Nutjobs want to tax video games.

[gameoverDude]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-p...r_b_82487.html
Source article at link above.

A coalition of 12 environmental organizations in New Mexico has initiated a new strategy to help get American kids back outdoors. The Environmental Alliance of New Mexico is renewing its call for a one-percent sales tax on televisions and video games to fund outdoor education programs. The tax idea, initiated by the Sierra Club, would raise an estimated $4 million a year, to fund programs aimed at giving school kids an outdoors education. "We believe it is such a nominal tax that consumers won't feel it too much, especially if they are educated about where that money goes," said Michael Casaus, the New Mexico youth representative of the Sierra Club.

New Mexico's State Parks Division estimates that although 80 percent of New Mexico's students live within a half-hour of a state park, less than 10 percent have ever visited one. The state's under funded Outdoor Classroom program helps students visit state parks and assists teachers with using the hands-on parks experience for science, math, and other academic skills.

Casaus told the New Mexican that the "Leave No Child Inside" movement has grown tremendously during the past year in the state. More than 40 organizations have asked for more outdoor education, including Santa Fe and Bernalillo counties, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, the Hispano Round Table, the New Mexico Science Teachers Association, and health organizations.

Studies in the past five years have linked the increasing amount of time children spend watching television or playing video games to lower academic scores, obesity, and increased attention-deficit disorder. A study funded by the Sierra Club and carried out by the state of California found that one week of outdoor education had the same beneficial impact as six weeks of regular classroom time. According to state health and education reports, New Mexico students continue to lag behind their peers in most academic areas, and an increasing number are struggling with obesity.

One week of outdoor education equals six weeks of regular classroom time? These guys are funny. A 1% tax? Yeah, until they ask for it to be increased to 2% or even 5% in the long run. NO NEW TAXES PLEASE.

The students' parents should be the ones who foot the bill for any kind of Outdoor Classroom thing. Keep your hands out of our damn pockets. Let that program die before you rob us for its sake.

[Yoshi]

Just tax cigarettes about $5/pack. That solves so many problems.

[dog$]

Well of course the kids there don't want to go outside - it's New Mexico.

If you've seen one pueblo in the middle of twenty miles of desert, you've seen them all, haven't you?

[YellerDog]

Will "M" rated games also be taxed?

Also: To hell with other people's kids.

[MarkRyan]

I spent the vast majority of my childhood outdoors, not involving anything at all remotely related to tax-funded activities.

This is up there with the proposition for San Francisco go buy Alcatraz from the federal government and turn it into a global peace center (true story, voting on it on Tuesday).

[Rated E]

New Mexico sucks anyway.

When I was younger I had as much fun playing outside as I did playing video games. My mom also had restrictions on the amount of time I sat in front of the screen if she thought I wasn't getting anything done.

[YellerDog]

We'd get bored with games and go build forts and destroy things.

[Fe 26]

if you want kids to go outside, just given them some fireworks, some GIJoes and some matches.

[Granderoho]

I spent the vast majority of my childhood outdoors, not involving anything at all remotely related to tax-funded activities.

This is up there with the proposition for San Francisco go buy Alcatraz from the federal government and turn it into a global peace center (true story, voting on it on Tuesday).

If it wasn't so damn expensive to live in Cali, I'd move back.

[Low]

Work on a compromise: they tax video games and New Mexico gets a concrete grotto of Wii and DS trash of ET porportions. They can make a national monument out of it. *-neo