-By Warner Todd Huston
This may sound like a contradiction, but tax-supported National Public Radio is hiring more lobbyists to help get more tax dollars sent its way.
In what many see as a parasitic relationship, NPR is using tax dollars to hire the big lobbying firm of Navigators Global charging them with the duty of keeping the spigot of federal funds open in the face of the spending cuts being talked about in Washington.
NPR feels the need to look out after its interests as House Republicans are advancing a spending bill through committee that would defund the public broadcasting service.
“It is part of our mission to represent the interests of NPR member stations to Congress, executive, regulatory and judicial bodies,” NPR spokeswoman Dana Rehm said.
Additionally, The Hill reports that the bill sporting the cuts will be part of fiscal 2013 negotiations with the Senate even if it doesn’t get out of committee before then.
One wonders who is representing the taxpayers who are forced to pay millions to NPR every year even as a share of the broadcaster’s tax dollars are used to hire lobbyists who will be put to work bringing in even more tax dollars.
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“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer. He has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and before that he wrote articles on U.S. history for several small American magazines. His political columns are featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, BigHollywood.com, and BigJournalism.com, as well as RightWingNews.com, RightPundits.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, AmericanDaily.com, among many, many others. Mr. Huston is also endlessly amused that one of his articles formed the basis of an article in Germany’s Der Spiegel Magazine in 2008.
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