President Trump released his federal budget today. In it, he's proposed to get rid of all federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds PBS and NPR.
The folks in public broadcasting seem pretty worried right now. CPB president Patricia Harrison said that there's "no viable substitute for federal funding" that could help them stay afloat.
She said in a statement:
"The elimination of federal funding to CPB would initially devastate and ultimately destroy public media’s role in early childhood education, public safety, connecting citizens to our history, and promoting civil discussions – all for Americans in both rural and urban communities."
We will work with the new Administration and Congress in raising awareness that elimination of federal funding to CPB begins the collapse of the public media system itself and the end of this essential national service."
Harrison also argued that public broadcasting is cheap, costing taxpayers just $1.35 per person a year.
Is public broadcasting really so sacred that the country would crumble if we did away with it? T.V. is dead and public radio is boring.
You can't rely on the government for the rest of your life to stay in business.