Trump Budget Chops All Funding for PBS, NPR...

[Purp1eOne]

Big bird fine..... but fuck NPR make Soros pay for it or Hildabeasts "Foundation".

They need to cleanup every back door sneaky way they are using any public funds to push agendas period!!! No matter if its only $10.

[Uncle]

I do agree w/ Democratic Senator Chris Coons (who was on CNN's "New Day" this morning) in regard to concern over the cuts to the State Department while increasing the Defense budget at the same time. Now, past State Departments (like the one we just went through) didn't have much value when you have things like the Benghazi situation and Hillary using that office to setup the Clinton Foundation...but I do think there's value in that Department for foreign diplomacy if they are run like they suppposed to. I like increased spending for our Veterans and our troops (sort of flexing our muscles a bit and hopefully making other nations think twice about doing something), but I do see value in a "properly-run" State Department and I do question those cuts.

[badgervike]

Mar 16, 2017 15:53:24 GMT -6 beo said:

Look, I'm a fiscal conservative... but I don't get all the high fives for cutting Sesame Street, Nova, etc...

It's such a drop in the bucket. (0.012% of budget)

It's the same old story... cut some token crap to make a news splash while the deficit continues to grow.

Healthcare, military, welfare and pensions make up 80+ percent of the budget.

You are going to have to cut across the board if you really want to rein anything in... which no one is willing to do.

And I have to say... on a personal note something that really irks me about the idea we are hardline on cutting waste.
We're probably going to spend in the neighborhood of 180 million so Baron Trump doesn't have to change schools.... pisses me off.

First of all...welcome to the board!

Why can't they just use advertising dollars to create programming...like every other media outlet?  Sesame Street can't have a few commercials?  Really?

And btw....the Obama girls stayed behind in Chicago to finish the school year when he was elected..requiring protection as well.  Didn't see a lot of outrage then...even though candidate Obama called the Deficit a "Failure of Moral Leadership" and promised to halve the total deficit in his first term.

Edit:  I do agree with you that entitlements are going to have to be eventually reigned in...and that's a political nightmare.  People get used to sucking off the government teet.  Our unemployment is historically low...yet dependence on the Welfare safety net is near all time highs.  And social security....don't even get me started there.  When that program was started...you qualified for SS at 62 years old...and life expectancy was 63.5 years....a budgeted payout period of 1.5 years.  Now...the average qualification age is 66 years old...and the life expectancy is 78.5 years...a payout period of 12.5 years....and growing.  

[beo]

Mar 16, 2017 16:06:33 GMT -6 badgervike said:

Mar 16, 2017 15:53:24 GMT -6 beo said:

Look, I'm a fiscal conservative... but I don't get all the high fives for cutting Sesame Street, Nova, etc...

It's such a drop in the bucket. (0.012% of budget)

It's the same old story... cut some token crap to make a news splash while the deficit continues to grow.

Healthcare, military, welfare and pensions make up 80+ percent of the budget.

You are going to have to cut across the board if you really want to rein anything in... which no one is willing to do.

And I have to say... on a personal note something that really irks me about the idea we are hardline on cutting waste.
We're probably going to spend in the neighborhood of 180 million so Baron Trump doesn't have to change schools.... pisses me off.

First of all...welcome to the board!

Why can't they just use advertising dollars to create programming...like every other media outlet?  Sesame Street can't have a few commercials?  Really?

And btw....the Obama girls stayed behind in Chicago to finish the school year when he was elected..requiring protection as well.  Didn't see a lot of outrage then...even though candidate Obama called the Deficit a "Failure of Moral Leadership" and promised to halve the total deficit in his first term.

Commercials... I suppose that's fine... I have to admit that growing up in a house when I was young that I think got a whole 3 or 4 channels, I have a soft spot for Sesame Street, The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Countdown, Nova, you get the idea.

It would not surprise me that the Obama children ran up a bill.  I think we can agree fiscal restraint wasn't a strong suit with the last administration... and actually isn't that part of what reason the country got out to vote?  Regardless, I don't give them a pass either.

But that strengthens my point...  to rack up that kind of bill and complain about government waste out of the other side of the mouth is hypocritical... you knew the office you were running for... Baron could survive a mid year switch just fine.

[badgervike]

Mar 16, 2017 16:30:57 GMT -6 beo said:

Mar 16, 2017 16:06:33 GMT -6 badgervike said:

Commercials... I suppose that's fine... I have to admit that growing up in a house when I was young that I think got a whole 3 or 4 channels, I have a soft spot for Sesame Street, The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Countdown, Nova, you get the idea.

It would not surprise me that the Obama children ran up a bill.  I think we can agree fiscal restraint wasn't a strong suit with the last administration... and actually isn't that part of what reason the country got out to vote?  Regardless, I don't give them a pass either.

But that strengthens my point...  to rack up that kind of bill and complain about government waste out of the other side of the mouth is hypocritical... you knew the office you were running for... Baron could survive a mid year switch just fine.

I hear ya.  I grew up with that as well and it has a soft spot for me too.  I just don't think a few commercials here or there will change that...and actually could help better fund the programming options.  I live in Uber Liberal Madison...and I know a lot of friends think commercials would change the "purity" of the programming experience....blah, blah.  If you truly believe that, find another benefactor.  George Soros seems to like to piss away money these days.

