We can’t afford to find missing children! The government has shutdown our Amber Alert system website! But, luckily if we do find them, they’ll still be able to enjoy the Cookie Monster on TV! (UPDATE: Thankfully they reopened the Amber Alert website)
TLR has learned that the administration shelled out $445 million cookies to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on the first day of the government shutdown. Meanwhile, the feds are shutting down private businesses on public land and blocking veterans from visiting open air monuments.
The United States Treasury reported that the Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Benefits, Postal Service Money Orders and Unemployment Benefits all received about as much as the CPB… combined!
The CPB uses the defense that it is technically separate from government, but how do you call an institution that gets that much money from government “separate”?
“CPB is a nonprofit corporation that is technically separate from the government. So is NeighborWorks, a nonprofit that receives congressional appropriations, just as CPB does. NeighborWorks helped cause the housing bubble; CPB provides the propaganda that anesthetizes the public, preventing people from laying blame for failed policies at the door of the government,” said Matthew Vadum, senior editor at the Capital Research Center. “Keeping a distance by incorporating these entities affords the government plausible deniability when the two nonprofits mess up.”
Many people enjoy the programs put out by the CPB, but is it really fair to force all taxpayers to pay for something that only a few people enjoy? Why don’t we subsidize professional sports then? Oh we do? Oh, sorry. Ok well, what do the artists think?
Let’s pick one at random… how about… Jason Alexander?
The former Seinfeld star played George Costanza on the popular comedy show from the 90’s. Alexander was spotted out at an event last week where he was questioned about funding for the arts during the government shutdown. Alexander stated:
“Clearly, we are in a financial crisis in this country so you want to spend money where it is going to make sense. Do people absolutely need the arts to get by day-to-day? You can make that claim but they also really need a lot of things before that,” he said. “I would love to see more funding for the arts but I think the community to which it serves should sponsor. There are tax payers in this country that never go to the theater, that never read a book or poetry or go to a museum and their tax dollars are being spent on the arts…. I could make the argument either way. I’m glad I’m not the guy who has to figure it out.”
Yes, we are in a financial crisis in this country. And yet, instead of spend money as if we are in a crisis, we spend money on nonessential television programs and on enforcing the closing of open air public parks. Sounds like it’s time a for a change. Wouldn’t you agree?
