Welcome to Buster's Blog

Irregular commentary on whatever's on my mind -- politics, sports, current events, and life in general. After twenty years of writing business and community newsletters, fifteen years of fantasy baseball newsletters, and two years of email "columns", this is, I suppose, the inevitable result: the awful conceit that someone might actually care to read what I have to say. Posts may be added often, rarely, or never again. As always, my mood and motivation are unpredictable.

Buster Gammons















Thursday, March 16, 2017

Gimme More Big Bird And Less War Bird


Dolt 45 and his Auschwitz Administration have released their "Make America Great Again" Budget for 2018.  It proposes $4 trillion in spending.  It's big on defense and walls and deportation goon squads, but the rest of our government takes a haircut.

Many cuts are extreme:  EPA funding cut by 31%, State Dept. cut by 28%.  And there are 19 agencies for which the budget proposes a 100% cut -- a complete elimination of federal funding.  Among these is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which contributes significantly to PBS television and NPR radio.

White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said they just couldn't ask "a single mom or a coal miner" to pay for such programming (Why the hell not?) but of course they have no problem with moms and miners paying out the ass for defense.

Let's try a little context,by the numbers:
$4 trillion proposed budget spending
$639 billion proposed defense spending
$445 million in current funding for the CPB
138 million U.S. taxpayers, approx.

CPB funding accounts for one-hundredth of one percent (0.01%) of the federal budget.  Defense spending accounts for 16%.  On a per capita basis, each taxpayer's share of the current level of CPB funding is $3.22 per year.  Defense costs each taxpayer $4630 a year.

For three bucks a year, we can all afford to keep Sesame Street around.  Maybe build fewer F-35's.










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