The NPR Funding Lie

Recently, NPR in an anti free speech move, fired Juan Williams for admitting the truth about being nervous while flying with devout Muslims. NPR is an extremely liberal organization that receives funding from taxpayers. With the country $13 trillion in debt, why should taxpayers be funding liberal NPR or a conservative media outlet for that matter. Many years ago, people had few choices for news and information and providing diversity may have been desirable. The facts on the ground have dramatically changed over the last 20 years. Most people have dozens of radio stations, hundreds of cable channels and millions of websites on the Internet to get their information from. Why should overburdened taxpayers be forced to support any media outlet of any type of political leaning? NPR apologists claim the amount of public funding NPR receives is a minuscule 1%~3%. (emphasis mine)

NORAH O'DONNELL: It's about 1-3% that NPR receives in some taxpayer money. Most of NPR is funded through their local stations, through corporations, through the people who like NPR, private donations. They apply for grants and then, to the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, and some of that is federal money [try virtually all], so 1-3% is what they say.

If that is true, why do Democrats fight so hard to keep NPR funding? The reason is simple. It is a lie. A significant portion of NPR funding comes from taxpayers. (emphasis mine- red taxpayer, pink mixed taxpayer/private)

According to information available from the NPR website, local radio station money comes from the following sources:

32.1% Individual contributions

21.1% Business contributions

13.6% University funds

10.1% Corporation for Public Broadcasting funds

9.6% Foundation money

5.6% Federal, state, and local government funds

7.6% Other

It is easy to see NPR receives at least 20% of their funding from taxpayers. Also, since individual and business donations are tax deductible, taxpayers are indirectly footing part of that bill.

Taxpayers Flee Blue States

Rush Limbaugh left New York over high taxes. Many other millionaires in high tax states are making the same decision. It looks like the rich aren't the only ones fleeing high taxes and liberal governments. Nine of the top ten states with net migration outflow are blue. The only red state on the top ten list, Louisiana, made the list because of Hurricane Katrina.

From TaxProf Blog:

Taxpayer Owned GM Donates Money to Congressional Black Caucus Group

The above bumper sticker is from American Method.

You taxpayer bailout dollars are hard at work paying back Democrats for bailing out GM the UAW.

FOX Nation reported:

The carmaker gave $41,000 to groups associated with lawmakers, the vast majority of it — $36,000 — to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the company reported on a disclosure form last week. The CBC Foundation is a charity with 11 members of the Congressional Black Caucus on its board.

Flashback: Obama Promised in ‘08 “every penny” of TARP would go back to taxpayers (video)

Then Senator Obama didn't want President Bush to have a blank check with the TARP funds. He promised “every penny” of TARP would go back to taxpayers. Of course, that promise has expired. Now, President Obama wants to spend the returned TARP money again.



Obama is such a liar.

Republicans want to give taxpayers GM stock

President Obama said he doesn't want to run auto manufacturing companies. Republicans are drafting legislation to help him out with this goal. They want to give the governments GM stock to taxpayers. Reuters reported:

WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - Two senior U.S. Senate Republicans are drafting legislation to require the government to hand over to American taxpayers its controlling stake in General Motors Corp (GM.N), a party aide said on Wednesday.

To have any chance of passing the legislation, Republicans would need to win the support of Democrats who control both chambers of Congress, as well as President Barack Obama.

There was no immediate indication they could do so, but the bill would broaden debate on the president's unprecedented action to take a 60 percent ownership stake in GM.

Under the planned legislation, the Treasury Department would give stock certificates to the 154 million Americans who pay federal taxes. Taxpayers in effect financed the federal government's $60 billion investment in GM, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday.

"If they didn't pay taxes, they wouldn't get a share," the aide said.

Taxpayers bail out GM so they can import Chinese cars

U.S Taxpayers have bailed out GM for $14 billion. Now, GM plans on importing Chinese cars. So, the U.S. government is borrowing money from the Chinese to save GM. Then, GM can build cars in China and sell them to us. After which, we will pay taxes to the government and they will use that money to pay on the debt we owe China. Got it? According to Fox News:

The latest twist in Detroit’s do-over has General Motors becoming the first automaker to import Chinese-built cars into the United States, according to Automotive News.

Citing a leaked document shown to lawmakers who are overseeing the restructuring of the auto giant, the newspaper reports that GM is planning to market made in China cars to American consumers as early as 2011, the same year the company’s heralded Chevrolet Volt electric car goes on sale.

General Motors is currently the best-selling foreign automaker in China, and Buick is number one brand overall, part of the reason that the nameplate was saved during a recent round of cuts that included the elimination of Pontiac. As an example of the growing influence of that marketplace on the company, the interior of the upcoming replacement for the Buick LaCrosse sedan was designed at a GM studio in Shanghai.

According to the report, GM plans to sell nearly 18,000 Chinese-made vehicles in the US in 2011, with that number rising to over 50,000 by 2014.

Taxpayers Fund $400,000 Study on Gay Sex in Argentina Bars

This has to be the most asinine waste of US taxpayer dollars the Bluegrass Pundit has ever heard about. The National Institutes of Health are paying researchers to cruise bars in Buenos Aires to find out why gay men engage in risky sexual behavior while drunk. Geez. According to Fox News:

Government researchers are spending more than $400,000 in taxpayer money to hit the bars in Argentina.

The National Institutes of Health are paying researchers to cruise six bars in Buenos Aires to find out why gay men engage in risky sexual behavior while drunk -- and just what can be done about it.

Doctors and specialists from the New York Psychiatric Institute are using the generous grant from NIH's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to help tailor HIV prevention programs to work at bars and clubs.

A morally corrupt President panders to the UAW at the expense of everyone else

When pandering to his UAW union base, President Obama has revealed the morally corrupt level to which he is willing to stoop. According to Freep.com, the Obama administration is pressing secured creditors of GM to take a ten percent stake in the new company in exchange for $43 billion in secured bond debt. The UAW is being offered a 39% stake in the the new company for $10 billion of the $20 billion owed to the health care fund. The Government is planning on taking a 50% stake for forgiving $10 billion in TARP loans. Stockholders will get the other 1%. Where is the fairness in this deal? Why should the UAW and the Government get four or five times the stock in exchange for forgiving one fourth the debt of the bondholders? This is clearly a case of throwing the financial institutions, that risked their stockholders hard earned money, under the bus to prop up the extravagant benefit package of union members who enjoyed bloated wage and benefit packages for their entire careers. Normally, secured debt holders would own over 90% of a company after bankruptcy. Taxpayers were promised the TARP loans would be called and they would go to the front of the line to recover these loans in case of bankruptcy. Now, taxpayers are being asked to donate $10 billion in a wealth transfer to the UAW. Also, there will be severe repercussions in the credit markets. Who will loan money to America's large unionized companies if a judge allows this deal to stand? Lenders will realize they go to the back of the line with stockholders if there is a bankruptcy. They will not be willing to loan money to any large unionized company unless they have a stellar credit rating. Consequently, cash flow will become tighter and more companies may be forced into insolvency unless the Government intervenes with taxpayer money. President Obama is morally corrupt to propose a deal of this nature. Where is the fairness in asking people who pay for their own health care and must fund their own retirements to bailout someone who received bloated and extravagant wages and benefits their entire lives? Not only is this proposal unfair to bondholders and taxpayers, this deal would be unfair to Ford. Having to negotiate a contract with someone that owns 40% of one of their biggest competitors puts Ford at a severe competitive disadvantage.