California Taxpayers Reimburse Video Game Industry
Stick around! Let off some steam! See you at the party! It's not a tumor! I'll be back!
Published: January 26, 2012
Ooops. The State of California owes the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) about a MILLION dollars to cover the legal fees they had battling the recently ruled unconstitutional state amendment to regulate the sale of video games.
The ESA is generously taking a portion of that settlement and donating it to an initiative in Oakland and Sacramento that harnesses kids energy and enthusiasm for playing video games and channels into skills that are valuable for the workplace.
“Senator Yee and Governor Schwarzenegger wasted more than $1 million in taxpayer funds at a time when Californians could ill afford it,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. “However we feel strongly that some of these funds should be used to improve services for California’s youth.”
Bravo!
What makes the whole lawsuit sillier is the fact that the video game industry has been proven to bring 2.1 BILLION dollars in revenue to the state each year. So in essence, California was trying to spend money to regulate an industry that helps support the state economy. Crazy!
Lest we heap all our scorn on California, the ESA has also received another stack of funds from a few other states, bringing their total to over 3 MILLION dollars in reimbursements! Go ESA!
The ESA is generously taking a portion of that settlement and donating it to an initiative in Oakland and Sacramento that harnesses kids energy and enthusiasm for playing video games and channels into skills that are valuable for the workplace.
“Senator Yee and Governor Schwarzenegger wasted more than $1 million in taxpayer funds at a time when Californians could ill afford it,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. “However we feel strongly that some of these funds should be used to improve services for California’s youth.”
Bravo!
What makes the whole lawsuit sillier is the fact that the video game industry has been proven to bring 2.1 BILLION dollars in revenue to the state each year. So in essence, California was trying to spend money to regulate an industry that helps support the state economy. Crazy!
Lest we heap all our scorn on California, the ESA has also received another stack of funds from a few other states, bringing their total to over 3 MILLION dollars in reimbursements! Go ESA!
