Letter to the editor – Karen Swoope

Dear editor,

Perhaps this week, with a deadline of July 18, the Senate will vote on a recission bill which means they want to claw back unspent money the previous Congress passed into law. About $6 per taxpayer per year of OUR TAX MONEY was approved for subsidies to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PBS & NPR).  Donations provide the majority their support, and the subsidy mostly goes to keep small rural public stations in business.  This big donation/small subsidy partnership gives us access to programs like Life in Virginia’s Appalachia, Song of the Mountains, Downton Abbey, Ken Burns’ documentaries (e.g. The Civil War, Baseball), Sesame Street, This Old House, Nature, All Creatures Great and Small, Cook’s Country, etc. etc. etc.  What a bargain!