New York state to fight fatness with a video game tax.

[Charlie]

You know what... I'm just as hardcore a democrat as anyone on here, but I have to say that those jackasses running New York right now are abusing their power BIG TIME. Shit like THIS just proves it.

http://www.gamespot.com/all/news/news_6029873.html

[Kroogah]

Video Games - I've lost 30 pounds since I started playing Dance Dance Revolution. I obviously live in a parallel universe, since I'm SURE Mr. Ortiz really knows his video games....

Junk Food - Has been around for decades. Suddenly it's a PROBLEM!

TV Commercials - I can remember when these were blamed for creating "unrealistic bodily images that the average person cannot possibly live up to". Dang, there's that parallel universe again.

Crap, I wish I made enough money to be considered smart.

NEXT: Assemblyman Ortiz recommends smoking cigarettes instead of playing video games. He has been quoted as saying "Have you seen how thin most smokers are?" ^_^

[ManekiNeko]

Felix Ortiz is an idiot, and his tax bill will never pass.

JR

[tssk]

Next they'll tax modern music. "It's the devil's song!!"

Seriously, if they wanted to tax fat people, why not start with taxing cable TV.

You can watch cable all die lieing down and eating like a slob.

While lack of exercise is a problem for game players, most cannot eat and play at the same time.

[rcs7127]

this is a sure sign that the politicians have milked the last cent out of the smokers and dont have the guts to go after the drinkers. seeing as how 60% of the adult pop. in the US is overweight you have a real cash cow there (pun intended). maybe they could have a scale in front of the registers in game stores and fast food places, you'd pay a tax based on your weight. its not right for skinny gamers to suffer for our chunky brothers, theres no such thing as second hand pudge.

[slapdash]

this is a sure sign that the politicians have milked the last cent out of the smokers and dont have the guts to go after the drinkers.

Bullshit. The amount they tax alcohol is obscene, and they're threatening to tax it even more. Prohibition may not have worked, but it sure allowed them to bully the liquor industry around after Prohibition ended.

Still, why tax videogames? Even if you buy their logic, the real solution is to tax TV use -- broadcase, cable, tapes/DVDs, games... It all requires the TV, so there is your root cause.

[dave2236]

I like the scale when you check out. Damn I better get a discount for being so thin. They should encourage me to gain weight.

My response, isn't this a free country, can't we be fat if we want to.Friggin' politicians. One day I will rise to power and take control of my city and destroy stupid politicians like tham.....muhahaha



Also I'm 21, 6"2"" and weigh 162..............no beergut......but leg muscles from running hurdles

[Starcade]

Fuck new York and the people that propose these dumbass laws, does he REALLY think adding 1%(OH NO) is going to make a damn in New York??? This is the WORST idea I have ever heard, its idiots like this who give America as a whole a bad name, free country my ass. >

[autobotracing]

+1

this has been posted a few times



anywho I dont think this will pass because thats like saying hey lets tax this guy because he is ugly its just stupid why they would even waste their time with this

[Aswald]

People, it's New York State. Here, they'll stick a shop vac in your pocket, take everything, including the lint, and then charge you for the electricity. Just how, exactly, are they going to "fight obesity" with the money they will collect? Tell us something new, like being fat is bad for you? Hey, never heard that before, did we?

School taxes are going up again. Consider all of the gambling we have here: Lotto, scratch-off, etc. There are about 18 million people here. It's safe to assume that, on average, every person here spends 5 dollars a week on some form of gambling. Note- this is no doubt a considerable underestimate.

That's 90 million a week. Multiply that by 52, and yearly you see that a tremendous amount of money is collected, which is supposed to go into education. Even if you assume that only 33% is net profit, why are we paying more in taxes for less when back in the 1970s, before all of this extra gambling income, we got more for the dollar?

So, why not a video game tax? Guess they need more money to waste.

[chadtower]

I like the scale when you check out. Damn I better get a discount for being so thin. They should encourage me to gain weight.

My response, isn't this a free country, can't we be fat if we want to.Friggin' politicians. One day I will rise to power and take control of my city and destroy stupid politicians like tham.....muhahaha

Also I'm 21, 6"2"" and weigh 162..............no beergut......but leg muscles from running hurdles

Screw the scale! People like me would get totally hosed. I'm a powerlifter and those stupid height/weight charts list me as hopelessly obese despite having bodyfat in the teens. They don't account at all for anyone with any substantive muscle mass.

[dave2236]

Mee too chadtower I'm skin and bones, but from exercising I swear half of my weight is muscle. mostly leg muscles from running.

Its a stupid idea to begin with...WhoTF wants to take a physical befor ethey but a game.

[zektor]

Screw that tax. If it ever hits NJ (where I live) I really could care less. I'll just go to A&P and buy a pre-cooked chicken and beer, go to the Salvation army and buy classic carts, then go home and play games and get fat. That's how you avoid the "fat tax"!