Public television stations across the country – including Redding’s KIXE – will have to make some very difficult financial decisions now that President Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” has been signed into law. According to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle, KIXE Channel Nine has historically received about 37% of its budget from the Federal Government. Most if not all of that money could be lost during the next fiscal year. Republican Congressman Doug LaMalfa is quoted in the Chronicle as saying that he’s “sympathetic” to stations like channel nine, but “We’re cutting junk spending, foreign aid giveaways, woke public broadcasting, and other bloated programs that do nothing for the average American”. It’s worth noting that LaMalfa – a rice farmer – could benefit from the government’s new spending bill. The group called “Downsizing the Federal Government” says that over the next decade, farm subsidies will increase by $57 Billion. How much of that will go to LaMalfa and his family is unknown.
-John Oertel