For those who don’t know what the 47% allusion refers to, see here.
17 thoughts on “At Long Last, One Member of the 47% Where He Belongs!”
KevinM
I love old photos like that.
The theme is economic loss, the 47-per centers waiting in aUE queue, but other details stand out.
Men lined up in suits and hats, not shorts and flip flops. The Police officers are not overweight, and appear to be alert to their surroundings.
Today, you sign up once, they recharge a debit card periodically. Never collected, but when one of my companies went away a local UE clerk came in and gave us how-to-apply training. The guys in two- income families had a decision to make, but most did not want a blank space on their resume – at that time extended UE was something like 45 weeks instead of 99.
There’s something wrong with the tall guy. Where are his pants!
Anonymous
Fatal blow that one.
Rich Berger
Except that Big Bird has a paying job. Seems like time to wean him and his associates from the PBS dole.
Ricardo
This is a great picture! It perfectly illustrates the current condition of PBS in line at the government soup kitchen. Imagine, Big Bird is so popular he could get a job almost anywhere but he chooses to slop with the other pigs at the trough. Could Big Bird actually be … hold on … wait a minute … all right, all right … now give me time … yeah, I love you too … LAZY!
dilbert dogbert
I also like the pic where Big Bird is giving wrongney the finger.
tj
PBS brought it on themselves.
*Simpson-Bowles recommended cutting it.
*NPR exec Ron Schiller called the Tea Party racist and Islamophobic.
*Sesame Workshop President and CEO Gary Knell received $956,513 — nearly a million dollars — in compensation in 2008.
*From 2003 to 2006, ‘Sesame Street’ made more than $211 million from toy and consumer product sales.
*The official PBS Twitter account sent a special shout-out to radical leftist group Move On last year. http://townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/2012/10/05/desperate_dems_hide_behind_big_bird/page/2
Ed Hanson
Since BB is part of the 1%, is this picture taken before or after Obama redistribution.
CaitlinO
Another nonsensical, innumerate plan from Bishop Mitt. Get rid of a wonderful educational program that has helped tens of millions of children at all strata of society learn to read and save 0.012% of the money lost to the tax cuts he wants to give the rich.
Yep, that’ll make America a better place.
Steven Kopits
Apparently, the only thing between Big Bird and unemployment is rent-seeking.
But perhaps we should apply an infant industry argument. After all, Big Bird has only been on Sesame Street for 42 years. Maybe he just hasn’t found his niche yet. Surely a few more years of funding, and he’ll be able to stand on his own two feet.
jonathan
The problem with ending federal support of PBS is that the burden would fall unevenly. Stations in places like Boston and other big markets would likely be able to make up the money but smaller stations depend much more on federal funds. I gather the numbers are 15% across all stations but closer to 50% for smaller stations. WGBH and WNET can make up for federal funding but a station in Baton Rouge or Jackson or Cedar Rapids can’t.
Calvin
Oh dear, a CEO making “nearly a million dollars”?!?
Well, that’s what you have to pay to attract top talent.
They should cancel SS based on it being terribly ineffective government propaganda. The #1 goal of a government is to preserve itself. If they were as blatant about indoctrinating children with their worldview as corporations are, people would scream bloody murder, but they could always turn the station. More money could probably be saved by removing tax deductions and credits from one oil company.
Although, really, they shouldn’t tax corporations at all. Only individual citizens should have the responsibility to pay for their government, directly, without it being hidden in the supply chain costs. And, of course, it follows that only individual citizens should have the rights that come from that government, free speech, etc.
tj
If Obama had used half the money he allocated to wind and solar he could have funded 50 years of NPR and PBS. I guess the Obama cronies in public broadcasting didn’t donate enough to the cause.
Steven Kopits
Calvin –
I don’t know what to say. If you’re telling me that it takes $1 million to attract a CEO to a show that cannot support itself after more than 40 years on the air–well, that’s just amazing.
The purpose of paying high salaries is to attract talent that can at least create a similar amount of value. Talent matters: Just look at the impact of Peyton Manning on Denver or the absence of Sean Payton to New Orleans. One guy can turn around a team–and that’s as true in business as sport. At Bain and the Salt Lake Olympics, Romney was that guy.
But if Sesame Street is unable to support itself, then its CEO is clearly not worth the pay.
