During the Presidential debate, Mitt Romney said he would stop funding PBS. He made it clear that there would be no more government subsidies for Big Bird, who is apparently a freeloader, one of the 47% who couldn’t survive without federal assistance.

Charles Blow wrote a terrific column about Big Bird and about the value of subsidizing high quality programs that provide news, in-depth documentaries, education, and the best of culture, whether high or middlebrow.

If the government were to withdraw support for the arts and for cultural institutions, we would lose a lot more than Big Bird. We would lose museums, libraries, concerts, and everything else that is not self-sustaining.

To remove all government support for the arts and humanities is profoundly anti-educational. It would dumb down the public and impoverish us all.