# Millions to NPR. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 9, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152 "2003-11-09T01:40:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/1 "2003-11-09T01:40:17Z")
Bill O’Reilly pretty much shit his pants over this. Mrs Kroc (of Mickey D’s) left $200 MM to NPR, so Bill (of course) say’s that they should lose their tax money. Actually, he thinks they should lose it anyway. I say “Who cares”? But I don’t tend to sweat the small stuff, and the money paid to NPR _is_ small stuff. But I’ll admit that the amount isn’t germain to whether or not NPR can have such a windfall and still recieve tax money. Should, IYO, NPR and like organizations lose tax support if they come into some monies? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/2 "2003-11-09T02:03:44Z")
The donation is on the scale of 2 years of NPR’s budget. In Real Money terms, this is a drop in the bucket. It sounds huge, but it’s not proportionally that big of a deal. Note: Political Hardliner hates X, something happens involving X, Political Hardliner says “This is why we need to get rid of X.” What “X” is, is completely immaterial to the Political Hardliner. He just wants an excuse to bring up getting rid of “X”. Always look at the ulterior motives of the Political Hardliner, they have no concept of “logic”. Smoke and mirrors would be an improvement. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/3 "2003-11-09T02:04:41Z")
When public broadcasting is begging for your donations, they always make a point of how little money they get from the federal government. When public broadcasting is up on Capitol Hill asking for tax money, it’s a whole different story: “Senator, federal funding is critical to the future of PBS, and if you don’t vote to increase our grant, millions of kiddies will no longer be able to watch Big Bird, and it will all be YOUR fault…” ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/4 "2003-11-09T02:11:47Z")
How much government funding does NPR receive, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/5 "2003-11-09T02:14:26Z")
Beats me. I just like the contrast between the two pitches… ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/6 "2003-11-09T02:14:47Z")
**BrotherCadfael** , the two issues _complement_ each other. Take a struggling two income household. Each can say “Without my income we lose the house.” Even if one is making more than the other, less money means bad stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/7 "2003-11-09T02:19:03Z")
I think they get something like 10-15% of their budget from tax dollars. Honestly, they could walk away from it if they wanted. Hell, they could probably replace it with the interest on the new bequest if they wanted. But why turn away dollars if you don’t have to? Non-profit doesn’t mean stupid, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Dizzy\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dizzy\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dizzy_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/8 "2003-11-09T02:30:29Z")
I can just see it: “Well, Terry, holiday time is upon us once again.” “That’s right, Margaret-Jo. And you know what that means.” “Yes. A time to enjoy some of our favorite holiday treats once again.” “You know, Margaret-Jo, when I was a child, my family would celebrate Christmas with an old family recipe. . . two beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions.” “I’ll bet that would taste great on a sesame seed bun.” “Sesame. That’s neat.” “Neat, yeah. Fun.” “Good times.” “Good times.” ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/9 "2003-11-09T02:51:29Z")
NPR gets approx 1-2% of their funding from federally funding organizations, such as CPB. That was in the press releases for the Kroc donations. NPR is not the only public broadcasting organization in the US, not even the only radio network. There’s also Public Radio International and several others. Then there is PBS for TV. Local stations may also get federal and state funding. My local NPR affiliate said they get around 3-5% from public funds, the rest from listener pledges and corperate sponsorship. The $200 million will mostly go to the endowment, meaning about $10-15 million in interest per year, or about 10-15% of the annual budget. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/10 "2003-11-10T17:15:16Z")
IMHO, Mr. Bill O’Reilly can sniff my socks (with all due respect.) Wait a minute. I checked my records. I already paid O’Reilly all the respect he was due. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/11 "2003-11-10T18:09:10Z")
IMHO, they should lose their tax money regardless of how much McDollars they’ve been given. I’m not convinced of the need for “public” broadcasting in general, and I sure don’t like the idea of federally funding another liberal propaganda operation. Sesame Street is a phenomenally popular children’s program that will easily find another outlet if PBS is eliminated, so that scare tactic doesn’t fly with me. Besides, Sesame Street isn’t so pure. It doesn’t show commercials for toys because it is, itself, one long toy commercial. Its producers make a mint from the merchandising. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/12 "2003-11-10T19:13:13Z")
Thirty cents, **Mr. Moto**. $0.30/yr is what it costs you. Or $1.20/yr, if you happen to be a family of four. At least that’s what the senator said. O’Rielly didn’t dispute the amount. But Bill was at a loss for words trying to dispute _anything_ the senator said. He’s not a very good debator, is he? If his opponent won’t be shouted down, he stumbles. Sesame Street is _not_ a commercial. How can you _say_ that. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/13 "2003-11-10T20:41:14Z")
