PBS has been part of American culture since 1965, when it was created under Lyndon B. Johnson as part of the Great Society programs, to promote knowledge and education.
Reaching nearly fifty years of age, and having lots of excellent programming, not just Sesame Street and Big Bird, and being made available in rural areas that have far fewer educational opportunities than metropolitan areas, PBS costs only $445 million annually to taxpayers, less than one thousandth of one percent of the national budget!
It comes down to $1.35 per person in America annually, and yet Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and the Republican Party and conservatives want to force PBS to survive simply on the contributions of its viewers, which happen to be about 90 percent of the people at some point during the year.
While there are already contributions made by many to keep PBS able to promote its excellent programming, to use PBS as the “whipping boy” for the budget crisis that America faces is the height of hypocrisy, as it is literally a “drop in the bucket”, and it comes across as extremely petty to attack PBS, which offers so much good to the nation, and should not be subjected to becoming part of politics!
Education and knowledge should be our aim, and already, there are indications that the opponents of PBS are losing the battle of public opinion!