If I were Romney, I’d go right ahead and double down on this one. I’d say, “The left is telling that taxpayers should be paying a million dollars a year to support a CEO at Sesame Street that is unable to support itself after 40 years on the air. If this show is so weak, it should have been canceled decades ago, and I am frankly baffled that President Obama wants to spend taxpayer money to pay a million dollar salary for a TV show that the public is otherwise unwilling to support after more than 40 years on the air. President Obama is constantly attacking the Top 1%, yet here he is, defending a salary for an incompetent that’s actually paid by the taxpayers. To him, that’s a sacred cow!”
“This is exactly what is wrong with the government meddling in what are normally private sector activities. You have a show that, by the very assertions of the left, should have been canceled decades ago, and still it persists. The government doesn’t know how to enforce discipline. All it does is continue to fund losers–Sesame Street is nothing but Solyndra dragged out for more than four decades.
If you expect the Obama administration to make the tough choices that are necessary to bring the budget back into some semblance of balance, well, here’s another example of a lack of focus, discipline and will. And that’s why we have the third highest deficit in the OECD, why healthcare costs continue to rise, why we now need an increases in Obamacare taxes coming through this year, and why food stamps and other forms of government dependency poverty are up. Because this administration sees every problem as a fluffy yellow bird and in unable to transcend the “Oh, gee, who wouldn’t love a fluffy bird” factor and make hard decisions. And because of that the country is adrift. This is a weak administration, it’s results are weak, and the future will be weak if this administration remains in power. The President and his team are unable to make the tough calls. President Obama doesn’t know the numbers; he is not in control.”
That’s what I’d say.
jonathan
There’s an intentional or unspeakably stupid misunderstanding in the comments: Sesame Street is not PBS. Sesame Street is a private production company. If you go through their financials, you see they received a little less than $8M in government grants out of $42M in contributions, grants, etc. PBS pays Sesame Street for their programming. The contributions, grants, etc. aren’t necessarily – can’t tell from the filings – even related to Sesame Street TV. Sesame Workshop does a bunch of stuff for which they raise money and seek grants.
But the main point is that Sesame Street is run by Sesame Workshop and that business, which is non-profit, has $131M in revenue and runs a bunch of different businesses. The salary paid to the CEO is part of that business, not PBS.
tj
That’s a good point Jonathan. Big Bird will be just fine without PBS.
Anonymous
Big Bird will do fine without PBS, but Neil Degrasse Tyson will have to be more productive to make the cut at Discovery Channel.
EMichael
I need to know:
Are there really people that believe the Tea Party is not racist?
Kevin Phillips would be shocked.
I love old photos like that.
The theme is economic loss, the 47-per centers waiting in aUE queue, but other details stand out.
Men lined up in suits and hats, not shorts and flip flops. The Police officers are not overweight, and appear to be alert to their surroundings.
Today, you sign up once, they recharge a debit card periodically. Never collected, but when one of my companies went away a local UE clerk came in and gave us how-to-apply training. The guys in two- income families had a decision to make, but most did not want a blank space on their resume – at that time extended UE was something like 45 weeks instead of 99.
There’s something wrong with the tall guy. Where are his pants!
Fatal blow that one.
Except that Big Bird has a paying job. Seems like time to wean him and his associates from the PBS dole.
This is a great picture! It perfectly illustrates the current condition of PBS in line at the government soup kitchen. Imagine, Big Bird is so popular he could get a job almost anywhere but he chooses to slop with the other pigs at the trough. Could Big Bird actually be … hold on … wait a minute … all right, all right … now give me time … yeah, I love you too … LAZY!
I also like the pic where Big Bird is giving wrongney the finger.
PBS brought it on themselves.
*Simpson-Bowles recommended cutting it.
*NPR exec Ron Schiller called the Tea Party racist and Islamophobic.
*Sesame Workshop President and CEO Gary Knell received $956,513 — nearly a million dollars — in compensation in 2008.
*From 2003 to 2006, ‘Sesame Street’ made more than $211 million from toy and consumer product sales.
*The official PBS Twitter account sent a special shout-out to radical leftist group Move On last year.
http://townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/2012/10/05/desperate_dems_hide_behind_big_bird/page/2
Since BB is part of the 1%, is this picture taken before or after Obama redistribution.
Another nonsensical, innumerate plan from Bishop Mitt. Get rid of a wonderful educational program that has helped tens of millions of children at all strata of society learn to read and save 0.012% of the money lost to the tax cuts he wants to give the rich.
Yep, that’ll make America a better place.
Apparently, the only thing between Big Bird and unemployment is rent-seeking.