I’m thrilled for NPR. Seems to me they are the only news outlet that will goes beyond the sound bite in reporting a story. And they haven’t given in to the “lets-everybody-shout-at-each-other-and- come-to-an-understanding-about-nothing” format that seems to prevail these days. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/14 "2003-11-10T21:03:50Z")
Bill O’Reilly’s just jealous because NPR is fair and balanced, unlike him. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/15 "2003-11-11T13:28:18Z")
Well, we are a family of four. I’d rather my $1.20 be spent on other things. Better pay and benefits for our military personnel comes to mind. I’m not disputing the numbers. But if we keep on every wrong headed government line item just because it isn’t that big a part of the budget, we’ll never make any progress at all in trimming government back to reasonable levels. And I don’t believe there’s any need for the government to be funding public broadcasting. For those who don’t believe that Sesame Street is a commercial enterprise, I invite them to visit any Toys 'R Us store or recall the Tickle Me Elmo toy craze of a few years back. Sesame Street is making somebody a ton of money. The show acts as an hour long ad for the merchandise. I admire this as a business model, but lets not hold it up as an paragon of educational purity. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/16 "2003-11-11T16:47:30Z")
Sesame Street is a paragon of commercial free educational programming, which may have never got started without public broadcasting. What a shame it would be to cave in to Madison Avenue and inject commercials into the show. ---
**Author:** ![Vezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b38774/32.png) [@Vezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vezer)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/17 "2003-11-11T22:18:56Z")
Instead of a money producing system a la NASA we get seething left-wing bias paid in part from the endowment of G. Poor Sucker (Taxpayer, Esquire). Shut down "All Things Considered (all things considered except of course individual fiscal and social freedoms), “Minority” programs (which propone victim feelings for it’s listeners), and trim the 3 hour blocks of dreary acid jazz. Cartalk, and the bizarre musings of Mary McPartland may remain. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/18 "2003-11-11T22:19:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Moto \* > \*\*I’m not convinced of the need for “public” broadcasting in general, and I sure don’t like the idea of federally funding another liberal propaganda operation. > > Sesame Street is a phenomenally popular children’s program that will easily find another outlet if PBS is eliminated…\*\* Interesting that you should single out Sesame Street. Seems that the US government wants to enlist that very show in its [task of turning the tide of anti-Americanism](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3200699.stm): > [@](#): > > Charlotte Beers, the former ad executive made undersecretary of State for public diplomacy in 2001…says there is “an army willing to be signed up to engage the world on behalf of the United States”. > > And in the vanguard of this army? Bert, Ernie and Oscar the Grouch. > > The undersecretary said she was “dazzled” by a co-production of Sesame Street broadcast in Egypt since 2000. “The children are glued to the set. They are learning English, they are learning about American values.” > … > One unnamed official told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that the project is “aiming to promote greater understanding of American morality and culture”. > > Certainly, the show seems not to have shied away from promoting values which typify the US, such as capitalism. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/19 "2003-11-12T05:07:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Moto \* > \*\*IMHO, they should lose their tax money regardless of how much McDollars they’ve been given. \*\* > [@](#): > > NPR (National Public Radio) is a private, self-supporting nonprofit media company with hundreds of independent radio stations as members. NPR receives no direct federal funding for general support. NPR supports its operations through a combination of membership dues and programming fees from stations, contributions from private foundations and corporations, and revenue from the sales of transcripts, books, CDs, and merchandise. **A very small percentage - between 1-2 percent of NPR’s annual budget - comes from competitive grants sought by NPR from federally funded organizations** , such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. At present, NPR’s annual operating budget is approximately $100 million a year. Source: [http://www.npr.org/about/privatesupport.html](http://www.npr.org/about/privatesupport.html) ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152/20 "2003-11-12T13:38:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, we are a family of four. I’d rather my $1.20 be spent on other things. > > Better pay and benefits for our military personnel comes to mind. If you really care about this, and not just mouthing empty catchphrases of troop-support, you’ll be voting against Bush next time. Just thought I’d warn you. As to the NPR issue, they can take away its federal funding the day after they revoke all tax breaks for corporations who support conservative causes and candidates - an amount which makes $200 mill look like something I found on the sidewalk. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/millions-to-npr/212152.md?page=2)