Junto Boys

WHY I'M NOT AN NPR MEMBER #1

I listen to NPR nearly everyday. I like the long in-depth news stories, and I usually get a laugh at the lefty fringe groups they give airtime to. It’s much more fun to see these groups on O’Reilly, but they rarely have the guts to go on there. Even their sports coverage has a leftward bent, but I like to listen as an alternative to the conservative talk radio I hear in the afternoon.

So, the question comes up few months as to whether I should become a member. There have been times that I have come close, but becoming a member won’t solve the inherent problems with Public Radio.

Every three months they get on their knees and plead for money. Why?

They have no standard commercial advertising that’s true, but they have a number of underwriters. Could it be that the programs cost more money than the revenue. Probably, but why is that?

The market doesn’t lie. It’s obvious that they aren’t delivering what enough consumers want. Some will say that their coverage is too sublime for most listeners and it is to an extent, but it could also lie in their bent for socialism.

Why should I financially support an organization whose philosophy is rooted in getting me to pay more taxes and support a bigger government? It’s the same reason I refuse to join the union at work. The AFL-CIO is just going to give the money to big government Democrats. I believe in smaller government and lower taxes and I don’t want to willingly support any group whose goal is contrary to mine.

The paradox is that NPR's “enlightened” thinking about higher taxes is probably due to the fact that their salaries are above market level. If the people on NPR made salaries commiserate to the money that NPR brought in, I bet they would be for smaller government and less taxes. This would be especially true if the government gave them no money at all. It's easy to see the world from such lofty heights when the working men and women of this country support through taxes or utopian bent.

I find their liberal slants interesting and mostly funny, but supporting them with my pocket book is like burning money, because it only encourages them to cash their big paychecks and push public policy towards bigger government. They'll have to settle for the money that is taken away from me by the point of a gun.