Time to End the $422 Million Subsidy for Public Television
Recently, the Discovery Channel’s top science reality show, Mythbusters, sent its stars, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, to meet with President Obama at the White House. The president, enjoying his role as guest star-in-chief, praised the show for making science “fun, exciting, and interesting.” Fans of Mythbusters can share bi-partisan agreement with the president on this point.
Over the past eight years, the Mythbusters have educated millions on scientific principles by putting popular myths to the test. These tests often involve high explosives, high powered weapons, building intricate devices for tests, and a host of other weird and wonderful touches that keep viewers coming back for more.
The presidential commendation of Mythbusters is interesting because Mythbusters is produced by the private sector for commercial television. The success of Mythbusters and a wide range of educational programs on the Discovery Channel as well as Animal Planet, The Learning Channel, and the History Channel challenges another myth: that the existence of educational and culturally enriching television depends on taxpayer-subsidized public broadcasting.
When the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) was founded in 1967, television was dominated by the three networks. However, over time, with the emergence of cable and satellite television, the amount of choices that Americans had in their viewing and listening increased considerably and the ratings threshold required to support the continued existence of a program went down.
In the 21st century, nearly every type of program that PBS is well-known for offering is offered on a private television channel. If you want nature documentaries, turn to Animal Planet. If you want to watch great British programs, watch BBC America.
In addition to this change in television, home video distribution has further altered the equation, particularly with most public libraries stocking hundreds or even thousands of educational video titles. These innovations make the case for spending $422 million this fiscal year on public broadcasting incredibly weak.
No more money for public broadcasting or public radio. Period. If they can’t win in the open market with hundreds of other channels, they don’t deserve to be on the air. Just like Air America. Even the American people couldn’t stomach the drivel that was coming out of that, so it failed and went off the air. Not because of censorship, mind you, but because NOBODY wanted to listen to it. I think it’s about time we refuse to keep funding far-left propaganda that few people listen to. And if Public Broadcasting keeps saying that the Federal funding only represents a small amount of their budget, then great. They won’t miss the money when the next Congress takes it away from them. Good luck competing with the other networks, boys!
WHAT is “public broadcasting” anyhoo? The same as the US Congress made up of “representatives of the People”? WHAT people?
Persons once they get the contract for the job decide the oath, the contract they “sign” does not apply to them? As the laws they enact do not apply to them ? THEY decide they and their requirements are paramount. Rather than submit to the terms of their employment : REPRESENTATIVE NOT Ruler, NOT monarch, NOT King, Queen, NOT independent actor.
ALL?persons, in Ccngress, Court, Executive AND NPR /NPB seem to believe they are the Massas, NOt as in fact the SERVANTS of the US Public. Who pays their bills ? Is it in modern parlance no longer the case that WHO PAYS the PIPER CALLS THE TUNE?
But of course IF the house-holders, i.e. WE THE PEOPLE do not monitor and discipline their servants in the contractual LIMITS of their jobs , REMEMBER the Constitution of the US LIMITS the powers and rights of elected AND appointed representatives and their management of the House. When the cat’s away the mice WILL play !
It comes down ALWAYS to the householders’ responsibility to their servants / employees. When employees continuously disregard the contractual boundaries of their jobs and act as if they do not apply to them, employers in REAL life, review the necessity and the expenses of the job.
Don’t do the job, do the job badly, or beyond the terms and with different aims, of the contract, lose the job is a general rule of life for adults. Does this rule ALSO not apply to “tepresentatives of the People”, elected or appointed ?
Add defunding CPB to the next debt limit bill. Don’t argue with the smug-nuts…just do it.
That was easy. Next!
NPR’s Nina Totenberg apologize for using the term ‘Christmas Party’?
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-baker/2010/12/20/nina-totenberg-i-was-forgive-expression-christmas-party
Why don’t they apologize for raising their voices above 55 decibels.
These KOOKs are just too much; And We the People are paying for this crap, like it or not!
Christmas Party … what is it with Christmas that is so offending to these people, especially during the Christmas and all the Christmas related stuff from buying Christmas gifts to Christmas parties, not to mention days off during the Christmas?
I’m not aware of a single commie Euro country where Christmas is not celebrated, Christmas music on 24/7, and whole country literally shut down for the celebration of Christmas from 24th to 26th.
Buon Natale.
One more thing, as much as I enjoy some of the programs, I think tax-payers ought not to subsidy for this Christmas hate and ‘progressiveness.”
