Sin taxes are nothing new to the United States. Basically, sin taxes are fees added to non-luxury goods that the government deems detrimental to its people. Generally, the excises are levied upon products such as cigarettes and alcohol. However, two states, New Mexico and Wisconsin, are attempting to put a similar tax on video games, TVs and electronics.New Mexico’s “Leave No Child Inside” campaign aims to use the tax to get kids outside and visit the natural splendors of the “Land of Enchantment.” New Mexico also plans to spend the money on outdoor educational programs. The idea behind the plan is admirable, but will it work? At best, this plan is lazy. At worst, it’s completely ridiculous.People who don’t play video games often have misconceptions about the games and their content and, as a result, pass them off as child’s play. Games are now at the level of storytelling typical of a Hollywood film, offering more than many people imagine.The Entertainment Software Association reports the average game player is 33 years old, not the much imagined middle school child. Similar studies show that games people buy and play are not all adaptations of “Hannah Montana.” If this proposed bill hopes to gain speed by thinking it is helping kids, it needs to focus on taxing something more kids than adults would use.New Mexico’s proposal, which is not the first of its kind, is aimed more at curbing child obesity and bringing them outdoors. Obesity is a problem that needs to be dealt with everywhere, but taxing of electronics and video games is misguided.The rationale behind the proposal is that although 80 percent of children in New Mexico live within 30 minutes of a state park, only 10 percent have ever visited one. The Sierra Club, the bill’s major third-party supporter in New Mexico, believes that video games are connected to poor school performance and obesity in children. As result, supporting a video game excise tax will help curb child obesity and low test scores by discouraging children – who don’t even make up gaming’s main demographic – from playing video games. While this is supposed to make things better for everyone, the pieces don’t really fit.If New Mexico’s children have a problem exercising and seeing their beautiful state parks, state lawmakers must look at the state’s parents. Parents are the ones who raise kids, not video games and TV. And if these two supposed vices do indeed raise kids, lawmakers must get parents active enough to ensure their kids are getting outside and seeing the state parks. Taxing games and new TVs isn’t going to fix bad parenting. If New Mexico wants to find a way to get their kids outdoors, it needs to find a different way of doing so, as the current plans are aimed in the wrong direction.If New Mexico taxes vehicles with low gas-mileage ratings instead, to encourage walking and alternate forms of transportation, children could have a chance to get out instead of being driven around by their parents, and the state would get money for outdoor education.New Mexico and Wisconsin are trying to create sin taxes to place the blame from social problems elsewhere. However good the intentions are, such a lazy tax will not do the job and will simply result in more money that is needlessly lost by people. Taxing something that has been proven dangerous for years, like cigarettes, is in the better interest of the people and will result in more much-needed revenue for each state.

-John P. Gamboa is a journalism junior.

-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to letters@thedailyaztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed – include your full name, major and year in school.