But perhaps we should apply an infant industry argument. After all, Big Bird has only been on Sesame Street for 42 years. Maybe he just hasn’t found his niche yet. Surely a few more years of funding, and he’ll be able to stand on his own two feet.
The problem with ending federal support of PBS is that the burden would fall unevenly. Stations in places like Boston and other big markets would likely be able to make up the money but smaller stations depend much more on federal funds. I gather the numbers are 15% across all stations but closer to 50% for smaller stations. WGBH and WNET can make up for federal funding but a station in Baton Rouge or Jackson or Cedar Rapids can’t.
Oh dear, a CEO making “nearly a million dollars”?!?
Well, that’s what you have to pay to attract top talent.
They should cancel SS based on it being terribly ineffective government propaganda. The #1 goal of a government is to preserve itself. If they were as blatant about indoctrinating children with their worldview as corporations are, people would scream bloody murder, but they could always turn the station. More money could probably be saved by removing tax deductions and credits from one oil company.
Although, really, they shouldn’t tax corporations at all. Only individual citizens should have the responsibility to pay for their government, directly, without it being hidden in the supply chain costs. And, of course, it follows that only individual citizens should have the rights that come from that government, free speech, etc.
If Obama had used half the money he allocated to wind and solar he could have funded 50 years of NPR and PBS. I guess the Obama cronies in public broadcasting didn’t donate enough to the cause.
Calvin –
I don’t know what to say. If you’re telling me that it takes $1 million to attract a CEO to a show that cannot support itself after more than 40 years on the air–well, that’s just amazing.
The purpose of paying high salaries is to attract talent that can at least create a similar amount of value. Talent matters: Just look at the impact of Peyton Manning on Denver or the absence of Sean Payton to New Orleans. One guy can turn around a team–and that’s as true in business as sport. At Bain and the Salt Lake Olympics, Romney was that guy.
But if Sesame Street is unable to support itself, then its CEO is clearly not worth the pay.
If I were Romney, I’d go right ahead and double down on this one. I’d say, “The left is telling that taxpayers should be paying a million dollars a year to support a CEO at Sesame Street that is unable to support itself after 40 years on the air. If this show is so weak, it should have been canceled decades ago, and I am frankly baffled that President Obama wants to spend taxpayer money to pay a million dollar salary for a TV show that the public is otherwise unwilling to support after more than 40 years on the air. President Obama is constantly attacking the Top 1%, yet here he is, defending a salary for an incompetent that’s actually paid by the taxpayers. To him, that’s a sacred cow!”
“This is exactly what is wrong with the government meddling in what are normally private sector activities. You have a show that, by the very assertions of the left, should have been canceled decades ago, and still it persists. The government doesn’t know how to enforce discipline. All it does is continue to fund losers–Sesame Street is nothing but Solyndra dragged out for more than four decades.
If you expect the Obama administration to make the tough choices that are necessary to bring the budget back into some semblance of balance, well, here’s another example of a lack of focus, discipline and will. And that’s why we have the third highest deficit in the OECD, why healthcare costs continue to rise, why we now need an increases in Obamacare taxes coming through this year, and why food stamps and other forms of government dependency poverty are up. Because this administration sees every problem as a fluffy yellow bird and in unable to transcend the “Oh, gee, who wouldn’t love a fluffy bird” factor and make hard decisions. And because of that the country is adrift. This is a weak administration, it’s results are weak, and the future will be weak if this administration remains in power. The President and his team are unable to make the tough calls. President Obama doesn’t know the numbers; he is not in control.”
That’s what I’d say.
There’s an intentional or unspeakably stupid misunderstanding in the comments: Sesame Street is not PBS. Sesame Street is a private production company. If you go through their financials, you see they received a little less than $8M in government grants out of $42M in contributions, grants, etc. PBS pays Sesame Street for their programming. The contributions, grants, etc. aren’t necessarily – can’t tell from the filings – even related to Sesame Street TV. Sesame Workshop does a bunch of stuff for which they raise money and seek grants.
But the main point is that Sesame Street is run by Sesame Workshop and that business, which is non-profit, has $131M in revenue and runs a bunch of different businesses. The salary paid to the CEO is part of that business, not PBS.
That’s a good point Jonathan. Big Bird will be just fine without PBS.
Big Bird will do fine without PBS, but Neil Degrasse Tyson will have to be more productive to make the cut at Discovery Channel.
I need to know:
Are there really people that believe the Tea Party is not racist?
Kevin Phillips would be shocked.