If one were to look at 21st century journalism one would be hard pressed to find facts. Almost any so-called journalistic endeavor is rant with political bent, one side or the other. There is no true journalism, namely the unbiased reporting of facts. The anonymous source is ever present and add to that the so called social media elements are all too often promoters of hate and revolt.
Now along comes some writer in Technology Review, that left wing rag pretending to present information to MIT alumni, and they note that we should be taxed to support this failing and slanted journalism. They suggest:
- A spectrum auction tax. This intervention would seek not to extract a pound of flesh from platform companies, but rather to mine the profits of mobile operators and broadcasters by taxing the licenses they purchase for the right to operate on specific frequencies, with the proceeds going to some kind of public media fund. This year, for instance, the 5G mobile spectrum (considered a public resource) fetched more than $80 billion at auction. Since the proceeds go to the US Treasury, Congress could decide that some portion of the revenue should be put toward journalism.
- Advertising taxes. Rather than forcing tech platforms to pay news companies directly, governments could simply assess a tax on digital advertising. In its 2010 report, the FTC surmised that a 2% sales tax on advertising would generate $5 to $6 billion annually that could go toward journalism. Maryland has just put forward legislation to introduce a tax on digital advertising, which it intends to use to fund another public good—education. (The big tech companies oppose it vehemently.)
- Taxes on cell phone plans. Another way to pay for public media would be for consumers to pay a small tax on their monthly cell phone bills. In 2010 dollars, a tax of 3% on the monthly fees would have generated $6 billion annually, and there are roughly 120 million more US mobile subscriptions today.
Now let us look at some of the current taxes. Take sports channels. Each cable subscriber pays tens of dollars a month for channels that they may never watch. I have never seen a football game, I have seen one baseball in 1951, and forced to a basketball game in 1987. I have no interest and yet I pay.
Now why must I be taxed to pay for say some left wing rag, of the opposite? Who gets to "distribute: the Tribute. This whole idea reeks of corruption and cronyism. Take the cell phone tax. I do not use my phone for anything other than calls or texts. I do not use Facebook or any of the plebeian tools of amusement. This suggestion is akin to the sports programming tax. At least the sports programming tax just supports over paid athletes none of whom I would ever recognize. But the cell phone tax would support the promulgation of ideas which I may very likely oppose.
It is a shame we have to see things like this. Yet alas perhaps the proto-Marxists have truly penetrated much of my old alma mater.
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