US Senator: Preserving Videogame History Wastes Money

[Wereduck]

Okay, $113K - that's about half the cost of one cruise missile, right?

Yeah, that will get our budget sorted out real quick. On a related note; I've just decided to save up for a Bugatti Veyron by brown-bagging my lunch. I figure I'll have enough money by the time I'm 90 and then I can go out and pick up supermodels.

 

[xXAsherahXx]

Oh my goodness!!! 100K!!! How will we recover if one foundation gets 100K. That's no match for the 14 Trillion and counting our deficit has.

Honestly, I think it's ridiculous that the senator thinks that would help, but I don't really think it's crucial that the foundation continues to receive funding at the moment. Perhaps later when the crisis is over.

If only the rich would figure that out and accept a higher tax rate. Those dumb little "job-creators."

But if we start to tax them more, more job will go lost since they can't hire anyone!

OOOOHHHH NOOOO!!!! And Bill O'Reilly might quit his job!!!

 

[Sean951]

You know, if we dropped Iraq and let all the Bush tax cuts expire (the average person only saved $3-500 anyways), then the budget is pretty much balanced by 2020. Sure, we still have the $5 trillion we owe other nations for the public debt, but the other $9 trillion is owed to Social Security trust and other investments. After all, American debt is considered to be the safest investment in the world.

 

[Phlakes]

You know, I think the Museum of Natural History is a waste of money. So is teaching history to kids. Let's just take it out of schools, fire all the historians, and shut down all the museums.

 

[mikey7339]

Even if it was "unnecessary, duplicative, or just plain stupid (which it isn't)," $113,000 is not even a drop in the bucket compared to the billions upon billions that have been wasted on frivolous programs.

A single Javelin missile doesn't even cost that much, and how many of those have we actually used in a combat situation?

And why does this not surprise me that a Republican said dismissed this.

 

[Nuke_em_05]

Sure, it's a drop in the bucket, but there are thousands of "drops in the bucket", and they add up.

That's his whole point. This is one of hundreds of programs he identifies. He isn't singling out videogames.

Personally, I do think that the government spends money on a lot of things that it shouldn't. It's not that I think these things shouldn't be done, I just don't think they need to be done with taxpayer dollars.

What does it say about how much the gaming community at large nationally cares about this if we can't raise $100,000 annually in private funding? Or find volunteers who can do some of the archiving on their own time?

If we can't get those of us who are actually interested in this to support it, why should we turn to the rest of the taxpayers who would rather not?

 

[fix-the-spade]

A few tin cans?? Really?!?! Do you realize what you're saying? I really do hope you're being funny or some kind of smart ass.

No, I never make statements at anything other than face value.

But in all seriousness, the exhibits strung up in museums round the world are empty. Except for a few command modules, nothing of the Apollo (Or Mercury, or Gemini) craft made it back to earth, either being destroyed on lift off, burned up on return or left on the moon to save weight and fuel. Spending vast sums of money on a few elaborate models is not a good investment, they could be effectively maintained for a lot less.

The genuine Apollo 11 command module is sealed in a glass jar, because it is literally a burnt tin can.

The money (or a small portion, less than 1% of the Smithsonian MSA's budget would cover this and more) would be better spent maintaining current digital material, which is far more vulnerable to degredation. As it is we're walking into the same situation as early film, recorded sound and television where important technological (and social and economic) break throughs are being allowed to rot because no one see the value. Much like the original episodes of Dr Who we're going to be left relying on amateurs who care to keep this stuff for the future, which isn't a reliable solution.

 

[Undead Dragon King]

It's true that $100,000 might not seem like a big loss when combatting a $15 TRILLION debt, but you have to remember that the government has handed out thousands of these little donations in each budget. It adds up fast. And you can bet your collective asses that every single one of these donees has a sob story like this one ready when the government is thinking of pulling its funding.

So, in short, NO. The government doesn't have a responsibility to spend our tax dollars on a gaming history exhibition. If we, the gaming community, care so much about it, we should donate funds to keep the exhibition running.

Merry Christmas.

 

[TheDooD]

Pirates BEEN doing this for a while dumping roms and creating emulators. Overall the most perfect way to preserve Videogame history.

 

[Zer_]

What kind of bullshit statement is that. How can any governor say ANYTHING is a waste of money when the US Government is wasting billions on some fucking War on Drugs, War on Terrorism (Was wasting money), and a bunch of other useless shit. Fuck off.

Can you tell I'm pissed?

 

[General Vagueness]

I'm a pretty liberal guy, but honestly, preserving history isn't really the government's job.

If private citizens are interested in preserving the history of fillintheblank, then it should be up to them to make the donations. Personally, I'd rather see better schools, infrastructure, and healthcare for all (told you I was liberal). That's what the government is there for: protecting and maintaining the health and well-being of the citizens. Supporting the arts and history is, and always has been, the domain of patrons and private interests.

I don't get that. You seem like you should know the importance and influence of history of all kinds. Why should they fund schools but not preserving information? Heck, history is a subject in schools. It's almost like saying "I want to buy a candle but not the wick".

Also to the comments about it being wasteful, there's more to the "war on drugs" than arresting you for smoking pot or your unfortunate brother/cousin/friend for doing crack or heroin.

 

[General Vagueness]

Pirates BEEN doing this for a while dumping roms and creating emulators. Overall the most perfect way to preserve Videogame history.

