Buried in the $3.5 TRILLION pork-and-graft Dem spending bill: $1.3 BILLION for Dem-friendly newspapers

 Hey citizen, have ya heard about that super $3.5 TRILLION pork plan the Democrat are about to pass?  No?  Gosh, are y'all just not interested in how inflation is fired up?

Okay, don't answer that.

Well...if you thought $400 BILLION in "green new deal" garbage, or free daycare, or free homes for illegal aliens wasn't all that bad, here's just a tiny added insult:

House Democrats have written a billion-dollar gift into their version of the bill, to subsidize local newspapers.  Actually $1.3 billion, but what's $300 million in a $3.5 trillion white elephant, eh?
 
The Dems' plan is to give friendly newspapers $25,000 in tax credits every year for every journalist on a newspaper's payroll.  For those without a calculator, a paper with 100 "journalists" would get $2.5 million per year.  Nice work, eh?  And you can bet every janitor and secretary and intern would mysteriously qualify as a "journalist," eh?

If you smell a rat, you're not alone: The Dems' plan is VERY vague in setting up rules for which news outlets would get for the tax credits. It defines a local news outlet as one that publishes original content that "primarily serves the needs of a regional or local community."  And lest you think the Dems are being careless with your tax dollars, the tax credits (i.e. subsidies) would only go to papers that employ fewer than 750 people.

The spending bill also proposes subsidies for the solar industry, other subsidies for "promoting environmental justice," and a tax deduction of up to $250 for dues paid to labor unions.

The AFL-CIO, the country's largest labor union, endorsed the newsroom subsidies in a letter to Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi earlier this month.  No surprise, since almost all papers are printed by union members.

One Republican criticized the subsidy as a handout from Democrats to the media.

Rep. Devin Nunes said bureaucrats would exploit the vague wording to ensure that Democrat-friendly papers got the tax credits, while conservative outlets would get nothing.  "Anyone who believes this program will be administered in a politically neutral way should have his head examined," he said.

Sure glad we're being ruled by Democrats, eh?  Sound spending policies--if you're a Democrat.