Using taxes to get kids off their butts...

So this new group in New Mexico, "No Kid Left Inside", wants to use taxes to try and get kids off their butts and into sports. They are proposing, pushing, to add a one-percent sales tax onto video games and televisions. The money would be used to fund more sports.

Uh huh.

I understand the sentiment, it is a good idea for kids to participate in sports IF they want to do so. However, having more programs to entice video playing kids to pack up their game and head outdoors isn't going to work.

They like what they're doing. Plus, it's easier on the parents. All a Mom or Dad has to do to get peace and quiet is pick up a baby-sitter at the local video outlet for twenty buck or more, depending on the game, and park their kids in a chair.

They don't have to take their time to tote them to a game, sit there for hours watching the rug rats torture a ball, then pay for snacks when it's their turn and, heaven forbid, interact with other parents and children.

Nope, they can get their nails done, clean the house, finish that brief, relax in front of the boob tube... the list is endless as to what the parent would have to give up. It's easier for them to complain about the growing obesity problem we are facing in this country. It's easier all around.

I contend that if parents wanted their children involved in sports, they would have started them on that track long before the kids knew how to push the video game buttons. Well-rounded kids can do both.

There are some children who will never play sports. They may want to paint, sculpt, play music, work on cars, re-program Dad's computer or have some other interesting ideas as to how they want to spend their time.

I'm never for raising taxes. There's plenty of money for sports, we just have to stop building bridges to nowhere, supporting dead beats and funding stupid research projects.

By the way, what you want to bet that if they DO manage to push through the tax that the end result will be more managers and staff? They'll have to put together committees or oversight Boards to watch and spend the money. How long before there's a shortfall in one area and the funds are re-directed to build roads to get to the local parks? Let me count the ways our government can spend tax money...

N.M. tax would target TVs, video games
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Dave Gilligan remembers being pushed outside to play baseball and other sports, but feeling it just wasn't for him. So the 24-year-old business owner is skeptical about a proposal to nudge kids off the couch and out the door by taxing televisions and video games sold in New Mexico. The idea could backfire, he says.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080201/ap_on_re_us/no_child_left_inside

You can run, but you can't hide...

Seems we can't get away from cell phones, iPods, Blackberries (should it be Blackberrys? I know there's at least one grammar teacher in my readership ;-), and the like. Go to a restaurant and TVs are hung on the walls. Stand in line at Wal-Mart and many other stores and you can watch Jay Leno... and a whole bunch of advertising. Cars now have DVD players as part of the package and if your vehicle is too old to have that luxury you can pick up a portable that plugs into what used to be a cigarette lighter and is now a plug for laptops and other electronics.

We are connected. We are bombarded.

Personally, doesn't bother me a bit except the televisions. I choose restaurants where I can talk to whoever I'm with. I want to get away from the mind-numbing blare of the TV. I'd rather make friends with someone new in line at the store than have advertising pumped into my brain.

Microsoft's latest venture is rather interesting. They're collaborating to make a digital grocery cart console. You'll be able to find out where products are in the store, scan and pay for items and... listen to advertising. We're moving one more step away from interaction with people. Many stores now have the self service lines where you do it all yourself. This I gather is the next step, complete with advertising to pay for it.

Video ads are planned for grocery carts
SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. is bringing digital advertising to the grocery cart. The software maker spent four years working with Plano, Texas-based MediaCart Holdings Inc. on a grocery cart-mounted console that helps shoppers find products in the store, then scan and pay for their items without waiting in the checkout line.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080114/ap_on_hi_te/microsoft_shopping_carts