I completely disagree. That doesn't preserve the hardware or any other physical aspect of the games, even having the manuals and cover art in files doesn't get everything, like the console itself, or accessories. Plus it often takes a long time to get completely faithful emulation working in a usable way, they're still struggling to do it with 12-year-old consoles, and in that time things can be lost. There's also the relative lack of standardization in emulation, which can cause all kinds of problems.

 

[Iron Lightning]

It's appropriate that the image of Pac-Man used in the report is only gobbling up 75¢ because 75¢ is about as big a part of the average American's yearly salary as $113,277 is to the yearly budget of the United States.

I have a better list of wasteful spending. It's a little short but it nevertheless contains all we need to cut:

1. The Military

That is all.

 

[OuroborosChoked]

I'm a pretty liberal guy, but honestly, preserving history isn't really the government's job.

If private citizens are interested in preserving the history of fillintheblank, then it should be up to them to make the donations. Personally, I'd rather see better schools, infrastructure, and healthcare for all (told you I was liberal). That's what the government is there for: protecting and maintaining the health and well-being of the citizens. Supporting the arts and history is, and always has been, the domain of patrons and private interests.

I disagree. The government of a nation has many jobs. It is, or rather it should, be an extension of the larger society it represents and work towards benefiting that society. Preservation of cultural artifacts can very well fall under that purview.

Emphasis added, obviously. That's the difference: in a magical world where money was no object, we could preserve everything, fund everything, and make everyone's lives wonderful. In practical terms, we're already spending too much on other things that don't fall under the purview of what the government should do.

Do you think we should do away with the Library of Congress? It serves a very important role. I think private citizens and institutions should be leading the way and doing most of the work but if the budget allows the government should step in with support.

The point of the LoC is that it is a research library for Congress. Yes, the public can access it, but the point is that it's there to serve the research purposes of Congress... and the Supreme Court. It has a function necessary for the continued operation of the government. If the public benefits, more's the better.

EDIT: Saying that the amount of money is relatively small is NOT an argument of why it should or should not be spent. Making such an argument makes you look foolish. Maybe you can give me $5. Its not that much money compared to what is in your checking account, right?

This is a point I wanted to make. Thank you for making it. If this were YouTube, this comment would get a thumbs up.

I don't get that. You seem like you should know the importance and influence of history of all kinds. Why should they fund schools but not preserving information?

I do, but it's not really on the government to do that.

And aside from that, do you really think that video games will be taught in public schools? Not to say video games aren't relevant history, but it's not exactly the same thing as, say, the Civil War, the underground railroad, and so forth... even then, I still don't think it's the government's responsibility to preserve such things.

 

[weirdee]

Well, it's just that we almost lost the original Metropolis film forever until somebody lucked upon a few copies, so if we let that happen to some of the more important advances of the two prior eras, we might lose them forever. Not everybody has the Turner money vault behind them to do stuff like this.

sure, the other programs for social services are more important, but i get the feeling that had we not been forced to keep the wealthy and their corporations really well off, the amount of money that we could have used would have stretched all the way down the list to this one

 

[Sarge034]

I'm a pretty liberal guy, but honestly, preserving history isn't really the government's job.

If private citizens are interested in preserving the history of fillintheblank, then it should be up to them to make the donations. Personally, I'd rather see better schools, infrastructure, and healthcare for all (told you I was liberal). That's what the government is there for: protecting and maintaining the health and well-being of the citizens. Supporting the arts and history is, and always has been, the domain of patrons and private interests.

Does that mean we can get rid of the Smithsonian? As I see it if the government is going to fund the discovery and preservation of some history then they should have to fund the discovery and preservation of all history.

Like videogames or not, no one can say they have not influenced the world. That makes them historical.

Spoiler: If you don't know what the Smithsonian is...

Smith-so-ni-an In-sti-tu-tion
A government trust founded in Washington, D.C., by an act of Congress in 1846 to promote research and education. It sponsors scientific research and publications and maintains the national collections. The fourteen museums it administers include the National Museum of American History and the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and the National Museum of the Native American in New York City.

 

[Nieroshai]

Really, preserving entertainment isn't the government's job, it is a private concern. The private sector makes it, and honestly knows best how to preserve it.

 

[Nieroshai]

I'm a pretty liberal guy, but honestly, preserving history isn't really the government's job.

If private citizens are interested in preserving the history of fillintheblank, then it should be up to them to make the donations. Personally, I'd rather see better schools, infrastructure, and healthcare for all (told you I was liberal). That's what the government is there for: protecting and maintaining the health and well-being of the citizens. Supporting the arts and history is, and always has been, the domain of patrons and private interests.

Does that mean we can get rid of the Smithsonian? As I see it if the government is going to fund the discovery and preservation of some history then they should have to fund the discovery and preservation of all history.

Like videogames or not, no one can say they have not influenced the world. That makes them historical.

Spoiler: If you don't know what the Smithsonian is...

Smith-so-ni-an In-sti-tu-tion
A government trust founded in Washington, D.C., by an act of Congress in 1846 to promote research and education. It sponsors scientific research and publications and maintains the national collections. The fourteen museums it administers include the National Museum of American History and the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and the National Museum of the Native American in New York City.

Yes, but especially now of all times, is it money that needs spending? Would you rather go further into debt to preserve the Power Glove, or repair our infrastructure? Priorities. The moment we aren't knee deep in debt, then we can focus on that kind of thing.