It is much simpler than fighting to defund CPB. It is the citizens money and we own the output. Simply submit a one page bill saying any tax monies used to create art or “news” of any kind is owned by the American people. Copyright. Period. Now see if Bill Moyers can make money reselling our investments. You know if the NEA “artists” had their stuff flushing around the internet for free that the grantors would be embarassed. Right?
The 15% funding figure (or lesser amounts sometimes cited by CPB/NPR/PBS poobahs) always seemed suspect to me. Much of rogramming costs and network funding comes from member stations which themselves are heavily funded by CPB, state and local tax subsidies.
Why bowlers in Tulsa and NASCAR fans in Biloxi are expected to subsidize the entertainments of the opera fans in Boston and college professors in California who hold them in such utter contempt is one of the mysteries of our political culture. It’s indefensible public policy, and morally reprehensible.
This is my litmus test of the new congress–if it can’t defund these entities completely in the 2011 session, I’ll know they’re not serious about anything else.
GOP and “gut-check”…oxymoron. GOP Congresslosers have already forgotten there was an election last month.
I watch PBS. Nonetheless, I say DO IT. DO IT NOW.
Day 1: Defund PBS and NPR. In the delusional federal world of excess, it’s not much dollar-wise, but it’s a start.
Day 2: Pass the bill proposed above by #4 SenatorMark4.
Day 3: Yank all funding for the NEA.
Day 4: Stop using our money to create, operate and advertise .gov websites.
Day 5: Defund the Dept. of Education (savings: $60+ billion).
Day 6: Defund ALL 85 programs and six agencies (yes, boys and girls, 85 separate programs scattered across six agencies) that deal with poverty and welfare. Consolidate them into one streamlined, very spare, highly focused department with a clear, singular mission (estimated savings: $250-400 billion PER YEAR).
Day 7: Rest.
Day 8: Defund …
I think a lot of PBS viewers and NPR listeners fail to donate because they feel like they already pay for the stations with their tax dollars. If these subsidies were ended, private giving would likely increase, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they ended up financially profiting overall.
I believe there is something of a zero-sum factor, here. Eliminating the federal subsidy may cause libs to give more to PBS and NPR and their affiliates. But that might be money that they would otherwise give to their favorite candidate and/or causes. 15% is quite a hit, no matter where it goes.
PS-Keep in mind also that many libs also work (or have worked)for the government, in one form or another. And that gravy train’s about to go over the cliff. When they tighten their belts, what do you think goes first? It ain’t gonna be the soft life, that’s for sure.
There have been threats to defund NPR/CPB for years and yet nothing happens. RINOs in Congress better get with it because we’re tired of empty promises.
Let’s corn subsidies too, if you are intellectually honest (which I highly doubt) and how about stopping corporate welfare?
zombie: What is corporate welfare? Do you mean tax incentives to provide jobs here in America; do you mean lowering those corp. taxes that are the highest in the industrialized world so that our industry can compete with China and other nations??? That red herring of corp. welfare died years ago. Come up with something more legit to argue.
I happen to agree that subsidies for farmers should end and with methanol as well.
The taxpayers also fund CPB and PBS through the PBS stations’ 501(c)(3) status. Let PBS be *exactly* like the History Channel. PBS should pay full taxes on the income from their sponsors, and the sponsors should pay with after-tax money.
I am surprised at the lack of comments on this extreme waste of taxpayer funds. When I was a child in the 1950′s we had 3 channels and you had bad reception and the government came up with PBS and then we had a new commercial free channel. It was used in classrooms for President Kennedy at the time to give an occasional speech but also for our space program which were also shown in the classroom!
But this is now 40 to 50 years later with many public stations available not just on the broadcast media but also on cable. PBS was good at its time but now who needs Big Bird or NOVA or any stupid PBS program?
Defund this horrid waste of taxpayer money and the same with NPR, not like there are not plenty of free radio stations and cheap radio recievers!
Do you want America to be like Berlusconni’s Italy where the only press NOT owned by Silvio is their version of NPR?
Isn’t this interesting. We’re wasting 1 TRILLION DOLLARS on the Pentagon and Homeland security. We’re pissing away about $20 Billion on corporate farming. We’re subsidizing ETHANOL not Methanol to the tune of $5 Billion. Congress raised their budget from about $ 3.6 Billion to $4.6 Billion so they can hire more attorneys and consultants to waste more time.
We’re still paying for the Savings & Loan debacle of the late 1980s.
And the list goes on and on.
Someone who had already resigned his job at NPR said something stupid and that makes headlines.
Try and focus on the STUPIDITY coming out of the mouths of Eric Cantor and Michelle Bachmann. Now that’s stupid and they should lose their funding.
You all have a nice day !