pass some serious regulations on food manufacturers.