We discussed this on the RedState VIP Gold Chat Wednesday night, and Mr. Brad Slager wrote about it on our sister site, but this blew all of our minds. RedState contributor Thomas LaDuke was aghast and summarized what this proposal is at its core: the destruction of the Fourth Estate. The government is going to establish a system of subsidization that pretty much creates a state-media apparatus.
Look, we all know that CNN, MSNBC, ABC News, Washington Post, The New York Times, CBS News, and NBC News all form a loose confederacy that promotes the Democratic Party's agenda. You all know this. Anyone who looks at their articles knows this. You see the same lines permeating through all of it, especially when Democrats are sucking. Slager found this tidbit buried in the Build Back Better agenda (via RedState):
One item that is proposed to be funded appears almost innocuous while also a ridiculous inclusion. Dubbed as the Local Journalism Sustainability Act, looked at one way, this is an effort to deliver aid to an industry that has been suffering for a time already but became deeply impacted by the arrival of the pandemic. The Democrats would prefer it not be looked at for what it is — a payoff racket.
The structure of this segment is created to prop up an industry that has been beleaguered by the digital revolution, so the solution is a layered support system of handouts. What HR-3940 claims to do is “To provide tax incentives that support local newspapers and other local media, and for other purposes.” This sounds like a magnanimous deal to keep the lights on in the newsroom, but there is quite a bit more in play.
First, publishers will be granted a payroll deduction tax benefit of 50% of a reporter’s salary, up to $50,000 annually. Next, the government will grant a tax break of up to $5,000 for local businesses that advertise with the local paper. Third, there will also be incentives for all citizens, as they can write off up to $250 yearly for their subscriptions to local newspapers.
There is only one way to look at this proposal — it is a sweeping federal subsidy of an industry. The government is helping to fund payroll expenses, driving businesses to deal with papers, and even generating the audience base. This is a sweeping involvement of the government into a sector that is — by design — supposed to operate separately from federal involvement. The likelihood of this creating influence is beyond obvious.
[…]
Just to show this is not a hyperbolic dose of hysteria, we have an operating example we can look at right now — PBS, and NPR. As the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio have been subsisting on federal backing for generations they both have become consistent supporters of the left side of the political aisle. We have come to expect fawning coverage of the Democrats, critical assessments of the GOP, and we even saw its sympathies on display when NPR boldly touted it would not cover the Hunter Biden laptop news story ahead of the November election.
It's why Slager aptly called this proposal a "protection racket" for the press, paid for by the Feds. And yes, NPR and PBS are prime examples of what happens when the government gets involved. Biden wants to create hundreds of little NPR and PBS stations. Democrats owe a lot to their liberal media allies. It got them a 2020 win, though they're having trouble protecting President Dementia as he deals with a slew of crises and appears absolutely lost on…everything.
And it shows:
Gallup: Biden at 55% disapproval overall, 61% on economy, 66% on immigration. https://t.co/ZsiFTsSnKD
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) November 18, 2021
Still, it doesn't mean they will attack Biden as viciously as they did Trump, and that deserves to be rewarded. State media is being created for the purpose of building an infrastructure that secures a permanent majority for the left. The media is a huge part of that action item. They've known it for years.
