OPINION
House Democrats are getting slammed by American citizens over revelations that their massive coronavirus relief package would actually fund hundreds of millions of dollars in pet projects.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 1,100-page proposal includes $35 million for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The Democrats seem to believe that nothing can lift the American spirit during a global pandemic quite like a Broadway show choir prancing across the stage in spandex and sequins while flashing jazz hands.
But among the biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic’s largesse are the National Endowment of the Arts and PBS, affectionately known as Public Welfare Broadcasting System.
PBS, the home of popular programs like Sesame Street, would receive $300 million to “prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.”
It takes $300 million to tell a staffer to wash up before he sticks his hands in the backside of a muppet?
The National Endowment of the Arts would receive $300 million and so would the National Endowment of the Humanities. A grand total of $600 million for artists, dancers, and poetry slams.
But even that amount pales in comparison to the $500 million the Democrats want to give to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The money would be designated in part to purchase wi-fi access, computers and “other internet-enabled devices.”
I’m fairly certain Comcast or Spectrum would be more than happy to provide a package deal for a fraction of that amount. And they’d probably throw in free cable and phone service, too.
Millions of people across this nation are unemployed. An untold number of small businesses are on the verge of economic collapse. Your children could go to bed hungry while Big Bird dines on filet mignon.