Is Mitt Romney Trying To Kill Big Bird?
Perhaps my favorite part of the presidential debate this week was when Mitt Romney, while standing in front of a long-time employee of public broadcasting, called for an end to subsidies for public broadcasting.
This has resulted in the left claiming Mitt Romney wants to kill Big Bird, the famous giant yellow bird character from children’s programming stalwart Sesame Street. But is that true?
It certain tugs at the heart strings – there are entire generations of Americans who grew up with Big Bird – but Sesame Street is commercially successful. Meaning Sesame Street doesn’t need taxpayer subsidies. The show, the merchandise, the books, etc., etc. all make plenty of money. In fact, it’s something of a waste to think of our tax dollars going to subsidize something that really doesn’t need the subsidies at all.
We are a nation that is $16 trillion in debt and running a $1 trillion annual budget deficit. Yes, public broadcasting subsidies are a very small part of that problem, but they’re still a part of the problem. We don’t need public broadcasting, especially in this digital age which produces more entertainment and news content then most of us could ever hope to consume. It could more than likely survive on its own through private donations and sponsorships. And if it can’t, well then that speaks to such a low level of public support that the taxpayers shouldn’t be asked to pay for it.
Tags: big bird, mitt romney, public broadcasting
