Idaho Legislators Pick Your pockets for Public TV and Radio

It Needs to Go!

Television productions aren’t cheap.  I worked in TV management in the 1990s and can assure you there were some big expenses.  I had to budget every year and then argue my case, sometimes unsuccessfully for expenses.

Technology has lessened some costs and increased others. I stay in touch with some old friends, and they share stories about the same old budget battles.

I spent a summer sharing space with a public TV affiliate.  My studios had been damaged in a tornado, and the local public outfit had a massive building and state-of-the-art toys.  We were disappointed when we moved back into our original building because we had become spoiled.

It Sucks Up Your Tax Dollars

We were on-air through advertising sales.  The public broadcaster got some donations but thrived on federal and state government funding for its palace.  In other words, your tax dollars funded the broadcast of Versailles.

This morning I saw a story about public TV releasing two new documentaries in Idaho.  Now the subject matter may be very good, but in a broke country, why are we funding something that a guy with a YouTube channel could produce without picking my pocket?

President Trump wants to defund public broadcasting.  Most Idaho Republicans will tell you they support his agenda, but they won’t touch the state portion of public broadcasting’s budget.

You Can't Get a Straight Answer

State Representative Lance Clow once told me the broadcasting budget is included in the college budgets, so legislators don’t know what to cut.  Really?  You can’t ask the people at the universities to cite a line item?

Too many people who call themselves conservatives like the exposure they get on taxpayer-funded radio and TV.  Essentially, you’re paying for what amounts to a campaign commercial every time they make an appearance.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like being robbed and I don’t like people who don’t tell us the truth.  It appears our legislature has its share of thieves and liars.

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