THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 27, 1994 TAG: 9412230040
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
Katie Higham-Kessler's attack on Republican Newt Gingrich's proposal to cut taxpayer funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting reflects a liberal's denial of reality (letter, Dec. 18). The issue is not if the CPB is liberal biased, has quality programming or what programs Mr. Gingrich privately thinks children should watch. The issue is the proper role of the federal government.
That is well-defined in the Constitution. The federal government simply has no business operating or subsidizing a communications medium, and this means eliminating taxpayer funding for the CPB and National Public Radio.
The federal government has no business providing housing (abolish the Department of Housing and Urban Development), providing health insurance, interfering with education (abolish the Department of Education), subsidizing private business and artists (eliminate farm subsidies and the National Endowment for the Arts), funding special-interest congressional caucuses and many other activities on which the federal government wastes our money.
Ms. Higham-Kessler must not mind her tax money subsidizing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, but I resent having earnings taxed for that purpose. Judging by the results of the Nov. 8 election, so do many Americans.
DONALD C. SIMON
Virginia Beach, Dec. 20, 1994 by CNB