Nobody Scrubs Your Money Better than The Government
by Jim Moore

02/09/03

You know the old saying: The only thing you can be sure of is death and taxes Well, death anyway. Not so your taxes. Once they disappear down the government money hole, you can never be sure where they will end up.

And if you think the money "withheld" from you by the government is spent prudently, funding only the services that are essential, and that you approve of, you're being hoodwinked.

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) is a prime example of your tax dollars being laundered by the federal government.

Gail Jarvis, in a piece called "Bureaucratic Moneylaudering" lays it out clearly.. 

In the 1960's, Jarvis reminds us, PBS was the only outlet offering 
"cultural" programs, such as the arts, history, and children's programs. But with the advent of other channels with similar programs, PBS lost its justification for government funding---but not its appetite for federal largess. 

For example, in 1969, funding PBS cost taxpayers only $5 million, but its current budget has escalated to nearly $400 million! Your tax dollars at work.

Now, here's where the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) comes into the picture. 

The FCC used to prohibit non-commercial broadcasters (like PBS) from airing commercials. But when PBS argued that their commercials were "value neutral identifications" (whatever that means), without specific product endorsements, the FCC conveniently looked the other way 

Bafflegab, you see, is not just the province of politicians.

So now PBS has the best of both worlds--commercial advertising revenue AND government funding, thanks to your compulsory generosity.

Not wanting to appear greedy, PBS claims that only one-third of its funding is provided by the government. There is, however, some "phantom funding" that neither PBS nor the government feels free to discuss. Classified information, you know.

And who contributes up to a million bucks or more to PBS? Several government agencies do; agencies, remember, that are funded themselves by U.S. taxpayers. 

For instance, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is one of PBS's heavyweight contributors. Among its many projects, NEH provided funding for Ken Burns' Civil War Films. 

And that's just for starters.

Other large contributors to the Public Broadcasting System include the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the National Park Service, and the Department of the Army. You read right, the Army. 


It seems that these agencies get more federal funding (your money) than they need. So what do they do with the extra cash? They sprinkle it around here, there and everywhere in the form of donations. But return it to you? Not a chance.

Now, let's look a bit further and surprise! we find that the United States Postal Service shows up on PBS's list as one of its largest contributors! 

So next time the price of stamps goes up, you might think about this double whammy. You're paying once for the price increase to help get the Postal Service out of a financial jam; and again with your taxes to keep the Postal Service solvent. 

Let's call it what it is: your donation to a "non-commercial" commercial organization which is also getting a bloated government subsidy. 

After that kind of laundering your money will be clean as a whistle. But you'll have to take my word for that, because you won't see any of it.


Jim Moore
Jmoore1819@aol.com

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