Mitt says he'll fire Big Bird!

[piece-itpete]

I think this shows why seriously cutting the budget won't happen till we're broke.

Pete

[ebacon]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

I think this shows why seriously cutting the budget won't happen till we're broke.

Pete

Your party is the one pining for a military that by itself consumes all that US citizens pay in federal income tax.

But you think Big Bird is the reason we are going broke? Now that's being bird brained.

[piece-itpete]

[JJIII]

Originally Posted by Boreas

Already happens, JJ. What do you think all those pledge drives are about. They can't raise enough that way, never have and never will. They've even had to dip their toe in the water with "corporate underwriters" as the Republicans keep whittling away their budget.

What sort of reporting on the Gulf Oil Spill do you suppose you'll get if BP is an underwriter of The News Hour?

John

I do know about the pledge drives from personal experience. I guess if a concern like PBS and/or NPR cannot support itself (cannot raise enough from pledge drives) then maybe it is time for them to fold up their tents. They are good products, no doubt about it. Ferrari s and Bentley s are also good products but we all can't afford them either.

Maybe pay per view?

[ebacon]

Pete,

Too dumb to speak? Are your thoughts in knots again?

That graph doesn't address the issue of the US military consuming practiclly all of citizens federal tax money while Big Bird consumes practically none of it.

[piece-itpete]

It shows that as a percentage military spending is DOWN. Therefore it is other issues that are killing the budget.

Well spoken enough?

Pete

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

Looks to me from that chart that you've made Ed's point. We spend far too much on the military by a huge margin but I guess it depends on what one's priorities are. If some bogeyman crops up again we are certainly capable of meeting the challenge by ramping up spending on the military. The huge chunk of GDP that it consumes year in and year out is going to bankrupt us. I would much rather see that money spent at home on infrastructure and taking care of our own people. I'm no rabid isolationist but that chart just shows me that the tail is wagging the dog since WW2. ie The so called defense industry has so much bloat and waste that it has become a monster in it's own right with it's own private army of lobbyists. BTW where is the big spike for the Iraq War on that chart?

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by JJIII

I do know about the pledge drives from personal experience. I guess if a concern like PBS and/or NPR cannot support itself (cannot raise enough from pledge drives) then maybe it is time for them to fold up their tents. They are good products, no doubt about it. Ferrari s and Bentley s are also good products but we all can't afford them either.

Maybe pay per view?

That's a bullshit argument, sorry John.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by JJIII

I do know about the pledge drives from personal experience. I guess if a concern like PBS and/or NPR cannot support itself (cannot raise enough from pledge drives) then maybe it is time for them to fold up their tents. They are good products, no doubt about it. Ferrari s and Bentley s are also good products but we all can't afford them either.

Maybe pay per view?

They were never intended to "pay for themselves". The whole idea was to have the network paid for by the people through direct contributions and taxes. It's a worthwhile and workable scheme for providing a source for news, educational and public affairs programming that's free from outside influence. In fact, it WAS working until Republicans began trying to starve it to death.

John

[ebacon]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

It shows that as a percentage military spending is DOWN. Therefore it is other issues that are killing the budget.

Well spoken enough?

Pete

Goddamnit Pete. That chart shows military spending as a function of GDP, not tax revenue.

What happens percentage-wise when taxes are cut and spending is kept constant or incresed? Find that chart and we can talk.