[Purp1eOne]

Mar 16, 2017 16:30:57 GMT -6 beo said:

I have to admit that growing up in a house when I was young that I think got a whole 3 or 4 channels, I have a soft spot for Sesame Street, The Electric Company

I had the same experience as a kid

I think there is already an unfair influence on kids with 95% of teachers leaning left. As we just saw the country is basically divided down the middle so if you want to peddle your crap(not yours the libs in general) do it on your dime. And if we break that down farther less than half of the country pays taxes and how many of the less than half do you think lean left? I would bet of that less than half its not half so you......

[SmokedPears]

Mar 16, 2017 15:53:24 GMT -6 beo said:

Look, I'm a fiscal conservative... but I don't get all the high fives for cutting Sesame Street, Nova, etc...

It's such a drop in the bucket. (0.012% of budget)

It's the same old story... cut some token crap to make a news splash while the deficit continues to grow.

Healthcare, military, welfare and pensions make up 80+ percent of the budget.

You are going to have to cut across the board if you really want to rein anything in... which no one is willing to do.

And I have to say... on a personal note something that really irks me about the idea we are hardline on cutting waste.
We're probably going to spend in the neighborhood of 180 million so Baron Trump doesn't have to change schools.... pisses me off.

I think we are going to see across the board cuts. I have a friend who works for the IRS. Word came down last week they have to prepare to shave 15%. And it doesn't sound like it's just the IRS.

Trump is no fan of waste. I hope he finds some success in trimming it.

[Purp1eOne]

Five Reasons Trump Is Right to Cut NPR, PBS link

1. They do not need the money. In 2011, James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas secretly recorded senior NPR executives meeting with a potential donor and admitting that NPR “would be better off in the long run without federal funding.” NPR reports that it “receives less than 2 percent of its budget directly from CPB, and has long anticipated the possibility of losing that.

2. Big Bird doesn’t work there anymore. In 2015, Sesame Street‘s production company signed a deal with HBO. The first HBO-hosted shows began in 2016, and only aired nine months later on PBS for children from less affluent households.

3. NPR is biased in favor of liberals and against conservatives. NPR’s political coverage is consistently slanted against Republicans and conservatives, and in favor of liberals. The network also takes aim at conservative rivals: last week, for example, it accused Breitbart News, falsely, of producing “fake news.” It also churns out such fare as Code Switch, which often reinforces racial identity. Using taxpayer funds to support one-sided news coverage is an abuse of taxpayer money.

4. PBS no longer produces content worth public investment. As Steven Titch noted recently at The Hill:

It has superb shows, such as Downton Abbey, Sherlock and Frontline. But as Sesame Street’s defection demonstrated, most of these programs could easily find a place on commercial cable and streaming outlets. The remainder of PBS programming approaches self-parody: examples such as Golf’s Grand Design, Great Old Amusement Parks and Andre Rieu: Waltzing Forever.

The argument for public television—that it offers an exclusive place for quality content and entertainment that would be too narrow, too marginal and too unprofitable for commercial TV—is risible in an age of hundreds of cable channels and near-unlimited streaming.

5. Conservatives have been promising to cut funding for decades. Newt Gingrich and the Republican Revolution of 1994 wanted to cut federal funding for PBS and NPR, but failed. When the Tea Party took over the House in 2010, they likewise failed to pass the promised cuts. This time, conservatives control both houses of Congress.

The taxpayers helped launch NPR and PBS. It is well past time to let them go. They will probably do better on their own — and be less of a political target.

[vikingdan]

The biggest thing that can be done for the deficit is a robust growing economy with more taxpayers and less people needing/getting assistance. Our government, Dems and GOP included have been marginal at cutting anything even if it does not work. I would love to see cuts in a lot of areas but I am not sure I have hope the current congressional leadership has the courage to make them. Hope I am wrong.

[njvikesfan]

Mar 16, 2017 15:53:24 GMT -6 beo said:

Look, I'm a fiscal conservative... but I don't get all the high fives for cutting Sesame Street, Nova, etc...

It's such a drop in the bucket. (0.012% of budget)

It's the same old story... cut some token crap to make a news splash while the deficit continues to grow.

Healthcare, military, welfare and pensions make up 80+ percent of the budget.

You are going to have to cut across the board if you really want to rein anything in... which no one is willing to do.

And I have to say... on a personal note something that really irks me about the idea we are hardline on cutting waste.
We're probably going to spend in the neighborhood of 180 million so Baron Trump doesn't have to change schools.... pisses me off.

Everything you said I agree with completely. However any politician who even hints at cutting entitlements will be the victim of the most vicious fear mongering we have ever seen. Just look at how repealing Obamacare (a healthcare law that has never had majority support at any time) has been portrayed. Imagine how bad the media would attack anyone who was speaking of reforming SS and medicare?

That politician would be a national hero who saved those entitlement programs, but would be vilified and their political career would end. Their party would probably lose congress also. If anyone can do it it will be Trump. I think that is something Trump should do after reelection in 2020. We need to get a lot of other things done first.

I agree with what you are saying, I just don't think now is the time it should be addressed.

[njvikesfan]

Mar 19, 2017 14:05:52 GMT -6 vikingdan said:

The biggest thing that can be done for the deficit is a robust growing economy with more taxpayers and less people needing/getting assistance. Our government, Dems and GOP included have been marginal at cutting anything even if it does not work. I would love to see cuts in a lot of areas but I am not sure I have hope the current congressional leadership has the courage to make them. Hope I am wrong.

I agree. We have to grow our way out of it. Trump has inherited a disastrous situation with our national debt, stagnant GDP growth, deep unemployment issues, etc(not to mention the horrendous state of our foreign policy).

I am hoping Trump as an apolitical pragmatist who doesn't care about party goals and a long political career is the one to fix our entitlement programs.