Connecticut Considers Violent Videogame Tax

[Ldude893]

*searches politician's name up*.

Yep, Republican. I wouldn't be that surprised if it were a Democrat who proposed that, but tampering with the first amendment for 'moral' purposes seems to be a thing among the Republican Party.

 

[Sansha]

Fuck this, I'd go to New York to buy my games.

 

[DragonStorm247]

Connecticut Considers Violent Videogame Tax


Connecticut State Representative Debralee Hovey has introduced a bill in the state legislature that would see an extra ten percent charged on all sales of videogames with an ESRB rating of M (Mature) or higher. Money raised by the tax would go to the state's Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services "to educate families on the warning signs of videogame addiction and antisocial behavior."

Wow that is ridiculous. That's nearly double their sales tax. What is this, Australia?

 

[aelreth]

This probably won't pass, as it has not passed in other states. But Democrats will always be in favor of a new tax. I'm honestly surprised a Republican is leading the charge on this one.

Only a republican would be stupid enough to lead this charge. In a political context the democrats are performing masterfully, because she is the face of this farce.

 

[Baresark]

This probably won't pass, as it has not passed in other states. But Democrats will always be in favor of a new tax. I'm honestly surprised a Republican is leading the charge on this one.

Only a republican would be stupid enough to lead this charge. In a political context the democrats are performing masterfully, because she is the face of this farce.

That's true, it's simply a matter of let the idiot republicans lead, then the idiot democrats will agree. Dem Dem's love a good tax stream.

 

[1337mokro]

Is the tax also going to the education of people in the flat earth theory? The geocentric view? Because both are equally true as the induction of violence by videogames.

You know what does induce violence? Much more so than what you allege videogames do... guns. Where is your gun tax Miss Think of the Children? Oh yes the gun-nuts are in the same crowd you are trying to score a few cheap points with.

You know what I would like to happen? Politicians not wasting money on stupid fucking proposals. Because that is good for the economy right? Waste money on proposing doomed to fail legislation just to get some PR.

 

[Roxas1359]

How about a stupid politician tax? You know where politicians would be taxed for every stupid proposal they make.

With that tax we would never have a deficit again and the economy would be strong for a long time!

OT: This will honestly not pass because it is a huge violation of the 1st Amendment. On the bright side of all of this Connecticut is making California and their attempts to deal with violent video games seem sane. Hooray~ ^.^

 

[Frostbite3789]

This makes me feel more violent than any video game ever has.

 

[Voulan]

Money raised by the proposed tax will help fund "education concerning the danger of violent videogames."

But that's completely biased. This is what I'm worried about when it comes to research into this issue - they're already adamant that there is a problem there, so their results won't show anything else that they don't want to see. This is turning into a propaganda issue. It needs to end before things get even worse.

Idiots. Stupid fuckin' retards without an ounce of reason and critical thinking skills. How the fuck do you justify that stupidity? I want to kick them out of the country. They're not contributing to society in any positive way.

Every time I see your posts it makes me smile. I can just imagine Jensen sitting at his work computer in his office at Sarif, angrily typing posts on the Escapist while shouting, "We didn't ask for this!"

 

[aelreth]

Find me the Republican controlled state that is banning or taxing violent video games.

California.

The republican governor even took it to the supreme court as he wasn't happy the law kept getting struck down in court. Unfortunately for him and other conservatives, the supreme court ruled against the videogames ban (Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association). The vote on that also was pretty much republicans in favour of the censorship, democrats opposed. Yee was an exception in his camp really.


Why even bother to try and argue about something like that? Everybody knows that the vast majority of censorship, curtailing of freedom, imposing religion and other questionable reactionary stuff is always found most among republicans and libertarians. That's why they call it reactionary: Extremely conservative.

What was the composition of the California Assembly? Also the California Senate?

Try again.

Just because a governor happens to be one party does not mean the assembly mirrors it. This isn't a parliamentary system.

This state was lost to conservatives after 1990.

Democrats failed to take a single county in the arch conservative states, Oklahoma & Utah.

Can you explain why these conservatives aren't taking away violent video games?

After all they are all a bunch of rural dwelling hayseeds. Filled with obviously reactionary, freedom curtailing people. They must also have massive amounts of censorship.

 

[Easton Dark]

*Sing song voice*

It is illeeeeegal.

You'd think that someone in such a high government office would at least know what the Constitution and Bill of Rights sayyyyyy. So she must be doing it for publicity unless she's retardeeeeeeed.

Take your piiiiiick.

 

[VanTesla]

Connecticut Considers Violent Videogame Tax

Money raised by the proposed tax will help fund "education concerning the danger of violent videogames."

Connecticut State Representative Debralee Hovey has introduced a bill in the state legislature that would see an extra ten percent charged on all sales of videogames with an ESRB rating of M (Mature) or higher. Money raised by the tax would go to the state's Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services "to educate families on the warning signs of videogame addiction and antisocial behavior."

Hovey's district includes Newtown, the site of the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre that left 27 people, mostly young children, plus the shooter dead in December 2012. Reports that the shooter's favorite videogame was "Call of Duty" were widespread but hardly surprising, given that it's one of the most popular entertainment franchises on the planet, but the proposed bill would go beyond just violent videogames like first-person shooters to cover everything M-rated or higher, including games like Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Wing Commander and a whole bunch of mobile phone stuff including something called Fart Machine.

Connecticut isn't the first state to consider a violent videogame tax; Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Wisconsin have all previously considered similar taxes, although none have been implemented.

Source: Connecticut General Assembly [http://www.wfsb.com/story/20970118/connecticut-lawmaker-proposes-video-game-tax#.URFtELkxxY1.twitter]


Permalink

I have a better idea. How about we use that said tax to educate our politicians into learning how to do their dam jobs...

 

[VanTesla]

*Sing song voice*

It is illeeeeegal.

You'd think that someone in such a high government office would at least know what the Constitution and Bill of Rights sayyyyyy. So she must be doing it for publicity unless she's retardeeeeeeed.

Take your piiiiiick.

Can't it be both?

 

[VanTesla]

Find me the Republican controlled state that is banning or taxing violent video games.

California.

The republican governor even took it to the supreme court as he wasn't happy the law kept getting struck down in court. Unfortunately for him and other conservatives, the supreme court ruled against the videogames ban (Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association). The vote on that also was pretty much republicans in favour of the censorship, democrats opposed. Yee was an exception in his camp really.


Why even bother to try and argue about something like that? Everybody knows that the vast majority of censorship, curtailing of freedom, imposing religion and other questionable reactionary stuff is always found most among republicans and libertarians. That's why they call it reactionary: Extremely conservative.

What was the composition of the California Assembly? Also the California Senate?

Try again.

Just because a governor happens to be one party does not mean the assembly mirrors it. This isn't a parliamentary system.

This state was lost to conservatives after 1990.

Democrats failed to take a single county in the arch conservative states, Oklahoma & Utah.

Can you explain why these conservatives aren't taking away violent video games?

After all they are all a bunch of rural dwelling hayseeds. Filled with obviously reactionary, freedom curtailing people. They must also have massive amounts of censorship.

Why people bring up sides in politics anymore is beyond me... Both have shown in congress and most States to be the same dam corrupt aholes that has either a democrat sticker or a republican sticker. In this case of video games both sides have show hate and vile towards it for one bs reason or another.

 

[Fireprufe15]

I can't take this anymore. Politicians of 'Merica, there ARE NO FREAKING DANGERS TO FREAKING VIOLENT GAMES! It's an entertainment thing, no more dangerous than one of your numerous 'quality' TV series. That are rated 13. You say guns don't kill people as an excuse to sell guns en masse, well get this: Games don't kill people either. And you can't use them to kill people. Guns on the other hand...

I swear! Are these politicians just plain thick or something? What the hell is up with having a right to carry any gun? That's retardedly stupid. Make people get a license to buy a gun, after you made sure they're sane. You know, like the rest of the world. And stop crapping yourself over games.

 

[lacktheknack]

ITT: Gamers call for the immediate removal of an entire government office because of a proposed 10% tax increase.

IOT: Gamers generally don't give a damn about anything else governments do beyond snarking about it.

Great.

 

[Callate]

"Warning signs of videogame addiction?" Who would educate people on these "signs"? Hell, who would come up with the literature enumerating and describing them? What vaguely qualified person in the field of psychoanalysis or addiction treatment would risk their reputation on something so frivolous and chimerical?

Really, Connecticut? You're going to impose a tax on video games that's higher than people typically pay on a liter of alcohol?

 

[Kmadden2004]

So... they want "to educate families on the warning signs of videogame addiction and antisocial behavior" by taxing video games that aren't actually made for, or marketed to either families or children?

Somebody help me here, I just can't join these dots up by myself...